Support for America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has plummeted by double digits over the last few months, particularly in the wake of the Taliban seizing control over the U.S.-backed Afghan government, a Politico/Morning Consult survey found.
According to the survey, conducted August 13-16 among 1,999 registered voters, 49 percent of voters support the withdrawal. That number reflects a 20 percent drop from the 69 percent who said the same in April.
Overall, one-quarter of American voters say the withdrawal is going well. Thirty-eight percent of Democrats and 14 percent of Republicans agree with that sentiment.
A majority of Democrats, 69 percent, support withdrawal, but just less than a third of Republicans, 31 percent, agree.
Per Politico:
When asked whether the U.S. should still withdraw its military presence if this would create an opportunity for terrorist groups like al Qaeda to establish operations in Afghanistan, voters were less supportive. Just 35 percent of participants said the American military should withdraw in this case, with 48 percent saying it should not. This highlights the fear of terrorism coming from the country, as U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan began following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Over one-third of American voters, 38 percent, expressed the belief that the U.S. should still withdraw from the country, even if the Taliban “regains control of most of Afghanistan.”
President Biden returned to Washington, DC, from Camp David on Monday and addressed the crisis in Afghanistan. During the speech, he admitted the collapse of the Afghan government occurred “more quickly than anticipated.”
“I am president of the United States and the buck stops with me,” Biden said. “I’m deeply saddened by the facts we now face but I do not regret my decision to end America’s warfighting in Afghanistan.”
“Our mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation-building, it was never supposed to be to build a unified, centralized democracy,” he said.
That remark stands in stark contrast to the position he took in 2003, where he defended the concept of nation-building during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on rebuilding Afghanistan.
