Opposing Drifts in Sentiment on Iraq and Afghanistan

7/18/2009, by Proloy Bhatta

HIGHLIGHTS

• 61% think the Afghanistan war is just.
• 58% believe the Iraq war was a mistake.
• BBC says this is the bloodiest month in Afghanistan in years.

The Gallup Poll has been polling adults nationwide whether they believe the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were a mistake or not.

The mood of Americans are shifting about the wars but in different directions. Adults are now more likely to feel that Afghanistan was not a mistake than they were in March, while more likely to state that the war in Iraq was a mistake.

Source: Gallup Poll, July 10-12, 2009.

According to CNN in a poll they conducted earlier this month, 34% and 50% favored the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, respectively.

The shift in sentiment about these wars is correlated with the Obama administration's renewed focus in Afghanistan. He has been calling the war in Iraq a "war of choice" while stating that the war in Afghanistan was a "just war".

The attention we pay to Afghanistan is positively correlated to the number of casulaties we will see. Watch this YouTube video by BBC News stating that this month was the deadliest month in Afghanistan in years.

The question we have to ask ourselves is, "If the death toll continues at an alarming pace, will Americans continue to support this war?".