CNN Poll: Afghanistan War opposition at all-time high

[laststeamtrain]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is at an all-time high in a new national poll.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday say they oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan, with 42 percent supporting the military mission. The percentage of those in opposition to the war is up 11 points since April, and is the highest ever in CNN polling since the launch of the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

The poll indicates that opposition to the war is coming mainly from Democrats and independents.

“Fifty-seven percent of independents and nearly three-quarters of Democrats oppose the war. Seven in 10 Republicans support what the U.S. is doing in Afghanistan,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “Democrats mildly opposed the war in April while independents and Republicans favored it. But opposition has grown 18 points among Democrats and 10 points among independents.”

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/01/cnn-poll-afghanistan-war-opposition-at-all-time-high/

[joeybee12]

If that POS known as Bush and Satan (Cheney) had put resources into

Afghanistan at the beginning, and had not started that USELESS, POINTLESS, CRIMINAL INVASION of Iraq, we wouldn't be at this point...the taliban would be gone, peace would reign.

[frylock]

6. if russia hadn't gone into iraq..

they prolly could've won in afghanistan as well.

[laststeamtrain]

8. Cheeky monkey.

:hi:

[damntexdem]

13. The initial intervention made sense -- except for who was doing it.

And they screwed it up so much that there's not much to salvage. At the very least, there should be no troop increases, and a draw down.

[Yupster]

15. The original idea was

that Afghans would never accept foreign troops in their country so the original invasion was accomplished with CIA agents and a few troops calling in air support and supplies for the "Northern Alliance".

Remember Osama got out of Tora Bora because there weren't any American troops around.

Then when we put in Karzai we brought in troops but they were purposely kept out of populated areas and only operated in the mountains trying to chase the Taliban around.

Since then we've seen classic mission creep. All the things we said would never work we are now doing.

Doesn't anyone in the White House realize we are doing what we said would never work? It all seems completely insane to me.

[saigon68]

16. Its totally insane, General McCrazy now wants 14,000 more "Trigger Pullers"

To establish a "Democracy" we need 14,000 more, 18 year old "Trigger Pullers"

What we will get is DOZENS OF NEW GOLD STAR MOTHERS PER MONTH. This whole thing will end badly for the "Present Occupant".

the article below

Reporting from Washington - U.S. officials are planning to add as many as 14,000 combat troops to the American force in Afghanistan by sending home support units and replacing them with "trigger-pullers," Defense officials say.

The move would beef up the combat force in the country without increasing the overall number of U.S. troops, a contentious issue as public support for the war slips. But many of the noncombat jobs are likely be filled by private contractors, who have proved to be a source of controversy in Iraq and a growing issue in Afghanistan.

The plan reflects the view that much of the military bureaucracy that has built up in Afghanistan no longer serves a useful purpose. Services performed by troops that are no longer considered crucial could be outsourced to contractors or eliminated, officials said.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/afghanistan/la-fg-afghan-troops2-2009sep02,0,6263790,full.story

[polichick]

1. Time to stop nation building, and instead use the military for defense. nt

[PeaceDreamer]

2. Get the US out of Afghanistan Now!

Obama has repeatedly said he will increase troops to Afghanistan and this war is necessary. He owns it and needs to stop it.

[Mari333]

3. you hear that Obama? thats the sound of a sanity

get the hell out of iraq and afghanistan. NO troops at all.

[create.peace]

4. A Little Girl in Kabul

http://www.truthout.org/090109A
Yesterday, I met a little girl named Guljumma. She's seven years old, and she lives in Kabul at a place called Helmand Refugee Camp District 5.

[No Elephants]

5. It's at an all time high because Republicans are opposing war in Afghanistan, for some reason.

Where was their opposition to the war in Iraq? And if they thought Iraq was great, why do they oppose war in Afghanistan? Just because Obama wants it?

I get very nervous whenever Republicans are on the same side as I am.

[laststeamtrain]

9. Political flack distorts things. n/t.

[Crowman2009]

10. There are four different reasons why:

1)They realized the rethugs are full of shit.

2)They grew a brain and realized that war is not the answer.

3)Their talk show handlers stopped feeding them info.

4)That (insert racial slur here) is president.

[No Elephants]

19. I'd rule out 1 and 2. IMO, Republicans who have brains lack honesty.

[durablend]

20. I'll choose #4 FTW n/t

[Soylent Brice]

7. AHEM:

[DonMeyer]

11. Even George Will Wants The Us Out

I hate to see more troops injured and killed, but I also don't want to abandon the women and children of Afghanistan. Hopefully Obama's surge helps to bring the country into the 20th century with women being allowed to go to school.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. How does killing people help the women & children?

You think you're gonna change that culture by bombing them? The fact is, for hundreds of years various outsiders--Indians, Brits, Russians, and now us, have tried to rule Afghanistan. Nobody ever did it. Nobody is going to do it, least of all, us. You think we're gonna smash the Taliban or something? They'll just duck into Pakistan until the scene cools. Should we be at war with Pakistan too?

[saigon68]

17. Good Point JR

Remember how they went back to Cambodia for years.

Redux 1968.

[ima_sinnic]

22. oh right, get with the "20th century" while applying Stone Age methods

Turning their country into a parking lot does NOT help anybody.


And if you think the U.S. is in Afghanistan to rescue the women and children, I have a bridge to sell you.

[FreedomTrain]

14. 75% of Democrats OPPOSE this war

Yet Obama does not get it. Go figure. When are we marching on Washington?

[Jackpine Radical]

18. We marched on a Democratic President before when he had us in a stupid war.

[polly7]

21. I wonder if these cases were reported in the media if it would have

any effect on staying or leaving Afghanistan.

"We didn't recognise any of the dead when we arrived," said Omar Khan, the turbaned village chief of Eissa Khail. "It was like a chemical bomb had gone off, everything was burned. The bodies were like this," he brought his two hands together, his fingers curling like claws. "There were like burned tree logs, like charcoal.

"The villagers were fighting over the corpses. People were saying this is my brother, this is my cousin, and no one could identify anyone."

So the elders stepped in. They collected all the bodies they could and asked the people to tell them how many relatives each family had lost.

A queue formed. One by one the bereaved gave the names of missing brothers, cousins, sons and nephews, and each in turn received their quota of corpses. It didn't matter who was who, everyone was mangled beyond recognition anyway. All that mattered was that they had a body to bury and perform prayers upon.

"A man comes and says, 'I lost my brother and cousin', so we gave him two bodies," said Omar Khan. "Another says I lost five relatives, so we gave him five bodies to take home and bury. When we had run out of bodies we started giving them limbs, legs, arms, torsos." In the end only five families went away without anything. "Their sons are still missing."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/11/afghanistan-airstrike-victims-stories