Polling Afghanistan

Several new polls have been released focusing on Afghanistan. First, New York Times/CBS reports that 29% of Americans think we should add more troops, 27% said keep the same level, 32 % said decrease our troop levels and 12% didn't know. The other results show a similar ambivalence across a number of questions such as whether the terror threat will increase once we leave and how long we should stay.

Pew notes that support for the war has been eroding steadily, but adds:

Nonetheless, a sizable majority of the public (76%) views the possibility of the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan as a major threat to the well-being of the United States. In fact, nearly as many regard the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan as a major threat as say that about Iran possibly developing nuclear weapons (82%).

Currently, half of Americans (50%) say military troops should remain in Afghanistan until the situation has stabilized, while 43% favor removing U.S. and NATO troops as soon as possible. In June, 57% favored keeping U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, while 38% favored their removal as soon as possible.

And finally, Gallup:

I think the issue of keeping troops inside Afghanistan is getting muddied with conducting a counter-insurgency and nation building campaign inside Afghanistan. It would be nice if pollsters asked not simply about whether we should add more troops but what those troops should be doing.

(AP Photos)