U.S. public wary of Afghan war effort

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Some Democrats, noting the declining U.S. public support for the Afghan war, are not happy with President Barack Obama's troop surge decision.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said lawmakers are concerned about the additional cost the troop surge would entail and that the United States could find itself in another Vietnam-like situation, Voice of America reported.

"Many members of my caucus, and I believe members of the Republican caucus, perhaps from different philosophical perspectives, will come to the same conclusion, that this is a mistake to move in the direction of this huge troop buildup."

The decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan also comes at a time of declining domestic support for the war, experts said.

"Generally, enthusiasm for the war in Afghanistan is waning, and support for the president's handling of it is dropping," Quinnipiac pollster Peter Brown said, VOA said.

Republican opposition to the Afghan strategy, on the other hand, stems from Obama's plan to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan by July 2011.

"But when you tell your enemies that there is a date when you are going to start leaving, if that is what it is, it emboldens your enemies and dispirits your friends," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Other experts said the best way to build domestic support for the war is to achieve some success on the ground, but that would take time, VOA reported.