The FINANCIAL — After more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public does not think the United States has achieved its goals in either country.
The FINANCIAL — After more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the public does not think the United States has achieved its goals in either country. About half of Americans (52%) say the U.S. has mostly failed to achieve its goals in Afghanistan while 38% say it has mostly succeeded. Opinions about the U.S. war in Iraq are virtually the same: 52% say the United States has mostly failed in reaching its goals there, while 37% say it has mostly succeeded, according to Pew Research Center.
In both cases, evaluations of the wars have turned more negative in recent years. In November 2011, as the U.S. was completing its military withdrawal from Iraq, a majority (56%) thought the U.S. had achieved its goals there.
Similarly, the public’s critical assessment of U.S. achievements in Afghanistan stands in contrast to opinion in June 2011, shortly after Osama bin Laden was killed in neighboring Pakistan. At that time, 58% answered a forward-looking question by saying they thought the U.S. would achieve its goals in that country; the question in the current survey asks whether the U.S. has achieved its goals.
The national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY, conducted Jan. 15-19 among 1,504 adults, finds more positive views of the original decision to take military action in Afghanistan than about whether the U.S. has achieved its goals. About half (51%) say the decision to use military force was the right one while 41% say it was the wrong decision. However, the share saying the war was the right decision has fallen five points since November (from 56%) and 13 points since January 2009 (64%), shortly before Barack Obama took office, according to Pew Research Center.
The decisions to use military force in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to draw majority support among Republicans. By contrast, Democrats are divided about evenly over whether it was right or wrong for the U.S. to use force in Afghanistan, and Democrats continue to overwhelmingly oppose the decision to use force in Iraq.
Overall views of the success of the war in Afghanistan are nearly identical to opinions about the Iraq war. By 52%-38% more say the U.S. has mostly failed in achieving its goals in Afghanistan than mostly succeeded, according to Pew Research Center.
In June of 2011, just one month after the death of Osama bin Laden, a similar question asking about expectations for U.S. success in Afghanistan found far more optimism than pessimism. At that time, 58% said the U.S. would definitely or probably succeed in achieving its goals while just 34% thought they would definitely or probably fail.
Currently, 39% of Republicans, 42% of Democrats and 36% of independents say the U.S. has succeeded in achieving its goals in Afghanistan. Three years ago, majorities of Republicans (67%) and Democrats (61%), and 51% of independents, said the U.S. would definitely or probably succeed in attaining its goals there, according to Pew Research Center.
Young people were highly optimistic about prospects for success in Afghanistan in 2011 – 73% of those under 30 expected the U.S. to achieve its goals. In the current survey, just 40% of young people say the U.S. has mostly achieved its goals in Afghanistan while 56% say it has mostly failed to achieve its goals.
On balance, Republicans approve of the decisions to use force in both Iraq and Afghanistan. By contrast, Democrats and independents are divided over the use of force in Afghanistan and say it was the wrong decision to use force in Iraq, according to Pew Research Center.
By nearly two-to-one (61%-31%), Republicans say it was the right decision to use force in Afghanistan. Among Democrats (48% right decision, 45% wrong decision) and independents (47%, 45%) opinion is about evenly divided.
On the use of force in Iraq, 55% of Republicans say it was the right decision, while 33% call it the wrong decision. Democrats say it was the wrong call to use military force in Iraq by a wide 64%-28% margin. Among independents, more say it was the wrong (53%) than right (37%) decision.
Republicans have consistently offered more support for the decisions to use military force in Iraq and Afghanistan than Democrats and independents, according to Pew Research Center.
Discussion about this post