Barack Obama said repeatedly on the campaign trail that the war on terror was being fought on the wrong front, and 71% of U.S. voters say he is likely to send more troops to Afghanistan in his first year in the White House. Forty-five percent (45%) say it”s Very Likely.
Just four percent (4%) say it is not at all likely to happen, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of voters also expect things to get worse in Afghanistan over the next year. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say they will get better, and 20% believe things will stay about the same. Fourteen percent (14%) aren”t sure.
Obama is just a point below his highest level to date in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Approval Index for Monday.
While Obama talked of shifting troops from Iraq to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, 62% of voters say it is Very Likely that U.S. combat troops will still be in Iraq at the end of the year, with another 25% saying it is somewhat likely.
Voters are more optimistic about Iraq in the long-term. Fifty-three percent (53%) say U.S. combat troops are still likely to be there four years from now, but just 26% say that is Very Likely to be the case. Only eight percent (8%) believe it is not at all likely that combat troops will still be in Iraq.
A partisan divide was clear throughout the survey, however, with Democrats far more confident about Obama”s dealings in Afghanistan and Iraq than Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
