US public against Afghanistan, Iraq wars

As the Obama administration struggles to handle the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, a majority of Americans are against the long-fought wars, a new poll says.

The AP-GfK Poll released on Thursday showed that 63% of respondents oppose the war in Iraq and 53% oppose the war in Afghanistan.

This is while 34% favor the Iraq battlefield and 44% favor the conflict in Afghanistan, according to the poll.

The survey also revealed that 56% of Americans approve President Barack Obama’s handling of the situation in Iraq and 55% approve his handling of Afghanistan. Both numbers are down just slightly since April.

July is already the deadliest month of the war for both US and NATO forces with 63 international troops killed, including 35 Americans and 19 Britons.

Seven and half years after the US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan to allegedly root out the country’s militancy US Vice-President Joe Biden in an interview with the BBC said that groups based on Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan could ‘wreak havoc’ on the US and Europe.

“In terms of national interest of Great Britain, the US and Europe, (the war) is worth the effort we are making and the sacrifice that is being felt,” he added.

The US Vice President also warned “there are more to come” and US and UK casualties could be expected to climb.

The poll has been released days after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged that the Obama administration will risk losing public support for the war in Afghanistan if the coalition forces fail to turn the situation around within a year.

The poll was conducted July 16-20 and involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,006 adults nationwide.