A solid majority of Americans want U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan, and just 22 percent think the United States has a clearly defined mission there, according to a
new Rasmussen Reports poll.
The Aug. 9 and 10 poll of 1,000 likely voters comes just days after Taliban forces shot down a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan. Thirty American troops were killed, including 22 Navy SEALs.
The poll found 59 percent of likely American voters want U.S. troops to come home immediately or within a year. That number is up from 51 percent in June, 52 percent in March, 43 percent in September 2010, and 39 percent in September 2009.
Support for the war is clearly dropping as the nearly decade-long conflict drags on. Only 22 percent said there is a clearly defined mission in Afghanistan.
In earlier polls, most Republicans opposed any firm timetable for bringing the troops home. But in the new survey, 43 percent of Republicans now support pulling out within a year, while 42 percent oppose a firm timetable.
On another international front, support for the U.S. military mission in Libya has dropped to 24 percent, while 75 percent of voters say the United States should not commit to military action overseas “unless the cause is vital to our national interest.”
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