Most Republicans support the decision to extend the American troop presence in Afghanistan, but Democrats are divided
Just over a week ago the Obama administration announced a significant change in its Afghanistan policy by announcing that a sizeable contingent of American troops would remain in the country beyond the original withdrawal date. Originally all American troops, except Embassy guards, were to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2016. Now, however, the administration has announced that at least 5,500 troops will remain in the country til at least 2017 if not longer.
Research from YouGov shows that Democrats are nearly evenly split on whether or not President Obama's decision was correct or not. 42% of Democrats approve of the decision while 40% disapprove of it. Support among Republicans is actually much higher, with 51% in favor of extending America's troop presence in Afghanistan and only 32% against. Independents tend to disapprove (41%) rather than approve (33%) of keeping 5,500 troops in Afghanistan through 2017.
Americans are divided on whether or not it was a mistake to send American troops to fight in Afghanistan. 39% of Americans now say that it was a mistake, while 37% say that it was not. Both Democrats (44% to 32%) and independents (41% to 34%) tend to say that sending troops was a mistake, but Republicans (60% to 18%) overwhelmingly say that it was not a mistake.
The public also doubt whether or not the Afghan government can win the war without direct American combat assistance, with only 11% of the public saying that they can defeat the Taliban alone while 72% say that they need American combat troops to win.
Full poll results can be found here and topline results and margin of error here.
