A recent poll found that about two-thirds of Americans believe the war in Afghanistan was “not worth fighting.”
The survey, conducted from Aug. 12 to 16 as the Taliban took Kabul and toppled the U.S.-backed Afghan government, found that 62% of respondents said that the war in Afghanistan was “not worth fighting,” according to the Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center (AP-NORC). Just 35% of respondents believed the war was worth fighting. The survey also asked if the Iraq war was worth fighting, to which respondents said “no” at nearly the same rate, AP-NORC stated. The poll sampled 1,729 adults, with a +/- 3.2% margin of error.
WASHINGTON (AP) — AP-NORC poll: Roughly two-thirds of Americans say they don’t think the war in Afghanistan was worth fighting.
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) August 19, 2021
A majority of Republicans, independents, and Democrats all said the 20-year war in Afghanistan was essentially a waste, the poll claimed. Of Republican respondents, 57% said the war was not worth it, while 42% said it was. Among independents, 63% said the war was not worth fighting, while 32% did, according to AP-NORC. Democrats had the highest rate of disapproval, with 67% against and 29% in favor.
The poll also found that 47% of Americans approve of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign affairs, which is three percent lower than what AP-NORC found in June. A majority, 51% of respondents, said they did not approve of Biden’s foreign policy. But, a majority of Americans still approve of Biden when it comes to national security, with 52% of respondents in favor of his national security policy and 46% against it. In both foreign policy and national security, Biden is facing an approval deficit with independents, while Republicans and Democrats divide into the anticipated party lines. (RELATED: Biden Dismisses Comment About Taliban Being Back In Power On 9/11 Anniversary, Says Not The Same Because Bin Laden Is Dead)
A Trafalgar poll released Monday found that nearly seven in ten potential 2022 midterm voters in the U.S. do not approve of Biden’s handling of Afghanistan.