WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Likely voters in the United States want an end to the country’s efforts to establish democracies in the Middle East and elsewhere that are modeled on Western-style governments, considering the policy both ineffective and a waste of taxpayer dollars, a Rasmussen poll revealed on Monday.
"While President George W. Bush was perhaps the most aggressive proponent of nation-building with his administration's efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Republicans (62 percent) are even stronger opponents than Democrats (45 percent)," the poll revealed.
Some 53 percent of voters not affiliated with either major political party in the United States oppose continuing the policy of nation building.
President Barack Obama has continued Bush’s policy, perhaps explaining divergent views on nation-building efforts among Republicans and Democrats, the poll indicated.
Fifty-nine percent of Republican voters consider US nation-building efforts to date to be a failure, but only 35 percent of Democrats and 46 percent of unaffiliated voters agree.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for an end to nation building, but his opponent, Hillary Clinton, has largely been silent on the topic.
