Poll: 68 percent consider it a big problem that the U.S. military left behind billions of dollars of military hardware in Afghanistan

A majority of voters consider it a big problem that the U.S. military left behind billions of dollars of military hardware in Afghanistan, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds. 

Sixty-eight percent of registered voters said they consider the left-behind military hardware a big problem, while 20 percent of voters said it’s a small problem and 12 percent said it’s not a problem at all.

There was a significant variation in responses depending on party affiliation, with Republicans being more likely to call it a big problem and Democrats more likely to say it’s no problem at all. 

Eighty-nine percent of Republicans said it’s a big problem that military hardware was left in Afghanistan, while 8 percent said it’s a small problem and 3 percent said it’s not a problem.

Among independents, 65 percent  said they consider it a big problem, while 21 percent said it is a small problem and 14 percent said it’s not a problem.

And Half of Democratic voters said it’s a big problem, while 30 percent said it’s a small problem and 19 percent said it’s not a problem.

As the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, billions of dollars worth of U.S. weapons were left in the hands of the Taliban following the collapse of Afghan security forces.

The most recent Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 925 registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.22 percentage points.

—Gabriela Schulte