AFGHANISTAN WARMost Americans View War in Afghanistan as Not Worth Fighting, Unsuccessful

Less than a quarter of adults say the U.S. was successful in developing a functioning government or improving opportunities for women in Afghanistan.

Two-thirds of adults say the American war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting, and more adults view Afghanistan as an adversary than an ally.

These are among the findings of a new study from The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released today ahead of the 2023 Pearson Global Forum. The Forum on October 20th will bring together researchers and policymakers to address these issues and develop strategies to prevent and resolve international conflicts.

The survey shows 41% think Afghanistan is an enemy and another 42% say it is unfriendly, while only 14% report it is an ally or friendly nation.

Although 46% of adults believe the U.S. was successful in apprehending or eliminating those responsible for the 9/11 attacks during the war, only 16% say the U.S. was successful in its mission to develop a functioning government and only 22% say the same about improving opportunities for women in Afghanistan.

In terms of current foreign policy goals in Afghanistan, majorities say it is at least somewhat important to eliminate the threat of Islamic extremists taking shelter in the country (77%) and advance the rights of women and girls (74%).

“The findings show that few think the U.S. succeeded during the war in improving opportunities for Afghan women, but most still view advancing the rights of Afghan women as an important foreign policy goal,” said Sheila Kohanteb, Forum Executive Director at The Pearson Institute for Study and Resolution of Global Conflict. “The public clearly believes the U.S. should try to help improve the situation of Afghan women, and many continue to hear about the restrictions being placed on women in Afghanistan.”

Majorities of adults report hearing at least some news about recent events in Afghanistan such as the 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal (68%) and the Taliban restricting the rights of Afghan women (64%).

When it comes to the broader U.S. role in international affairs, 24% say the U.S. should be more active, 42% believe its current role is about right, and 33% say it should be less active.

Those who say the U.S. should take a more active role in solving the world’s problems are more likely to rate U.S. foreign policy goals in Afghanistan as important. For example, 80% of those who say the U.S. should take a more active role in the world report it is important to advance the rights of women in Afghanistan compared with 61% who believe the U.S. should take a less active role.

“There is no clear public consensus on the role the U.S. should play in international affairs as about a quarter say more active, a third say less active, and the rest want to keep its current role,” said David Sterrett, a senior research scientist with The AP-NORC Center. “This study highlights how these views about the broader role of the U.S. in international affairs are closely related to attitudes about Afghanistan.”