What Americans really think about US policy toward Syria, Iran, and Afghanistan

The following is based on new findings from two consecutive University of Maryland Critical Issues Polls, conducted September 3-20, and October 4-10. … From the day President Trump announced his decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, which we started measuring on October 7, support for his move was low, […] Read more »

Majorities of U.S. veterans, public say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting

Nearly 18 years since the start of the war in Afghanistan and 16 years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, majorities of U.S. military veterans say those wars were not worth fighting, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of veterans. A parallel survey of American adults finds that […] Read more »

Americans’ Favorable Views of China Take 12-Point Hit

After a year of escalating trade disagreements between the U.S. and China, Americans’ views of the country have dropped sharply to their lowest levels since 2012. Currently, 41% of Americans say they have a favorable view of China — down 12 percentage points from last year. … Americans’ neighbor to […] Read more »

Trump’s base did not elect him to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan

President Trump has faced bipartisan criticism over his decision to withdraw troops from Syria. Most notably, Jim Mattis resigned as secretary of defense in protest. Trump’s answer to the critiques? He tweeted: “I campaigned on getting out of Syria and other places. … Just doing what I said I was […] Read more »