WASHINGTON -- American support for the war in Afghanistan fell to a record low as attacks on U.S. troops and their allies reached record highs, a USA Today poll indicates.
Forty-two percent of respondents in the weekend poll said the United States made "a mistake" in sending troops to Afghanistan, up from 30 percent in January, the USA Today-Gallup Poll released Tuesday indicated.
Those who said the war is going well fell to 38 percent in the latest poll, the lowest percentage since the question was added in September 2006, pollsters said.
Attacks with improvised explosive devices killed 32 coalition troops in the first two months of 2009, triple the number for the same period in 2008. A roadside bomb detonated Sunday, killing four U.S. troops.
The poll indicated more optimism for war in Iraq, where security gains lowered U.S. casualties. In 2008, 314 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq compared with 904 in 2007.
A majority -- 51 percent -- said the war is going well there, while respondents indicating they thought the war in Iraq was going badly totaled 43 percent.
The nationwide poll contacted 997 adults Saturday and Sunday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
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