Though not pleased by the scenes of chaos at Kabul airport, Americans overwhelmingly approve of U.S. forces leaving Afghanistan. The 8/10 approval rating (a truly exceptional unanimity in an exceptionally polarized country) makes a mockery of the editorialized disapproval emanating from mainstream media and a foreign policy establishment horrified that a career-building war is over. These two groups have been together described as "the blob"—an amorphous floating world of journalists, lobbyists and contractors whose investment in forever war has crashed faster and harder than expected.
polls have shown growing weariness among Americans over the long war in Afghanistan, which began in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and has since cost the United States roughly $2 trillion and the lives of 2,461 military personnel. That contributes to the popularity of Biden's decision to end it.
The new Post-ABC poll shows 77 percent of Americans saying they support the decision to withdraw all U.S. forces. Support crosses party lines, with 88 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of independents aligned behind the decision.
The story nonetheless assumes Biden's slipping approval rating is largely due to Afghanistan. But the story itself suggests a more complex picture: Biden's approval rating was already sinking before the evacuation and the continued Covid pandemic was (and is) the main cause.
