Support for Afghan war dropping.

The cost of the war in Afghanistan seems to generate little concern. Americans seem more concerned that their health care costs might go up if Obama's health care reforms get passed. However, increased U.S. casualties seem to have a strong negative effect on support for the war. With more troops and a new policy of clear and hold casualty numbers are bound to increase. Obama can look forward to a further decline in support and perhaps finally a strong reaction from anti-war groups. Certainly, Obama never hid or disguised the fact that he would ramp up the war in Afghanistan and also drone attacks.


News From Antiwar.com - http://news.antiwar.com/2009/08/06/cnn-poll-points-to-growing-us-opposition-to-afghan-war/ -

CNN Poll: US Support for Afghan War Plummeting

Posted By Jason Ditz On August 6, 2009 @ 6:50 pm In Uncategorized 6 Comments

Following July’s record death tolls, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp poll shows that US popular support for the war is also at an all-time low, with 54 percent of respondents opposed to the ongoing war and 41 percent in favor.

This was a monumental change from the May version of the same poll. which showed 50 percent in favor of the war and only 48 percent against. President Obama has made escalating the war the centerpiece of his foreign policy campaign.

The finding was largely in keeping with an AP-GfK poll released late last month, which also showed growing opposition to both wars, and a 53-44 percent split on the Afghan war. This poll too showed a strong split along party lines, with most Republicans supporting the continued conflict and the vast majority of Democrats opposed.

While opposition to the Iraq War has been significant for years, it is only recently that opinion on the nearly eight-year long Afghan conflict is starting to shift. Ironically, it is perhaps President Obama’s desire to escalate the war that has made it significant enough to catch the attention of an increasing number of Americans, and sparked the growing war exhaustion the polls are now showing.