Support in U.S. for Afghan War Drops Sharply, Poll Finds/New York Times

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

We lost (again). Get out, now. Get over it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/world/asia/support-for-afghan-war-falls-in-us-poll-finds.html

The survey found that more than two-thirds of those polled — 69 percent — thought that the United States should not be at war in Afghanistan. Just four months ago, 53 percent said that Americans should no longer be fighting in the conflict, more than a decade old.

The increased disillusionment was even more pronounced when respondents were asked their impressions of how the war was going. The poll found that 68 percent thought the fighting was going “somewhat badly” or “very badly,” compared with 42 percent who had those impressions in November.

Negative impressions of the war have grown among Republicans as well as Democrats, according to the Times/CBS News poll. Among Republicans, 60 percent said the war was going somewhat or very badly, compared with 40 percent in November. Among Democrats, 68 percent said the war was going somewhat or very badly, compared with 38 percent in November. But the poll found that Republicans were more likely to want to stay in Afghanistan for as long as it would take to stabilize the situation: 3 in 10 said the United States should stay, compared with 2 in 10 independents and 1 in 10 Democrats.

Among poll respondents, 44 percent said that the United States should withdraw sooner than 2014, while 33 percent said the administration should stick to the current timetable, 17 percent said the United States should stay as long as it would take to stabilize the current situation and 3 percent said the United States should withdraw now.

[PoliticAverse]

1. Declare victory, come home. n/t

[chill_wind]

2. What we could have had.

Taxpayers in The United States will pay $111.1 billion for Afghanistan war spending for FY2012 Enacted. For the same amount of money, the following could be provided:

51.1 million Annual Energy Costs for a Household for One Year OR
56.9 million Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
1.6 million Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
10.7 million Fair Market Rent for One Bedroom Apartment for One Year OR
1.9 million Firefighters for One Year OR
14.6 million Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR
47.9 million Households Converted to All Solar Energy for One Year OR
100.6 million Households Converted to All Wind Energy for One Year OR
14.2 million Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year OR
53.1 million One Year Worth of Groceries for an Individual OR
22.8 million People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
1.6 million Police or Sheriff's Patrol Officers for One Year OR
14.1 million Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
20.0 million Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550

http://costofwar.com/en/tradeoffs/state/US/program/13/tradeoff/0

Taxpayers in The United States have paid $570.9 billion for Total Afghanistan War Spending Since FY2001. For the same amount of money, the following could be provided:

262.8 million Annual Energy Costs for a Household for One Year OR
292.6 million Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
8.4 million Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR
55.2 million Fair Market Rent for One Bedroom Apartment for One Year OR
9.6 million Firefighters for One Year OR
75.1 million Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR
246.2 million Households Converted to All Solar Energy for One Year OR
517.1 million Households Converted to All Wind Energy for One Year OR
73.2 million Military Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care for One Year OR
272.8 million One Year Worth of Groceries for an Individual OR
117.4 million People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR
8.2 million Police or Sheriff's Patrol Officers for One Year OR
72.4 million Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
102.9 million Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550

http://costofwar.com/en/tradeoffs/state/US/program/3/tradeoff/0