Despite the happy talk from some government officials, the American people see the situation in Afghanistan as more likely to deteriorate than improve. Rasmussen Reports tells us:

Voters are less hopeful about the war in Afghanistan these days.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 22% expect the situation there to get better, down seven points from a month ago.

The plurality (41%) says things will get worse in the coming months, an increase of two points since the beginning of July. Another 24% say the situation will stay about the same during that time, up from 21% in the previous survey.

Forty-three U.S. soldiers and 31 soldiers from other Western allies were killed in Afghanistan in July, the highest monthly total for both groups in the eight-year-old war. President Obama began shifting more U.S. troops to Afghanistan shortly after taking office because he contends that the country is the central front in the war on terror.

Unfortunately, there is much to be pessmistic about, as Cato’s Malou Innocent has been reporting.