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Public Thinks Obama's Clueless on Afghanistan

Deeply divided country leaves president between rock, hard place

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 21, 2009 8:17 AM CDT
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(Newser) – When it comes to the Afghan war, Barack Obama is between a rock and a hard place politically. Only 45% of the public approves of his handling of it, down 10 percentage points from last month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, and a whopping 63% don’t think he has a clear strategy. But voters are deeply divided over what Obama should do to right the ship.

Two-thirds of Republicans, whose support for Obama’s war effort has tumbled from 51% to 22%, favor deploying 40,000 more troops. But most Democrats say the war is “not worth fighting,” and 61% oppose the troop increase. Independents narrowly oppose the move. But few want to switch gears from protecting Afghanistan to fighting terrorists; four out of five said that even if the Taliban didn’t support terrorism, the US should work to keep it out of power.

US soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigade patrol on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan, Aug. 9, 2009.
US soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigade patrol on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan, Aug. 9, 2009.   (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
President Barack Obama takes a moment to talk about Afghanistan during his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, not shown, Oct. 20, 2009.
President Barack Obama takes a moment to talk about Afghanistan during his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, not shown, Oct. 20, 2009.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Army soldiers wait to board buses to deploy to Afghanistan at Fort Bragg, NC, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.
Army soldiers wait to board buses to deploy to Afghanistan at Fort Bragg, NC, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.   (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 32 comments
bewilderbeast
Oct 22, 2009 11:48 AM CDT
@ezrider, you swallowed the line of "Our agenda in Afghanistan was capture Bin Ladin and the Taliban"?? Sorry, but that was BS - Your corporate war machine needs war for its profit. You (especially your poor) are the pawns who go and die for that. -------- I agree with you that if Obama seems not to know wassup, at least he may be thinking about alternatives. And that would be a big improvement from the BushRumsfeldCheney warmongers.
bewilderbeast
Oct 22, 2009 10:58 AM CDT
@Roger: "Bottom line: the public's got this one right" - Right. As long as they also know that any American who professes to HAVE a clue about Afghanistan is a liar and/or probably stands to make money every time a soldier loses his life there. With payback only coming to your children and grandchildren when America has slipped off its perch as "global superpower". There is one way to "handle Afghanistan" that would make a LOT of sense, though: JUST GO HOME - there's work to be done in America to regain what you had.
kokuaguy
Oct 22, 2009 7:29 AM CDT
Healthcare reform is happening. The world does look on the US as a partner again, rather than a pariah. Climate change is being addressed. The Iraq war is winding down. What were you expecting in less than one year?

 
Afghanistan • Barack Obama • troop surge • troop levels • Afghanistan war • poll numbers • Stanley McChrystal

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