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By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 6/9/11 2:22 PM EDT
As the Obama administration prepares to bring some troops home from Afghanistan next month, a new poll finds a sharply rising number of Americans support the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the country.
In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Thursday, 39 percent of those surveyed say that all American forces should be brought home now - up nine percentage points from a poll conducted the day after Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. Another 35 percent say that some troops should be brought home, up one point from last month.
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Early reports suggested that President Barack Obama would approve a plan to withdraw 3,000-5,000 troops in July, though The New York Times reported Monday that some officials are pushing a plan for a larger reduction.
As support for a full withdrawal has grown in the last month, the percentage of Americans wanting troop levels to stay steady has dropped, from 28 percent in May to 18 percent in the new poll.
Americans’ views of whether keeping troops in Afghanistan would be necessary to guard against future terrorist attacks have begun to turn away from keeping U.S. forces there. Forty-five percent of those surveyed say troops are not necessary in Afghanistan, up from 37 percent in September. At the same time, the percentage who say troops are needed has fallen nine points from last year to 53 percent.
And, for all the reassurances that bin Laden is dead, 11 percent of those surveyed say they don’t think he is, while another three percent say they have no opinion. Still, with the Obama administration, members of Congress and even Al Qaeda acknowledging the leader’s death, 86 percent of those surveyed say they believe he’s dead.
The poll surveyed 1,015 adults June 3-7 and has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1OpjiwE88
As the Obama administration prepares to bring some troops home from Afghanistan next month, a new poll finds a sharply rising number of Americans support the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from the country.
In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Thursday, 39 percent of those surveyed say that all American forces should be brought home now - up nine percentage points from a poll conducted the day after Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. Another 35 percent say that some troops should be brought home, up one point from last month.
POLITICO 44
Early reports suggested that President Barack Obama would approve a plan to withdraw 3,000-5,000 troops in July, though The New York Times reported Monday that some officials are pushing a plan for a larger reduction.
As support for a full withdrawal has grown in the last month, the percentage of Americans wanting troop levels to stay steady has dropped, from 28 percent in May to 18 percent in the new poll.
Americans’ views of whether keeping troops in Afghanistan would be necessary to guard against future terrorist attacks have begun to turn away from keeping U.S. forces there. Forty-five percent of those surveyed say troops are not necessary in Afghanistan, up from 37 percent in September. At the same time, the percentage who say troops are needed has fallen nine points from last year to 53 percent.
And, for all the reassurances that bin Laden is dead, 11 percent of those surveyed say they don’t think he is, while another three percent say they have no opinion. Still, with the Obama administration, members of Congress and even Al Qaeda acknowledging the leader’s death, 86 percent of those surveyed say they believe he’s dead.
The poll surveyed 1,015 adults June 3-7 and has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1OpjiwE88
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