Gallup Poll: 72% Approve of Afghan Pullout Plan

Almost three-fourths of Americans supports President Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan starting this year, according to a new Gallup poll.

Obama announced a plan June 22 to remove 10,000 troops this year, 20,000 by summer 2012, and the rest by the end of 2014.

The June 25-26 telephone poll of about 1,000 adults found that 72 percent of the respondents favor the pullout plan, with 23 percent opposed, and 5 percent with no opinion. Republicans were split, with 50 percent in favor, 43 percent opposed, and 8 percent with no opinion. Democrats and independents favored the plan at 87 and 74 percent, respectively.

Respondents were not as supportive of the withdraw timetable, with only 30 percent backing it. That broke down to 45 percent of Democrats, compared with just 19 percent of Republicans who agreed with the rate at which troops would be pulled out.