Attitudes about the conflict—not surprisingly—are intensely colored by political partisanship. Gallup finds a mere 20 percent of Republicans believe the war was a mistake, compared with 64 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats. When asked what to do about troop levels, only 44 percent of Republicans favor the withdrawal of some or all troops, while 64 percent of independents and 81 percent of Democrats favor the same.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.