Afghanistan

In general, how would you say things are going for the U.S. in Afghanistan -- [ROTATED: very well, moderately well, moderately badly, (or) very badly]?

Next we have some questions about Afghanistan. As you may know, President Obama on Wednesday announced plans to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year, 20,000 more by the end of summer 2012, and the remainder by the end of 2014. In general, do you favor or oppose this plan?

What is your view of withdrawing 30,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan over the next 15 months -- do you think that number is too high, about right, or too low?

Which comes closest to your view about the timetable President Obama has set for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan -- you agree with that timetable, you think the U.S. should withdraw its troops sooner than the president specified, or you do not think the U.S. should set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan?

How worried are you that the costs of the war in Afghanistan will make it more difficult for the government to address the problems facing the United States at home -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried or not worried at all?

How worried are you that that withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan will make the United States more vulnerable to terrorist attacks -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried or not worried at all?

How confident are you that the government of Afghanistan will be able to handle the responsibility for making the country secure after most U.S. forces are withdrawn -- very confident, somewhat confident, not too confident or not confident at all?

Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: the U.S. has accomplished its mission in Afghanistan and should bring its troops home, (or) the U.S. still has important work to do in Afghanistan and should maintain its troops there]?

Next, how important do you think what happens in each of the following countries is to the United States today -- would you say it is vitally important, important but not vital, not too important, or not at all important? First, how about what happens in … [RANDOM ORDER]?

Afghanistan

As you may know, President Obama plans to complete withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year 2014. Which comes closest to your view -- [ROTATED: you agree with the timetable of removing U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, you think the U.S. should complete withdrawing combat troops from Afghanistan before the end of 2014, (or) you think the U.S. should not set a timetable and keep combat troops in Afghanistan as long as needed to achieve its objectives there]?

How worried are you that the costs of the war in Afghanistan will make it more difficult for the government to address the problems facing the United States at home -- very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all?

If you had to choose, which do you think is better for the U.S. -- [ROTATED: to keep a significant number of troops in Afghanistan until the situation there gets better, even if that takes many years, (or) to set a timetable for removing troops from Afghanistan and to stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Afghanistan at the time]?

(Asked of those who say it is better for the U.S. to set a timetable for removing troops from Afghanistan) Do you think the United States should withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan as rapidly as possible, starting now, or should the U.S. set a timetable that calls for a more gradual withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan?

BASED ON ADULTS who FAVOR a timetable for removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan

COMBINED RESPONSES: BASED ON FULL SAMPLE OF NATIONAL ADULTS

Next, how closely are you following the news that thousands of classified documents about the war in Afghanistan were leaked to an Internet site that published the documents -- very closely, somewhat closely, not too closely, or not at all?

As you may know, the documents about the war in Afghanistan were leaked to a website called "Wikileaks." Do you think it was right or wrong for that website to publish those documents?

Which of the following would you like to see President Obama do -- [ROTATED: increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the roughly 40,000 the U.S. commanding general there has recommended, increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan but by a smaller amount than the 40,000 the U.S. commanding general there has recommended, keep the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan the same as now, (or)begin to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan]?

As you may know, this week Barack Obama ordered the deployment of 17,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Do you approve or disapprove of this decision?

(Asked of those who approve of sending 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan) If Barack Obama later decides to send 13,000 more troops to Afghanistan in addition to the 17,000 he has already authorized, would you approve or disapprove?

(Asked of those who disapprove of sending 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan) Which of the following best describes the reason why you disapprove of sending 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan-- you think the U.S. should maintain the current number of troops it has in Afghanistan, you think the U.S. should reduce the number of troops it has in Afghanistan, or you think the U.S. should withdraw all of its troops from Afghanistan?

COMBINED RESPONSES

Do you think the United States will or will not be able to establish a stable enough situation in Afghanistan so that it can withdraw most U.S. troops from that country within the next three years?

(Asked of those who think U.S. will not be able to establish stable situation in Afghanistan within next three years) Which do you think is more likely to happen in Afghanistan over the next three years -- [ROTATED: it will be a stalemate with neither the United States nor the Taliban winning, (or) the Taliban will regain control of Afghanistan and the United States will be forced to withdraw its troops]?

COMBINED RESPONSES

If you had to choose, which do you think is better for the U.S. -- [ROTATED: to keep a significant number of troops in Afghanistan until the situation there gets better, even if that takes many years, (or) to set a timetable for removing troops from Afghanistan and to stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Afghanistan at the time]?

(Asked of those who favor a timetable for removing U.S. troops from Afghanistan) For how many more years do you think the United States should have a significant number of troops in Afghanistan? [OPEN-ENDED]

BASED ON THOSE WHO FAVOR A TIMETABLE FOR WITHDRAWING U.S. TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN

COMBINED RESPONSES: BASED ON NATIONAL ADULTS

What should be the primary goal for the United States in Afghanistan -- [ROTATED: building a stable democratic government in Afghanistan (or) weakening terrorists' ability to stage attacks against the United States]?

If the United States and its allies withdrew their forces from Afghanistan, do you think Afghanistan will or will not fall under control of the Taliban?

(Asked of a half sample) Would you favor or oppose sending additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to fight al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist operations in that country?

(Asked of a half sample) Would you favor or oppose moving U.S. troops from Iraq to Afghanistan in order to fight al Qaeda and Taliban terrorist operations in Afghanistan?

If you had to choose, which is the more important war for the United States -- [ROTATED: the war in Iraq (or) the war in Afghanistan]?

Do you approve or disapprove of U.S. military action in Afghanistan?

Which comes closer to your view -- [ROTATED: the U.S. accomplishments in Afghanistan will be a success even if Osama bin Laden is not captured, (or) the U.S. accomplishments in Afghanistan will not be a success until Osama bin Laden is captured]?

If you had to choose, which of the following would you say is the most important goal of the U.S. military action in Afghanistan -- [ROTATED: destroying terrorist operations in Afghanistan, (or) capturing or killing Osama bin Laden, (or) removing the Taliban from power in Afghanistan]?