New Gallup Poll Echoes our Tea Party survey: 72% of Americans want Congress to reduce Afghan troop presence faster

Will Thomas
Afghanistan Study Group

A USA Today / Gallup poll from January found that 72% of Americans favor Congressional action this year to speed up the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The party breakdown of the poll showed that 86% of Democrats, 72% of independents, and 61% of Republicans would support a move by Congress to speed the withdrawal.

These results echo the findings of the Afghanistan Study Group’s poll, which found that 66% of conservatives overall and 64% of self-identified Tea Party supporters believed that the US could dramatically lower the number of troops and funds spent in Afghanistan without putting America at risk.

The Gallup poll’s evidence of 72% support for a speedier withdrawal among American voters comes as President Obama prepares to deliver his budget request for 2011 on February 14. Republican leaders made a “Pledge to America” as part of their mid-term campaign to win back the House that they would cut $100 billion from the budget if elected. Will they turn their attention to the $120 billion that the US is spending every year to continue the war in Afghanistan during the coming budget battle?

They should if they listen to the 71% of conservatives and 67% of Tea Party members who voted them into office and are worried about the impact of war spending on the budget and a $1.5 trillion national deficit.

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