Most Americans view the Iraq War as a "mistake" on the eve of the 10th Anniversary of U.S. invasion of the Mideast country, according to poll results released on Monday.
According to a Gallup poll, 53 percent of Americans believe their country "made a mistake sending troops to fight in Iraq," while 42 percent say it was not a mistake.
On the other hand, a slim majority of Americans, about 51 percent, say the war in Afghanistan was not a mistake, while 44 percent believe sending troops to Afghanistan was a mistake.
Unlike the Iraq War, which ended in 2011, the Afghanistan War is an ongoing engagement, with a scheduled drawdown date of 2014.
Americans initially supported the war, with substantial majorities in 2003 saying the U.S. decision to get involved in Iraq was not a mistake. However, attitudes changed quickly, and by the summer of 2004, a majority of Americans called the war a mistake.
Opinions fluctuated thereafter but, with only one exception since August 2005, a majority has said the war was a mistake each time Gallup has asked the question.
Gallup contends that the national fatigue of wars has led some political commentators to warn of a new "American isolationism," which limits or curtails future military action.
While recent polling data cannot confirm this, it is clear that Americans are not of one mind in believing that past military conflicts were the right course of action and may be more cautious about supporting future actions.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War. On March 20, 2003, U.S. and its allied forces began the invasion of Iraq, and toppled then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. U.S. forces withdrew from the country in 2011.
相关新闻：美国民调机构盖洛普18日发布的民调数据显示，在伊拉克战争开始10周年之际，大部分美国人认为，这场战争是个错误。
民调结果表明，大约53%的受访者认为，美国发动伊拉克战争是个错误，另有42%的受访者认为这不是一个错误。盖洛普方面说，在2003年伊拉克战争开始时，绝大多数美国人支持这场战争，但民意很快转变，反对这场战争的人从2004年夏天开始逐渐占据多数;而从2005年8月至今，盖洛普的多次民调结果显示，大多数美国人认为伊拉克战争是一个错误，其中只有一次民调得出与此相反的结果。
美国在2003年3月20日发动伊拉克战争，推翻萨达姆后，并未寻获到借以发动战争的所谓萨达姆政权的大规模杀伤性武器，伊拉克陷入内乱。截至美军2011年12月15日正式从伊拉克撤军，战争共造成近4500名美军死亡，超过10万伊拉克人丧生，伊拉克至今仍未走出战争阴影。
盖洛普方面认为，从越南战争到伊拉克战争再到阿富汗战争，近几十年美国的海外军事行动在民众中造成了重大分歧，美国民众今后在支持类似行动时将变得更为谨慎。