(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer adults in the United States are backing the mission in Afghanistan, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 49 per cent of respondents support the military operation involving American soldiers in Afghanistan, down five points since October.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer adults in the United States are backing the mission in Afghanistan, according to a poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion. 49 per cent of respondents support the military operation involving American soldiers in Afghanistan, down five points since October.
In addition, 47 per cent of respondents support the plan outlined by U.S. president Barack Obama to send about 30,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan in the next few weeks, while 40 per cent disagree.
Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden without evidence of his participation in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.
At least 1,524 soldiers—including 926 Americans—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
On Dec. 1, Obama officially introduced his strategy for Afghanistan, declaring, "It is easy to forget that when this war began, we were united—bound together by the fresh memory of a horrific attack and by the determination to defend our homeland and the values we hold dear. I refuse to accept the notion that we cannot summon that unity again.(…) We will go forward with the confidence that right makes might, and with the commitment to forge an America that is safer, a world that is more secure and a future that represents not the deepest of fears but the highest of hopes."
Polling Data
Overall, do you support or oppose the military operation involving American soldiers in Afghanistan?
|
|
Dec. 2009
|
Oct. 2009
|
Jul. 2009
|
|
Support
|
49%
|
54%
|
55%
|
|
Oppose
|
42%
|
35%
|
35%
|
|
Not sure
|
10%
|
11%
|
9%
|
As you may know, President Obama has outlined a plan to send about 30,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan in the next few weeks. From what you have seen, read or heard about this, do you support or oppose the President’s plan?
|
Support
|
47%
|
|
Oppose
|
40%
|
|
Not sure
|
13%
|
Source: Angus Reid Public Opinion
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,003 American adults, conducted on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
