Poll: U.S. Views on Afghan War

Washington Post/ABC News is out with a new poll showing declining public support for the mission in Afghanistan. Strikingly, 52 percent have said the war has "not been worth fighting." They also found that "only 44 percent of Americans see the war in Afghanistan as worth its costs, a new low in Post-ABC polling."

However, when asked whether they would prefer Obama send a larger number of troops or a smaller number (but still on top of what is there now), 46 percent wanted a higher number of troops vs. 45 percent who wanted a smaller number added.

What's interesting is the question of whether Afghanistan is "worth fighting." Clearly, Afghanistan was worth fighting in Oct. 2001 through around the time that al Qaeda crossed into Pakistan. At that point, the nature of the American mission changed fairly significantly - from one of counter-terrorism to one of armed state building. And as the consequences of that shift in mission have played out, less and less people seem enthusiastic about it.

Meanwhile, Gallup is out with its own poll:

As President Barack Obama prepares to make a decision on U.S. military policy in Afghanistan, 35% of Americans say he should follow the recommendation of the commanding U.S. general in Afghanistan and increase troop levels by about 40,000. Another 7% support a smaller troop increase, meaning a total of 42% of Americans support a troop increase of some size. However, nearly the same percentage, 44%, would like to see the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan reduced.

(AP Photos)