Poll: More Americans Oppose War in Afghanistan

Local Editor

More Americans now oppose the war in Afghanistan than support, according to a poll released on Thursday, which is latest sign of declining public backing for the US-led mission.

50 percent of those surveyed said the United States should not be involved in Afghanistan, with 44 percent supporting the US military presence, revealed the poll. In a September 9 poll by Quinnipiac University, 49 percent of Americans endorsed the war effort, while 41 percent expressed opposition.

Democrats, who are otherwise loyal supporters of President Barack Obama's policies, are overwhelmingly negative about the war, with 62 percent saying US troops should not be in Afghanistan, according to the survey. Republicans, however, endorse the war 64 to 31 percent, despite their opposition to Obama on just about every other issue. Among independent voters, a majority of 54 percent said the United States should not be in Afghanistan, it said.

The poll results came before a NATO summit this week in Lisbon, where Obama and other leaders are expected to endorse the war effort and lay out plans to begin handing over to Afghan forces starting next year.

Despite rising casualties and questions about prospects for victory after more than 9 years, the conflict did not register on the political radar in this month's US legislative elections that saw Obama's Democrats lose control of the House of Representatives. "President Barack Obama is in somewhat of a tenuous position politically on the Afghan war. If Republicans should desert him, he'd find himself with a very unpopular war on his hands," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.