Most People Not Confident U.S. Policies in Afghanistan Will Be Successful

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest Harris Poll of American attitudes on Afghanistan finds that only 12% of all adults are confident that U.S. policies there will be successful and fully 60% are not confident. It also finds that the public gives President Obama 58% negative and just 31% positive ratings on his handling of Afghanistan.

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However, only one quarter (26%) of the public think that the U.S. should withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan now.  One-third (34%) believe the U.S. should set a timetable for withdrawal while one in five say more troops should be sent to Afghanistan for a few months to stabilize the situation (22%) or are not sure (19%).

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 3,084 adults surveyed online between October 11 and 18, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

Other findings in this Harris poll include:

• The near 2-to-1 majority of all adults (58% to 31%) who give President Obama negative ratings has changed little since June (59% negative; 29% positive) but is more negative than it was in January (53% negative; 38% positive);
• While half of Democrats (50%) give President Obama positive ratings on his handling of Afghanistan, almost two in five (38%) give him negative ratings, as do four in five Republicans (80%) and two-thirds of Independents (66%);
• The 60% majority who are not confident that U.S. policies in Afghanistan will be successful has increased from 55% in June and 53% in January; and,
• Most people either see no real change in the situation in Afghanistan (49%) or are not sure (13%). Among those with an opinion, many more people think the situation is getting worse (27%) than think it is getting better (11%).

So What?

Given these polling numbers, the Democrats are perhaps lucky that so little attention has been paid to the situation in Afghanistan leading up to the mid-term elections. However, President Obama may not be as lucky as he starts planning for his re-election.

TABLE 1

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND AFGHANISTAN

"How would you rate the job President Obama has done in handling Afghanistan over the last several months?"

TABLE 2

SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN

"Do you think that the situation in Afghanistan is…?"

TABLE 3

CONFIDENCE IN POLICIES IN AFGHANISTAN

"How confident are you that U.S. policies in Afghanistan will be successful?"

TABLE 4

ACTIONS US SHOULD TAKE CONCERNING TROOPS

"Which of the following possible scenarios would you like to see the US government undertake with regard to Afghanistan?"

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between October 11 to 18, 2010 among 3,084 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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Q855, 857, 860, 865

The Harris Poll® #133, November 2, 2010

By Humphrey Taylor, Chairman, The Harris Poll

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com

SOURCE Harris Interactive