Pew Poll: Vets Say Afghanistan, Iraq Wars Not Worth It

Majorities of U.S. military veterans say the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were not worth fighting, a new poll showed Wednesday.

According to the Pew Research Center survey, 64% of vets say the war in Iraq was not worth fighting considering the costs versus the benefits to the United States; 33% say it was. 

Similarly, 58% of vets say the Iraq war was not worth it, compared with 32% who say it was.

The general public's views are nearly identical: 62% of Americans overall say the Iraq war was not worth it, while 32% say it was; 59% of the public says the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting, less than 40% say it was.

The results turned up a gap between Republicans and Democrats on the issue, with GOP vets "much more likely" than Democrats to say the wars were worth fighting, the survey found. While 45% of Republican vets said the Iraq War was worth fighting, only 15% of Democratic vets said the same.

Similarly, 46% of GOP vets and 26% of Democratic vets say the same about Afghanistan. The party gaps are nearly identical among the public, the study found.

Views on U.S. military engagement in Syria are also more negative than positive. Among veterans, 42% say the campaign in Syria has been worth it, while 55% say it has not. The public views mirror those as well: 36% say U.S. efforts in Syria have been worthwhile, 58% say they have not.

The survey's margin of error for the the veteran respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points; for the general population sample, the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

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