US, public confidence in the armed forces never so low in the last 20 years

  The American public's confidence in the country's military has been steadily declining over the past five years and is now at its lowest level in two decades. This was revealed by a recent poll, carried out by Gallup between 1st and 22nd June. According to findings released Monday, only 60 percent of Americans currently express "a lot" of confidence in the country's military, which is the lowest figure in 20 years. The Gallup report states that confidence in the US military "generally hovered above 70%" after the 9/11 attacks and remained so for the next two decades. However, it fell to 69% after the chaotic US exit from Afghanistan in 2021, 64% in 2022 and 60% in 2023. The figure "was this low in 1997 and hasn't been lower since 1988, when 58% were confident,” the Gallup report said.

“The declines this year have been across all party identification groups, with Republicans remaining the most likely to express confidence and independents becoming the least likely,” he added. Although Gallup linked the decline to poorly executed US withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan, many analysts also attributed the confidence deficit to Washington's heavy arms supplies to Ukraine, which is engaged in a war with Russia. since last February. Last month, Defense Undersecretary for Policy Colin Kahl acknowledged that US military aid to Ukraine has strained the country's arms industry.