By Jerry Guo
Since Barack Obama took office, U.S. public opinion has grown increasingly bleak on Afghanistan's prospects. Yet Afghans are increasingly optimistic. In an Asia Foundation survey taken in June and July, 42 percent said the country is moving in the right direction, up from 38 percent last year, despite rampant corruption and Taliban advances. The margin for error was about 4 percent, so this doesn't represent a big spike, but it's still striking that Afghanistan's morale is not decaying as fast as the world's view of Afghanistan is.
Polls in allied nations including Britain and Germany show declining support for the war effort. "I don't think Afghan public opinion has swung as wildly as U.S. public opinion," says Daniel Markey, a former State Department official who travels frequently to Afghanistan. At the same time, Afghans hold very low expectations for governance and economic progress. Indeed, pollsters could not reach more than 100 villages, primarily in the south, the Taliban's stronghold. Those living in interior war zones may be just as demoralized as Westerners, but probably not. Afghans have lived with war for decades, so fatalism may explain their lack of pessimism.
