President Obama believes congress will vote to authorize a military strike against Syria for the use of chemical weapons.
Our exclusive Action News poll shows Valley residents in three distinct camps. 31-percent believe the country should provide support, 30-percent say the U.S. should take no action, and 30-percent believe the U.S. should carry out air strikes.
"I currently have a son serving in the air force and he has been to Iraq and Afghanistan," said Porterville resident Maria Velasquez. "I wish they would all come home. I would hate to see another war start that we would have to be involved in and we're not even finished with the one over there."
72-percent of those polled believe Syria used chemical weapons against civilians.
Obama administration officials say the failure to respond sends the wrong message to rogue regimes.
Ken Martens Friesen teaches political science at Fresno Pacific.
"Chemical warfare is something that the world needs to stand up to stop," said Professor Friesen. "Whether the proper response is a military response is a whole 'nother question."
Friesen's world map hangs upside down to remind people we look at the world a certain way but there are other perspectives.
Syrian President Assad is a member of the minority Alawite sect, ruling a country of mostly Sunni Muslims.
The Action News poll also showed 66-percent agreed with President Obama's decision to allow congress to decide what step to take next in Syria. 30-percent say the president should have made the decision.
And another person Action News spoke with said, "As always you rally around the president with things of this nature. After the talk is done they'll be done along those lines."
The house and senate are expected to vote next week on whether to take military action in Syria.