That includes the 2011 debt-ceiling debate (77 percent), the 2012 health-care decision by the U.S. Supreme Court (78 percent), Syria’s reported use of chemical weapons in 2013 (79 percent) and this year’s botched execution in Oklahoma (68 percent). The Sept. 11 attacks triggered the invasion of Afghanistan by the U.S. and its allies, starting in October 2001, with the aim of dismantling al-Qaida's base of operations and toppling the Taliban regime. “The beheadings are so chilling to the American public,” added Hart. "There's likely to be some level of terrorism, but it can't be to the point where it disrupts our lives in some fundamental way."
– Some six in 10 Americans say they would support a strike against ISIS, as President Obama appears to be moving toward such a hit. The figure comes from an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that also finds Americans feeling unsafe: Some 47% of the country now feels the US is less secure than it was before the 9/11 attacks. Just a year after those attacks, NBC notes, only 20% shared that feeling; last year, it was 28%. One news item fueling the fear: US journalists' beheadings, which 94% of Americans are aware of. That's the highest level of awareness of any story in the past five years, according to the poll. A day before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Obama is preparing for a tough speech. Tonight in prime time, he'll discuss the US plan against the group, an initiative that will start small and expand; eventual airstrikes in Syria are possible, Politico reports, while the AP notes that major troop action on the ground is unlikely. Meanwhile, a generation has come of age as the post-9/11 conflict has continued, the AP notes. In an earlier vision of the future, Iraq was supposed to be fending for itself by this point, with US troops largely leaving Afghanistan combat behind; instead, we're preparing for further action in the region. "The Cold War took 45 years," says a former George W. Bush adviser. "It's harder to see how this ends."