Over One-Third of Americans Believe Fewer Troops Should be Committed in Afghanistan

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--On Thursday August 27, 2009, (BUSINESS WIRE)--As the situation in Afghanistan, especially in the wake of the current elections and the vote-counting, continues to deteriorate for U.S. troops on the ground, Americans may be thinking of this situation in a similar manner as they once thought about Iraq. In the past six months, even fewer U.S. adults believe more troops should be committed to the war there and more Americans believe fewer troops should be committed.
These are some of the results of a new BBC World News America/The Harris Poll® of 2,004 adults surveyed online between August 12 and 14, 2009 by Harris Interactive®..
In January, President Obama proposed sending an additional 30,000 or more troops to support the U.S. and allied troops there. At that time, just one-third (33%) of all adults supported this increase. Many people thought we should either keep the same level of troops (21%) or cut the number there (27%).
Currently, just one-quarter (25%) of Americans support sending more troops to Afghanistan while one in five (20%) want to keep the level of troops the same and 37% want to commit fewer troops. Among women, almost half (45%) want to cut the number of troops while 37% of men say they want to commit more troops to the war in Afghanistan.
There is also an age difference on this issue – the older one is, the more likely they are to say they want to commit more troops. Just under one-quarter of those aged 18-34 (23%) say they want to commit more troops compared to 44% of those aged 55 and older. The reverse is true with sending fewer troops as almost two in five of those aged 18-34 (38%) say they believe the U.S. should commit fewer troops while 14% of those aged 55 and older say the same. Educational levels also show a difference. Two in five of those with a high school or less education and college graduates (41% and 39% respectively) say they believe the U.S. should commit more troops in Afghanistan while two in five people with some college (39%) say the U.S. should commit fewer troops.
So What?As there is more violence there, and more U.S. casualties there as well, Americans are hearing more about Afghanistan and, therefore, paying more attention to the conflict. And, as such, it is clear that Iraq may not be far from their minds as Americans are saying that they would prefer to see fewer troops in Afghanistan. President Obama has a lot on his plate domestically, but this is an issue that is moving to the forefront of Americans’ minds and he can’t afford to let this slip.
The Harris Poll® #95By Regina A. Corso, Director, The Harris Poll
MethodologyThis BBC World News America/Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States August 12 and 14, 2009, among 2,004 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. Full data tables and methodology are available at www.harrisinteractive.com
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
About Harris InteractiveHarris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com