Article from: Agence France-Presse
MOST Americans now oppose the war in Afghanistan, which President Barack Obama has made a priority, dispatching tens of thousands of troops to fight a growing insurgency, a poll has found.

In a new low in public support for the war effort, 54 per cent of respondents said they opposed the US-led fight against the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies, with only 41 per cent in favour in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll.

The survey came as violence hit an all-time high in the nearly eight-year-old war, with 76 foreign troops killed in July, including 45 US troops ahead of elections on August 20.

Another 14 Western soldiers have died in Afghanistan so far this month.

In the last CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, taken in May, most respondents - 50 per cent -- supported the US-led war, with 48 per cent against.

Obama has dispatched 21,000 US troops to the war-torn country, with the US contingent set to reach 68,000 by the end of the year, but the Democratic president's move is hurting support within his own party.

"Afghanistan is almost certainly the Obama policy that Republicans like the most," said CNN polling director Keating Holland.

"Nearly two thirds of Republicans support the war in Afghanistan. Three quarters of Democrats oppose the war."

The poll was conducted by phone from July 31 to August 3, with 1,136 US adults surveyed and a margin of error or plus or minus three percentage points.