Sixty-six percent of veterans think Afghanistan and Iraq aren't worth the cost, a poll says. Poll: 1 in 3 vets say wars worth it

Only one in three veterans think the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were worth fighting, according to a new poll Wednesday.

As the U.S. marks the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan this week, 34 percent of post-Sept. 11 veterans said in a Pew Research Center survey that combat in Afghanistan and Iraq was worth it, given the costs and benefits to the nation.


On the other hand, 33 percent said the two wars were not worth fighting, Pew found.

While the poll indicated that 96 percent of modern-era vets felt “proud” of their service in the military, it also revealed the burdens of military service.

Just less than half of the veterans, 48 percent, said they have felt strains in family relations since leaving the military, 47 percent said they frequently felt irritable or angry, and 44 percent said they had problems reentering civilian life. Almost 37 percent of the vets said they have suffered from post-traumatic stress as a result of military service.

But even despite these hardships, 82 percent of recent veterans said they would advise a young person to enlist in the military.

According to the poll, 88 percent of post-Sept. 11 veterans indicated that serving their country was an important reason why they joined the military. For almost three out of 10 modern-era veterans, the economic downturn was also a significant reason — 28 percent said difficulty in finding jobs was a big reason they enlisted.

More than eight in 10 suggested that the American public has little or no understanding of the problems armed service members face. The majority (71 percent) of the nonmilitary respondents agreed with this, but only 26 percent of the public said this gap was “unfair,” while 70 percent said that is “just part of being in the military.”

The survey was conducted between July 28 and Sept. 15 among 1,853 veterans and 2,003 nonmilitary respondents.

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