Some 44 percent of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama's handling of the war in Afghanistan, a significant rise from earlier this year, according to a CBS news poll released Thursday. In CBS's last poll in May, only 37 percent of those questioned disapproved of the president's approach to the conflict now in its ninth year.
Some 43 percent of those polled approve of Obama's policies, about the same as the 44 percent who said they approved in May. But the number of undecideds dropped from 19 percent to 13 percent.
A majority of Americans believe the war is going either "somewhat" or "very badly" (62 percent) jumped from 49 percent in May.
The poll questioned 966 people between July 7 and 12 and it comes as Obama has poured thousands of extra forces into the country with the aim of defeating a bloody rebellion by Taliban militants.
The administration has vowed that US forces will start withdrawing from this time next year.
