A majority of Americans say the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting and oppose sending more US troops to fight Islamist insurgents, a poll showed Wednesday. The survey results show US public support sliding for the war as Afghans prepare to vote Thursday in a pivotal election and amid speculation that the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, will request more troops.
Asked if the war has been worth fighting, 51 percent said it was not, while 47 percent endorsed the mission, according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll. In July, a narrow majority backed the war as worthwhile. Only 24 percent said more US forces should be deployed, while 27 percent said the troop levels should be kept the same and 45 percent said the troop commitment should be reduced. In January, only 29 percent said the number of troops should be cut back. The poll, carried out between August 13-17, showed Americans had doubts that Thursday's elections would result in an effective Afghan government.
Only 31 percent said they were confident that the vote would produce a government that could rule effectively while a 64 percent majority said they were not confident of such an outcome. Despite signs of public anxiety, a majority of 60 percent approve of how President Barack Obama has handled the war, while 33 percent disapproved, the poll said.
Opinion was divided as to whether the United States was winning the war, with 42 percent saying Washington was winning while 36 percent said the US was losing. Opposition to the war has grown among those who form Obama's core of support - liberals and Democrats, the survey said. Nearly two-thirds of staunch Democrats now feel "strongly" that the war was not worth fighting, it said. And support for the war among voters who identify themselves as liberals has dropped dramatically.
Strong approval for Obama's approach to the war among liberals has fallen 20 points and 63 percent of liberals want troop levels reduced. Public unease has been reflected in Congress, where some of Obama's fellow Democrats have voiced worries about the open-ended US commitment.
The United States has about 62,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of a Nato-led force of more than 100,000. Obama has approved a build-up that will see about 68,000 troops in place by the end of the year but analysts say his commander will likely push for yet more American troops.
In October, the war will enter its ninth year. US forces led an invasion in 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime but the militants have waged a deadly insurgency against the Western-backed administration and foreign troops, with violence now at record highs. The survey was based on a sample of 1,001 adults and has a margin of error of three points, according to the Washington Post website.
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