Americans narrowly oppose sending new troops to Afghanistan, with some of the strongest opposition coming from President Barack Obama's political party, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll. Poll: Majority opposes Afghan surge

Americans narrowly oppose sending new troops to Afghanistan, with some of the strongest opposition coming from President Barack Obama’s political party, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

According to the Post, 47 percent of those surveyed favor a substantial buildup of U.S. forces, along the lines recommended by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, while 49 percent oppose it.


Confidence in Obama’s handling of the Afghanistan issue has eroded since the spring, the newspaper said: “In the latest poll, 45 percent approve, down 10 percentage points in the past month alone, and 47 percent disapprove, an increase of 10 points. Nearly a third of those surveyed say they strongly disapprove.”

Although “the sharpest drop in support for Obama’s work on Afghanistan has come among Republicans,” the Post said, “Obama faces a possible loss of support among his Democratic base if he decides to order the kind of substantial troop increase McChrystal recommended. Just a third of Democrats favor sending about 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, with 61 percent opposed — 51 percent strongly so.”