American support for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has dropped sharply after the Taliban's stunning return to power, according to an opinion poll out Tuesday.
A Politico-Morning Consult survey of nearly 2,000 US voters showed that only 49 per cent approve of the pullout, compared to 69 per cent in April, when President Joe Biden announced that all US troops must be out of Afghanistan by September 11, though he later moved that date up to August 21.
Among Democrats, support dropped from 84 to 69 per cent, among Republicans it fell from 52 to 31 per cent.
The survey, conducted August 13-16, came as the Taliban captured Kabul and most other main Afghan cities with little resistance, while the US-backed government fled the country.
Biden dispatched 6,000 US troops to evacuate some 30,000 Americans and Afghan civilians who fear for their lives under the new regime, amid scenes of chaos and mayhem at the Kabul airport.
Biden had been counting on public support for his decision to end America's longest war launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But 51 per cent of the survey's respondents said they disapproved of the way the pullout was handled. And 45 per cent believe that the US should not have left Afghanistan if that meant ceding power to the Taliban.
The survey was conducted among a sample of 1,999 registered American voters and had a margin of error of 2 per centage points.
Biden defended his decision to withdraw US troops on Monday, though he admitted that the Taliban advance unfolded more quickly than anticipated.