Majority of US veterans say Afghanistan war 'not worth fighting': poll

[WASHINGTON] A majority of US military veterans say the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan was "not worth fighting," according to poll results released on Wednesday.

The survey results come as the US and the Taleban engage in talks on bringing to a close the conflict which Washington launched in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

"Majorities of both veterans (58 per cent) and the public (59 per cent) say the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting. About four-in-ten or fewer say it was worth fighting," according to the Pew Research Centre.

The same held for the war in Iraq and the US military intervention against the Islamic State group in Syria, with 64 per cent of veterans saying the former was "not worth fighting," and 55 per cent saying the latter was "not worth it."

"Veterans who served in either Iraq or Afghanistan are no more supportive of those engagements than those who did not serve in these wars. And views do not differ based on rank or combat experience," the Pew Research Centre said.

The polling had a margin of error of 3.9 per cent for veterans and 3.1 per cent for members of the general public.

Washington has said it wants to seal a political deal with the Taleban, ahead of Afghan presidential polls due in September, to allow foreign forces to begin to withdraw.

The United States held six days of talks in Qatar with the Taleban which ran until Saturday.

Those discussions paused for Sunday and Monday's Afghan summit, which saw around 70 delegates including the Taleban discuss the future of the country.

AFP