Americans split on troop boost for Afghanistan: poll
2009-10-21

Category Public Opinion United Nations Nations Afghanistan U.S. City Kabul Category Regions Regions Asia North America Pacific Rim People Hamid Karzai Barack Obama Event Afghan Terror War Source (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Americans are evenly divided on the question of whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, but most believe President Barack Obama does not have a clear plan for the conflict, according to a new poll.

The Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday found 49 percent of Americans oppose the dispatch of more troops, but 47 percent support sending more soldiers.

The top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is reportedly seeking up to 40,000 more US troops for the conflict in Afghanistan, but the White House has yet to announce whether it will commit more forces.

The poll comes as Afghanistan prepared for a second round of voting in a presidential election marred by widespread allegations of fraud that forced United Nations observers to discard almost one million votes.

While President Hamid Karzai's decision to accept a second-round vote forestalled a major political crisis in Afghanistan, support among Americans for Obama's handling of the conflict is declining, the poll found.

Just 31 percent of Americans agree that the Obama administration has "a clear plan for handling the situation in Afghanistan," compared to 63 percent who disagree.

And approval for the way Obama is handling the conflict has fallen from 55 percent a month ago to 45 percent today, according to the poll of 1,004 Americans between October 15-18.

Some members of the Obama administration have said it would be irresponsible to commit more US troops to the Afghanistan before analyzing any new Kabul government, but US military commanders and some Republican lawmakers are pushing the White House to quickly agree to McChrystal's troop request.