{"id":8467,"date":"2022-08-17T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T15:00:05","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:55:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:55:40","slug":"a-year-later-a-look-back-at-public-opinion-about-the-u-s-military-exit-from-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/08\/17\/a-year-later-a-look-back-at-public-opinion-about-the-u-s-military-exit-from-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"A year later, a look back at public opinion about the U.S. military exit from Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A U.S. Air Force plane takes off from Kabul International Airport on Aug. 30, 2021, the day the U.S. completed its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. (Aamir Qureshi\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In August 2021, the United States withdrew the last of its troops from Afghanistan<\/a>, ending its military presence there after nearly 20 years. The U.S. exit from Afghanistan resulted in the Taliban regaining control of the country and created a refugee crisis<\/a> as many Afghans fled. It also raised fears that terrorists might use Afghanistan as a safe haven, as was the case with Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaida leader who was discovered in the nation\u2019s capital, Kabul, and killed in a U.S. drone strike<\/a> late last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year after the U.S. military exit from Afghanistan, here\u2019s a look back at how people in the United States and other countries have viewed the troop evacuation and its aftermath, as well as their broader attitudes about the war. All findings are based on previously published Pew Research Center surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n

How we did this<\/div>