Tuesday, February 4, 2014

US Public: Wars In Iraq and Afghanistan 'Failures'

New poll finds bleak outlooks, with Republican attitudes towards Iraq war significantly more grim

(Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle)
Sarah Lazare
Common Dreams

Protest in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday March 21, 2009 for the International Day of Action on the 6th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq. The U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — two of the longest in U.S. history, waged simultaneously for nearly 9 years with the Afghanistan war now stretching into its 13th — are considered failures by a majority of the U.S. public.

This is according to a poll, released Thursday by Pew Research Center and USA Today, which finds that 52% say the U.S. "mostly failed" to reach its goals in Iraq, with 37% saying "it has mostly succeeded." Respondents gave nearly identical answers when asked about the war in Afghanistan.

"Especially looking at the escalating sectarianism and violence today that is directly the result of the U.S. wars and occupations, it is not surprising that an even a bigger majority recognizes that these wars are failures," said Phyllis Bennis, senior fellow at Institute for Policy Studies, in an interview with Common Dreams.

The assessments reflected in the poll, which was conducted Jan. 15-19 with 1,504 adult respondents, are significantly more bleak than previous ones. In November 2011, 56% of respondents said the U.S. had achieved its goals in Iraq, and in June 2011, 58% predicted that the U.S. would achieve its goals in Afghanistan.

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