Poll: Growing US Skepticism With Afghan War

Obama's New 2014 'Deadline' Finds Few Supporters

A new poll from USA Today/Gallup is showing a growing disconnect between the Obama Administration’s stated Afghan War policy and popular opinion, as a growing number of Americans see the 2001 invasion as a mistake and a solid majority see the war, nine years later, going poorly.

The poll also showed only 1 in 5 Americans actually agrees with the Obama Administration’s stated 2014 “timetable” for ending the war, a date which his own officials are already downplaying.

Unfortunately it is also showing about an even split among opponents of Obama’s date between those who actually want to end the war sooner and those who want it to continue indefinitely. The split was largely along party lines, with a number of Republicans wanting to keep the war going seemingly for no other reason than to outhawk Obama.

But when President Obama is taken out of the equation, the public seems greatly worried. When the question is just about how the costs will impact the US domestically, over two thirds of voters are very or somewhat worried and only 10 percent are “not at all worried.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.