Only 28 percent of adult Americans surveyed in a Washington Post-ABC News national poll believed the war in Afghanistan has been worth fighting, when considering the costs and benefits. Of the 1,002 adults randomly sampled in the mid-July poll, 42 percent of those identifying themselves as Republicans supported the war efforts as did 22 percent of Democrats, and 26 percent of independents, reported the Washington Post on July 26. Overall support for military operations in Afghanistan dropped 11 percentage points since March, falling below “least popular stretches” during the Iraq war, states the report. However, less than half of respondents (43 percent) supported removing all US forces from Afghanistan over the next year, compared to 53 percent who favored leaving some troops in the country to support training and anti-insurgency operations.
A provision in the fiscal 2025 defense policy bill will require the Defense Department to include the military occupational specialty of service members who die by suicide in its annual report on suicide deaths, though it remains to be seen how much data the department will actually disclose.