Poll Finds US, NATO And Kabul Government Are Losing Ground Among The Afghan People

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

Support for the Kabul government and the United States and European troops trying to bolster it against insurgents is plummeting among the Afghan people, a new poll reports.

The decline is striking particularly in the last year, the poll shows, even as the Obama administration and NATO allies weigh moves to strengthen forces in the struggle with Taliban and other radical groups.

President Barack Obama has assigned high priority to the conflict and the administration is weighing whether to send another 30,000 U.S. troops there, almost doubling the 32,000 present.
Afghan boys wait for customer to sell balloons in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday,
His election, however, does not appear to hold much promise among the Afghan people: Two in 10 think he will make things better for the Afghan people and nearly as many think he will make things worse. The rest either expect no change or are waiting to see.

The poll, conducted by ABC News, the BBC and ARD German TV found, for instance, that the number of Afghans who say their country is headed in the right direction has dropped from 77 percent in 1995 to 40 percent now. That new and lower level is the first time less than half the Afghans polled were found to approve.

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