Most Europeans In Core Countries Say US Afghan Withdrawal Made World Less Secure - Poll

Sumaira FH Published October 05, 2021 | 12:09 PM

Over 50% of the population in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom think that the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan has served to undermine international security, a survey carried out by the a French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) for Sputnik has shown

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2021) Over 50% of the population in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom think that the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan has served to undermine international security, a survey carried out by the a French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) for Sputnik has shown.

Findings showed that 63% of Germans are pessimistic about the consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan for the global security, followed by Italy with 60%, Spain with 54%, the UK with 53% and France with 50%.

The manner in which the US withdrawal was carried out has tainted Washington's image in the eyes of 53% of Italians, 47% of Spaniards, 43% in the UK and 41% in Germany, the poll found.

France once again is the outlier, with only 35% now thinking worse of the US in light of its retreat.

Nearly half of Germans, 49%, consider the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 a mistake, followed by 41% of Spaniards and 40% of the British, while in France and Italy, 40% and 46%, respectively, are of the opposite opinion.

The poll was conducted among a total of 5,032 adults in the five aforementioned countries from September 21-27.

The US military completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 31 in the wake of the Taliban (terrorist movement, banned in Russia) takeover of large swath of the country, including the capital of Kabul. This ended the West's 20-year military presence in Afghanistan.