Poll: Overwhelming US Opposition to Afghan War

War 'Not Worth the Cost'

The regular Washington Post-ABC News poll on the war in Afghanistan is showing an overwhelming popular opposition to the war, with some 60% of Americans now believing the war is “not worth fighting” and an all time low of 17% who “strongly” believe in the war.

Split by party the poll shows a spike in opposition from independents and for the first time a split among Republicans on the conflict. Democrats remain strongly opposed, although somewhat less so than last year.

Even Republican Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, a long-time hawk, is now calling for an  end to the war, saying that the war seems “undoable” and that he doesn’t think America has the “capacity to fundamentally change the region.”

Though released today, the poll was taken over March 7-10, in the wake of the massive anti-US protests in Afghanistan over the burning of the Quran. This means that the massacre by a US soldier over the weekend is not factored into the numbers, but this is liable to make the case for a fundamentally broken war all the more clear.

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.