One in Three.

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | October 5, 2011 | +

A U.S. soldier in Zabul province, Afghanistan / Air Force photo by Brian Ferguson

U.S. Army Sgt. Johnny Hoyos, left, assigned to the Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) security force, provides security as an engineer with the Zabul PRT inspects a canal project site in Zabul province, Afghanistan, June 14, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson/Released)

Thirty-four percent, to be precise. That’s how many veterans believe the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were worth fighting, according to a new and dispiriting – but not surprising – Pew Research Center poll. Americans prefer wars like the first Gulf War – 100 days of bombing, followed by 96 hours of ground combat, then a victory parade in D.C. — not wars like Afghanistan: 100 hours of bombing, followed by 10 years on the ground, and counting. The poll failed to figure out why the nation’s leaders don’t grasp this fact.

Related Topics: 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Military, National Security, Pentagon, Politics, President Obama, Troops, Veterans

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