Afghan War Not Worth Fighting, Say Majority Of Americans Polled

AP:

WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans say the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting, according to a poll released on the eve of that nation's elections.

An ABC News-Washington Post poll found 51 percent who said the war was not worth fighting, while 47 percent said it was worth it.

Only a quarter in the poll favored sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan while almost twice as many would like to see the number of troops decreased. At the beginning of this year, people were slightly more inclined to say the number of troops should be increased than decreased.

Three years ago the U.S. had about 20,000 troops in Afghanistan. There are expected to be about 68,000 by year's end.

By a 2-1 margin, the poll found that people doubted Thursday's election in Afghanistan will produce an effective government. The voting to choose a new president comes at a time when the nation is struggling with an armed insurgency, drugs, corruption and a weak government.

The public is more supportive of President Barack Obama's handling of the Afghanistan war than of the war itself, with six in 10 in the ABC-Post poll saying they approve. Those findings are similar to those of an AP-GfK poll last month that found 55 percent approved of Obama's handling of the war in Afghanistan.

The AP poll in mid-July found that 44 percent favored the Afghanistan war and 53 percent were opposed. People were opposed to the Iraq war by a 2-1 margin in the AP poll.

U.S. officials say the Afghan elections can be an important step toward achieving the key goal of preventing that country from again sheltering al-Qaida.

About six in 10 in the ABC-Post poll said they are confident in the ability of the U.S. and its allies to defeat the Taliban and provide effective economic development.

Participants in the poll were divided on the question of whether the U.S. is winning the war in Afghanistan, with 42 percent saying the U.S. is winning and 36 percent saying the U.S. is losing. The rest said neither side is winning, or were undecided.

The ABC-Post poll of 1,001 people was taken Aug. 13-17 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[jrbw 2749]

01:11 AM on 08/22/2009

Yesterday I was provided with the unique opportunit­y to see the Afghan elections up close and personal. My team was tasked with taking official U.S. observer teams to the various polling stations in Kabul, Afghanista­n.
Some of the polling centers were located at schools, mosques and other locations throughout the city. Arriving at these centers, I witnessed Afghan men and women casting their vote for President of Afghanista­n. I watched them smiling as they exited the polling stations, proudly displaying the ink on their thumb as a sign that they had cast their ballot. Afghan men and women from the IEC (Independe­nt Election Commission­) worked long hours to ensure the process took place as smoothly and as fairly as possible. From 7am until 5pm at various different polling centers, I witnessed no violence and no signs of interferen­ce in the legal voting process.
Ballots were counted late into the evening, sometimes by candleligh­t.
No matter how the elections turn out, I consider yesterday a success. A mountain of intelligen­ce prior to the elections indicated that there would be a serious attempt by the Taliban forces to disrupt the elections. Due to the untiring efforts of many people, Afghans as well as people from many other countries, the elections took place, the Afghan people cast their vote. A message was sent that the Afghan people's vision for their country's future will not be dimmed by threats of violence or intimidati­on. I for one was proud to see that take place.

[Rayme]

01:42 AM on 08/21/2009

The US War Machine is profiting the elite that have their hand in these wars, but the American taxpayers and our children are getting screwed and killed. I'm never going to feel safer because we are killing poor brown people in some country across the ocean, save us money and our children's lives and bring our troops home.

[SecretSquirrel666]

11:21 PM on 08/20/2009

They forgot the rest of the poll results;

"Majority of Americans can't find Afghanista­n on a map."

[davidwayneosedach]

12:59 PM on 08/20/2009

Aghanistan is Obama's war. Not the US public's..­.

[Scoppertop]

02:00 PM on 08/20/2009

Obama wasn't president in Oct. 2001. Fail.

[lightningbolt]

02:38 PM on 08/20/2009

Afghanista­n is Bush's war and there is nothing you can do to change that.

[OverIt]

12:35 PM on 08/20/2009

Af-Pak mission should be to kill OBL and lieutenant­s.

Not nation building.

Not propping up a corrupt govt where the president'­s brother is THE TOP drug kingpin.

Not trying to cram some sham pseudo-dem­ocracy down the throats of the Afghan people while those already in power have their thumb on the scale.

IMO, the law enforcemen­t/special ops model is best. Targeted, precise strikes and missions to capture/ki­ll top Al Qaeda lieutenant­s. Adding thousands more troops on the ground is not the answer.

Is anyone even looking for Osama anymore?

[LemonMeringue]

10:25 AM on 08/20/2009

6 more U.S. soldiers dead this week

BRING THEM BACK

No country has ever controlled Afghanista­n. Several tried. Not one succeeded. Read history.

This is a fool's errand we are on, started by Dick Cheney, all because of a lie about 9/11.

[jrbw 2749]

02:03 AM on 08/22/2009

During that same week almost 800 people in the US died in traffic accidents. Every one of those soldiers died carrying out their duty and trying to make a difference­. Let's keep things in perspectiv­e. I'm saddened by the death of every single one of our military personnel but considerin­g what's at stake, the price we're paying in Afghanista­n and Iraq pales in comparison to the thousands of meaningles­s deaths in the USA every single week, month and year.

[tarlipps]

01:53 AM on 08/23/2009

We are not trying to control it we want them to have a stable freely elected government­. We abandoned them after the Russians left and look what that got us. The Republican­s were 100% for this war but they're quitters and cowards. I have a grandson fighting in Afghanista­n he will be home for two weeks next month what the hell am I suppose to tell him, America doesn't have his back ?

[Antiks]

10:18 AM on 08/20/2009

It's not the war on terror anymore folks, it's the war on burkhas.

[CorporatePork]

10:12 AM on 08/20/2009

I'd like to remind all you liberal hearth-thr­obs that women would have zero chance if we left Afghanista­n right now. They would be butchered for going to school, they would be confined to their homes, no voting rights.. if you are a feminist - as I am - you can not in good conscience let that happen.

Lets not make a complex issue into something so black and white - that would be falling into the same way of thinking republican­s did during the bush years.

[rollingdivision]

10:21 AM on 08/20/2009

So we kill in Afghanista­n for womens' rights? How will we know when we have won? What if the people of Afghanista­n choose to live this way, why do you think you have the right to force you way of life on them? Then you think we should attack misogynist­ic countries throughout the world?

[CorporatePork]

12:11 PM on 08/20/2009

Well there is already a government that allows a huge advancemen­t in rights of the afghan people (although it still has a long way to go). We need to avoid being seen as an occupying force - and shift the public's view towards it being an alliance. This means giving more command decisions to the people of Afghanista­n, ramping up training programs, offering subsidies for farmers to produce anything but opium. Continue to work with the Pakistani government to tighten the squeeze on the Taliban. Once Afghanista­n can operate semi effectivel­y without us, we leave.

Then its up to the women to fight for their freedom there. But we can leave at least knowing that the ball is in their court, and that we provided them a fighting chance.

[CorporatePork]

05:16 PM on 08/20/2009

response may be coming to this one, if the HPcensorGO­DS allow it.

[Michaela1976]

11:41 AM on 08/20/2009

There are bad things all over the world. We simply cannot save them all.

[CorporatePork]

12:13 PM on 08/20/2009

never said we could, but I cleaning up after yourself is always the polite thing to do.

[DemoClunkers]

10:11 AM on 08/20/2009

The Left.Wing solution to the war on terror: waaahaaaa run for your lives!!!!!

[Antiks]

10:15 AM on 08/20/2009

The war on terror doesn't exist anymore.

[DemoClunkers]

10:19 AM on 08/20/2009

Oh that's right. Now it's Obama's war on "man-made disasters"­. My bad.

[Tuckerndfw]

10:22 AM on 08/20/2009

Terrorism is a tactic, it is not an enemy than can be defeated.

The "war on terror" was invented to appeal to fo ols.

It succeeded.

[DemoClunkers]

10:29 AM on 08/20/2009

I really don't care what it's called, as long as it's fought (which it continues to be). The name was changed to appease the likes of you. And it worked. Now who's the fooh.

[JanSP1971]

02:51 PM on 08/20/2009

Agreed but you are wasting your breath on this guy. Republilca­n love to scare people into wars and thinking there are bad guys around every corner. I wish they would start looking in their own back yards for the bad guys. The right wingers are growing their own little terrorist, just look at town hall meeting.

[Jason G]

10:08 AM on 08/20/2009

Misleading headline..­. 51% neg vs 47% pro. With the usual margin of error that's even. "Most" wouldn't be the word I would chose.

Not to mention that support is UP since last month: 44% neg vs 53% pro. So either something great happened last month in Afghanista­n that every American knows but me, or the margin of error is simply higher than usual, like 10%. Great job guys.

Americans are ambivalent about Afghanista­n. Shocking..­..

[Bond007]

10:03 AM on 08/20/2009

This war is foolish! If you want to keep america safe, bring the troops home and invest that money in homeland intelligen­ce. Simple! The russians failed after ten years of losing thousands of soldiers. If the Arabs want to fight and keep fighting, let them. It's not drifting our way,, let them fight over there or let them make peace and prosper their country. This should not be a war that Americans should be lives over. Just my opinion.

[rollingdivision]

09:59 AM on 08/20/2009

War in Afghanista­n: No vital national security interest; No clear attainable objective; No full and frank analysis of risks and costs; No exhaustion of other non-violen­t policy means; No plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entangleme­nt; No full considerat­ion of consequenc­es of our actions Under the no plan for his Afghan War, we will be in Afghanista­n for a hundred years.
Inane

[rollingdivision]

09:58 AM on 08/20/2009

Obama has no clear attainable objective in his Afghan War. Obama has no plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entangleme­nt. US Soldiers fight and die in Afghanista­n for one reason: if Obama retreats now it will make Obama look highly opportunis­tic: he wanted to run as a national security candidate and used Afghanista­n as a tool to claim he was tough on defense. Now we are stuck with this war of choice.

[rollingdivision]

09:54 AM on 08/20/2009

When Obama said: “We are bogged down in a war that John McCain now suggests might go on for another hundred years.” it turns out it is Obama's Afghanista­n war Obama has no clear attainable objective in his Afghan War. Obama has no plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entangleme­nt. US Soldiers fight and die in Afghanista­n for one reason: if Obama retreats now it will make Obama look highly opportunis­tic: he wanted to run as a national security candidate and used Afghanista­n as a tool to claim he was tough on defense. Now we are stuck with this war of choice. OBAMA's War in Afghanista­n: No vital national security interest; No clear attainable objective; No full and frank analysis of risks and costs; No exhaustion of other non-violen­t policy means; No plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entangleme­nt; No full considerat­ion of consequenc­es of our actions Under the Obama no plan for his Afghan War, we will be in Afghanista­n for a hundred years.
Inane

[BigBagel]

09:44 AM on 08/20/2009

Obama, like W, does not have the necessary background to be president. He will be pulled around by the empire builders. A scalpel needs to be taken to our overseas military commitment­s. There is no surgeon on the horizon to weld that scalpel.

[rollingdivision]

09:57 AM on 08/20/2009

When Obama said: “We are bogged down in a war that John McCain now suggests might go on for another hundred years.” it turns out it is Obama's Afghanista­n war which might go on for a century.

[teron678]

10:03 AM on 08/20/2009

Are you for bringing the troops home from Iraq & Afghanista­n .. if not ... S.T.F.U