Americans are anxious about war in Afghanistan, but willing to see it extended

A recent poll by USAToday/GallupPoll on American attitudes on the Afghanistan war finds increasing skepticism and anxiety among the majority of respondents. Some of the main results of the poll are presented in graphic form in USA Today, December 1, 2010. The full source is: Julie Snider, "Americans view Afghanistan war with skepticism, anxiety," USA Today.

There are three findings from the poll that strike me as important, though disheartening. On the positive side for those of us who would like to see the war ended soon (say, by the end of 2011), the poll does find that:

(1) fifty-four percent of those interviewed agree that the war is going "moderately badly" (38%) or "very badly" (16%.);

(2) sixty-eight percent are concerned about the costs of the war, including those who responded "very worried" (31%) and those who responded "somewhat worried" (38%).

At first glimpse, these findings suggest that the majority of American people are ready to support a relatively expeditious withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Think again.

At the same time, on the negative side from my perspective as an opponent of the war and occupation, sixty percent agree that the war should be extended beyond 2011, with 20 percent agreeing with "Obama's 2014 time table," and forty percent agreeing that the troops should remain "until the job is done."

So, more people worry that the war in Afghanistan is not going so well, and worry about the costs of the war, but still go along with the idea that the war and occupation should be extended until the end of 2014, when a withdrawal of troops would begin, or believe that it should go on until military leaders and defense officials tell them that we have achieved some yet not clearly defined goal or goals.

What this means is that the war/occupation, already in its tenth year, could continue for even another 5-10 years. Ask yourself who benefits. One big winner is that the US military-industrial complex keeps Afghanistan as a major justification for enormous "defense" budgets, contracts, and, yes, jobs. Another winner are those who believe that the US should have a huge military to maintain some sort of US hegemony, hundreds of military bases worldwide, and military interventions in countries that are not friendly to US interests, as defined by certain elites. Who loses? Those who want and need opportunities at home for jobs, health care, pension benefits, a decent safety net, and those who are ready to jump start and advance a truly green economy.

Stop the Afghanistan War stumbles on and the American people, more or less, go along, even when it is not in their interests to do so.