63 Percent of Americans Oppose War In Afghanistan

63 Percent of Americans Oppose War In Afghanistan

First Posted: 12-30-10 02:29 PM   |   Updated: 12-30-10 02:43 PM
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BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is at an all-time high, 
with 63 percent of the public now opposed to U.S. involvement there, according 
to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey. Just 35 percent of survey 
respondents say they still support U.S. involvement.
The increase in opposition to U.S. involvement comes as pessimism about how the 
war is going is rising. According to a poll done Dec. 17-19, 56 percent of the 
public believes that "things are going badly for the U.S. in Afghanistan."
"The war has not always been unpopular -- back in March, when a majority thought 
that the war was going well, the country was evenly divided. But by September, 
the number who said that things were going well for the U.S. in Afghanistan had 
dropped to 44 percent, and opposition to the war had grown to 58 percent," said 
CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Today, with Americans remaining 
pessimistic about the situation in Afghanistan, they also remain opposed to the 
war."
There are, however, at least two groups where there is still a slim majority of 
support for the war -- the Republican Party establishment, and Tea Party 
activists. Here's a look at the partisan breakdown of supporters and 
oppositionists:
TEA PARTY: 52 percent favor, 45 percent oppose.
>REPUBLICAN: 52 percent favor, 44 percent oppose.
>CONSERVATIVE: 49 percent favor, 48 percent oppose.
>DEMOCRAT: 24 percent favor, 74 percent oppose.
>LIBERAL: 20 percent favor, 80 percent oppose.
>INDEPENDENT: 35 percent favor, 63 percent oppose.
>MODERATE: 32 percent favor, 66 percent oppose.
Income level also seems to play a significant role: 70 percent of people making 
under $50,000 annually said they oppose the war; only 54 percent of those making 
more than $50,000 annually said the same thing.
As the Los-Angeles Times reports, "This has been the war's deadliest year for 
noncombatants and combatants alike, with civilian casualties for the first 10 
months of this year running 20% higher than the same period a year ago, 
according to the most recent figures available from the United Nations."
The number of foreign troops killed in the nine-year war has hit an all-time 
high, with more than 700 lives lost. Nearly 500 U.S. servicemembers were killed 
this past year alone, according to the site iCasualties.org.
A new report by Reporters Without Borders also finds that the country remains 
dangerous for journalists. There was a "major increase" in the number of 
journalists kidnapped in 2010, with Afghanistan a hot spot of trouble. "The case 
of French TV journalists Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphane Taponier and their three 
Afghan assistants, held hostage in Afghanistan since 29 December 2009, is the 
longest abduction in the history of the French media since the end of the 
1980s," writes the organization in its report.
There are approximately 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. Last year, 
President Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops be sent there. He has promised 
that the United States will begin withdrawing troops in July 2011.