Majority of Afghans support US troops presence in Afghanistan: Poll

According to a new poll report many Afghans want to see a bigger US military role in Afghanistan while majority support the presence of US forces in the country.

The Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research (ACSOR) conducted the poll ahead of the formal conclusion of the US-led combat mission in November last year.

The survey report titled ‘Afghan Future: A National Public Opinion Survey’ is based on interviews with 2,051 Afghanistan with a margin of error of 2.5 percent points.

Interviews were conducted in Dari and Pashto in all 34 of the country’s provinces, according to ACSOR.

According to the report 46 percent, of Afghans want to see a “greater commitment” of U.S. forces in 2015 than planned, while only 29 percent said they want fewer or no U.S. forces.

The report further adds that 77 percent of the poll participants have said they support the presence of American troops, while even more have said the U.S. campaign to oust the Taliban in 2001 was a good thing.

The majority of the poll participants have blamed the Taliban group or al Qaeda terrorist network for the sustained vilence in the country, the report said, adding that only 12 percent of the participants blamed the US-led forces.