Hearts and Minds

As of late 2010, a higher percentage of Afghans than Americans supported the war there. But is that support eroding?

BY SCOTT CLEMENT | MARCH 21, 2012

The poll-watcher analysis series on American public opinion on foreign policy is cross-posted at the Behind the Numbers blog.

It hasn't been a good couple of weeks in Afghanistan. An alleged killing spree by Staff Sgt. Robert Bales and widely publicized Quran burnings at Bagram airbase threaten to alienate some of the most ardent supporters of America's efforts in Afghanistan: the Afghan people themselves. It may seem hard to believe, but while Americans long ago said the war's costs outweighed the benefits, many Afghans still remained supportive of the U.S. invasion as of late 2010. If that support is now waning, both Americans and Afghans may be calling for the United States to pack its bags and go.

Nearly three quarters of Afghans in late 2010 said the U.S. invasion was a good thing, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/BBC/ARD face-to-face survey. More than six in 10 supported the presence of U.S. military forces and the majority noticed progress in training Afghans to provide security and halting al Qaeda's progress. Kandahar, the province where Bales allegedly killed 16 civilians before dawn on March 11, was one of the few areas where a majority opposed the initial invasion.

Even then, support for the mission didn't translate into glowing ratings for the United States as a whole. A 56 percent majority held unfavorable views in 2010, the highest in six years of surveys, and a monumental shift from 2005, when more than eight in 10 saw America in a positive light. But even after the drop in popularity, America was seen much more positively than its arch enemy: the Taliban. Nearly nine in 10 gave unfavorable marks to Afghanistan's former leaders, with two-thirds seeing the Taliban "very" unfavorably.

Ratings of the war inside Afghanistan differed starkly from those back in the United States. Six in 10 Americans thought the war was not worth fighting in a December 2010 Washington Post/ABC News poll, identical to where it stands in a Post/ABC poll this month.

Most Americans are eager to get out of the conflict. In the latest survey, 54 percent of Americans think the United States should withdraw military forces -- even if the Afghan army is not adequately trained. President Barack Obama's 2010 announcement of troop withdrawals also got positive reviews. Over half thought he was removing troops along the right timeline in a December 2010 Post/ABC poll, and another 27 percent said he should bring them home sooner.

The once-popular war's appeal has waned, in part due to a nose-dive among its strongest supporters. Since Obama took over stewardship of the war from George W. Bush, Republican support for the war has plummeted -- 74 percent said the war was worth it in 2009, but just 47 percent say so now.

Back in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Bales's alleged murder of 16 civilians, less than a month after soldiers were found to have incinerated several Qurans, may have already taken a major toll on support for the U.S. mission.

Hamid Karzai's strong reaction -- calling for the removal of U.S. troops from rural areas and  broad investigations -- may throw a wrench in diplomatic efforts, but from the public opinion perspective his position is critical. More than eight in 10 Afghans had a favorable view of Karzai in late 2010 -- a level of popularity almost unheard of for an American leader.

Even before news about the killings broke, most Americans believed Afghans were opposed to the U.S. military presence. They weren't -- but they might be now.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

 

Scott Clement is the polling analyst for the Washington Post.

 

KUNINO

7:03 PM ET

March 21, 2012

Voting for money

If trickledown economics work anyre, Afghanistan is the sort of place where the success is most likely. This is a desperatel;y poor nation with limited educational and health infrastructure, and severe limitations on many of what westerners thinks of as normal parts of national business circumstances.

And then there are the Americans, bringing money, lots of it -- and certainly in earlier yesars, lots of it bribes -- and offering for millions the prospect of a better future for themselves and their families. Of course, this leads many Afghans to think the American occupation is a very good thing. For the same reason, many Americans think the occupation is not a good thing, because they are handing over that money to Afghanistan, via their taxes..

 

CRAIG CALVIN JONES

8:04 PM ET

March 21, 2012

"....U.S. war?" what a leading by-line

While this conflict has my heart and mind in a muddle, I think the FP could have used a less misleading title off the home page than, "Do Afghans still support the U.S. war?" Is it really a U.S. War? It could be argued many ways, as no doubt many posts will soon show here. The article does not imply it is "a US war" so I don't see it was necessary to give it this twist. I suppose I want to think it is as much an Afghan war as a US war, but perhaps it is I who am naive.

 

MARTY MARTEL

8:44 AM ET

March 24, 2012

Pakistan is the root of the problem, not Afghan ‘hearts and mind

The problem for US is rooted lot more in Pakistani State which is practicing a duplicitous policy since 2001 of ‘running with the Haqqani and Mullah Omar terrorists while hunting with the American hounds’ since it has best of both worlds. Umpteen meetings between US and Pakistani heads of State, defense ministers and foreign ministers since 2001 have NOT stopped or reduced Pakistani State’s shelter and support of terrorist outfits that have conducted Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan against US/NATO/Afghan troops.

Former Pentagon official Gen (rtd) Jack Keane said at a discussion on Afghanistan organized by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank on June 30, 2011: "The truth is, the (Pakistani) ISI aids and abets the sanctuaries in Pakistan that the Afghan (Taliban) operate out of. They provide training for them, they provide resources for them and they provide intelligence for them. From those sanctuaries, every single day Afghan fighters come into Afghanistan and kill and maim us (US/NATO troops)". General Keane also added that “There are two ammonium nitrate factories in Pakistan. 80 per cent of the explosive devices that are used to kill our soldiers, kill Afghan security forces and kill Afghan people come from Pakistan."

Poor US! It is trapped in a never-ending blackmail practiced with finesse by its supposed ally Pakistani State.

 

KELLYJOHN

1:14 AM ET

March 30, 2012

Hearts of Afghan People

"First, the people have no education, so they are not able to reason when someone tells them to kill someone or plant an IED for money … Second, they have no patriotism for Afghanistan. Third, after 30 years of war, they have a culture of expecting things to be provided to them … Currently, people will do anything for money, even if it means killing CF. Afghanistan have minimum number of drug rehab center.

 

INGE WORTON

4:10 AM ET

April 17, 2012

The poll-watcher analysis series on American

President Obama and Republicans have repeatedly clashed over policy toward Israel, incited most recently by comments from the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, who argued that some anti-Semitism was rooted in territorial tensions between Israel and its neighbors. On Wednesday, Republican presidential hopefuls looked to court Jewish supporters at a forum held by the Republican Jewish Coalition.

 

NOXON MILLER

10:15 AM ET

May 4, 2012

Hearts and Minds

Well According Obama, “the United States and our allies went to war to make sure that al-Qaeda could never use this country to launch attacks against us.” I would argue that U.S. and NATO forces have already done all that is humanly possible toward that end.

The Taliban government was deposed and routed. Al-Qaida was first dislodged and then decimated, with “over 20 of their top 30 leaders” killed, according to the president. Osama bin Laden was tracked to his lair in Pakistan, shot dead and buried at sea. To the extent that al-Qaida still poses a threat, it comes from affiliate organizations in places such as Yemen and from the spread of poisonous jihadist ideology. Al-Qaida’s once-extensive training camps in Afghanistan have long been obliterated and the group’s presence in the country is minimal. como ganar dinero por internet y cupones hostgator

 

NEELY MACE

10:23 AM ET

May 4, 2012

Hearts and Minds

Well.. actually Polls indicate that Americans are weary of this war. He told the nation Tuesday night that 23,000 troops would be withdrawn by the end of the summer. This will reduce troop levels to about 65,000 – still far above what Obama inherited in 2009. By the end of 2014, Obama said, “the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.” But how many Americans will remain? And, again, why?
At that point, Obama said, we will leave behind just enough personnel to support the Afghan government in counterterrorism operations and provide continued training for Afghan forces. At present, however, we’re in the midst of a counterinsurgency campaign of the kind that takes decades, at best, to succeed. | como eliminar verrugas y how to get rid of tonsil stones

 

STEVIE MCMILLER

10:33 AM ET

May 4, 2012

Hearts and Minds

Obama had hoped to lure the Taliban leadership into peace talks that would make it easier to sell the idea that he is getting out of Afghanistan while continuing the war. But the Taliban didn't cooperate.
Obama's Kabul speech could not threaten that U.S. SOF units will continue to hunt them down in their homes until they agree to make peace with Karzai. That would have given away the secret still hidden in the U.S.-Afghan "Enduring Strategic Partnership" agreement. como eliminar verrugas
But Obama must assume that the Taliban understand what the U.S. public does not: U.S. night raids will continue well beyond 2014, despite the fact that they ensure enduring hatred of U.S. and NATO troops. plans for building a shed

 

DEBORA BENEZE

3:27 AM ET

May 5, 2012

Hearts and Minds

An ABC News - Washington Post poll indicates that 60 percent of U.S. citizens believe the war in Afghanistan is not worth its costs. The survey found that only 35 percent of Americans believe the decade-long effort has warranted its expense and loss of life.

For the first time in five years, Republicans polled are evenly divided on whether the war has justified its price.

The poll indicates 54 percent of all Americans want the U.S. to pull its troops from Afghanistan, even if the Afghan army is not adequately trained to carry on the fight. But the survey finds about 6 in 10 Democrats and independents back this position, while just 4 in 10 Republicans do.

Meanwhile, only 30 percent of Americans believe that most Afghans support U.S. efforts in their country.

The United States and its NATO allies plan to pull out their troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and hand over security operations to the Afghan army. como obtener un dominio como contratar un hosting

 

KARAN PADGETTE

8:08 AM ET

May 6, 2012

Hearts and Minds

This is just simple what I think. This stupid war never had a solid base and US just doesn't want to accept that there is no benefits from it. But by other site is too hard for them to accept they were wrong and just accept the mistake. como quitar verrugas Karan