The majority of veterans and military households are ready for the United States to leave Afghanistan, according to new polling commissioned by Concerned Veterans for America.
The national survey found 73 percent of veterans and 69 percent of military households support withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. Those numbers are up 13 percentage points and nine percentage points, respectively, from CVA’s last poll in 2019.
Polling found similar feelings toward leaving Iraq, as 71 percent of veterans and 69 percent of military households would support removing troops.
“It’s no surprise to see growing majorities of veterans and military families supportive of less military engagement around the world,” said CVA Executive Director Nate Anderson in a statement. “These groups have borne the burden of America’s foreign policy in recent decades, and it is becoming clearer that our interests are not served by endless wars and aimless nation building exercises in the Middle East.”
CVA’s polling also showed a positive trend in opinions about the Department of Veterans Affairs. When asked about VA health care, 41 percent of veterans and 30 percent of military households said VA care has gotten better, up from 36 percent and 23 percent, respectively, last year.
In the time between last year’s polling and this year’s, the VA has expanded veterans’ access to community health care under the VA MISSION Act, giving more vets the option to seek care outside the VA and providing the VA more flexibility to see patients.
Vets and their families continue to support more health care choice for veterans, with nearly 90 percent of both groups in favor of allowing veterans to use their health benefits to seek care from non-VA providers.
Our polling results confirm veterans want to protect their own, whether through more access to needed medical care or by ending our entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’ll continue advocating for policies that put veterans at the center of their health care and keep our fellow service members out of harm’s way when possible.
Do you agree with the veterans and military families we surveyed? Tell Washington it’s time to end endless wars and bring our troops home.