Public Thinks Obama's Clueless on Afghanistan

Deeply divided country leaves president between rock, hard place
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 21, 2009 8:17 AM CDT
Public Thinks Obama's Clueless on Afghanistan
US soldiers from the 5th Striker Brigade patrol on the outskirts of Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan, Aug. 9, 2009.   (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

When it comes to the Afghan war, Barack Obama is between a rock and a hard place politically. Only 45% of the public approves of his handling of it, down 10 percentage points from last month, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, and a whopping 63% don’t think he has a clear strategy. But voters are deeply divided over what Obama should do to right the ship.

Two-thirds of Republicans, whose support for Obama’s war effort has tumbled from 51% to 22%, favor deploying 40,000 more troops. But most Democrats say the war is “not worth fighting,” and 61% oppose the troop increase. Independents narrowly oppose the move. But few want to switch gears from protecting Afghanistan to fighting terrorists; four out of five said that even if the Taliban didn’t support terrorism, the US should work to keep it out of power. (More Afghanistan war stories.)

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