Poll: Most Voters Support Using Military Force to Rescue Americans Left in Afghanistan

In this Aug. 20, 2021, photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, a Marine assigned to the 2
1st Lt. Mark Andries/U.S. Marine Corps via AP
Katherine Hamilton

A majority of likely U.S. voters support using military force to rescue the Americans President Joe Biden left behind in Afghanistan.

According to a Rasmussen report released on Monday, 69 percent of likely U.S. voters “think the United States should use military force to rescue Americans left in Afghanistan, if necessary.” Sixteen percent of those polled disagree, and 14 percent are not sure.

“Majorities of voters across party lines would support military intervention to rescue U.S. hostages,” according to the survey, which polled 1,000 U.S. likely voters on September 1 to 2, 2021, with a +/- 3 percentage point margin of sampling error and a 95 percent level of confidence.

Seventy-nine percent of Republicans, 63 percent of Democrats, and 66 percent of unaffiliated voters support U.S. military intervention.

Members of the Taliban Badri 313 military unit take a position at the airport in Kabul on August 31, 2021, after the US has pulled all its troops out of the country to end a brutal 20-year war -- one that started and ended with the hardline Islamist in power. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP) (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Members of the Taliban Badri 313 military unit take a position at the airport in Kabul on August 31, 2021, after the US has pulled all its troops out of the country to end a brutal 20-year war — one that started and ended with the hardline Islamist in power. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

The survey was released soon after the Associated Press confirmed that at least 500 Americans are reportedly stranded in Afghanistan, contradicting President Joe Biden’s estimate of between 100 and 200.

Less than a third of voters consider the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan a success, and a solid majority think Congress should investigate what went wrong. Fifty-three percent of those polled believe the Biden Administration “failed to take proper precaution against a Taliban takeover.”

Slightly more than 40 percent disagree and believe the “chaos was inevitable when American troops left the country.” Biden’s strongest supporters are also more likely to believe he is not to blame for the “chaotic” withdrawal, 84 percent saying it was inevitable. 

“By contrast, among voters who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, 93 percent think the administration failed to take proper precautions against a Taliban takeover,” according to the poll. 

The survey was conducted before a CBS News report confirmed that multiple planes in Afghanistan, along with American citizens and green card holders from other countries, are reportedly being held “hostage” from leaving the country by Taliban terrorists.

Taliban special force fighters arrive inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. military's withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The Taliban were in full control of Kabul's international airport on Tuesday, after the last U.S. plane left its runway, marking the end of America's longest war. (AP Photo/Khwaja Tawfiq Sediqi)

Taliban special force fighters arrive inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. military’s withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Khwaja Tawfiq Sediqi)

“We have six airplanes at Mazar Sharif Airport, six airplanes with American citizens on them as I speak, also with these interpreters, and the Taliban is holding them hostage for demands right now,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said on Fox News Sunday.

“They — we — the state has cleared these flights, and the Taliban will not let them leave the airport,” he continued. 

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