More Americans worried about domestic extremism than threat abroad: survey

More Americans are worried about domestic extremism than threats of extremism abroad, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that 65 percent of Americans are extremely concerned or very concerned about extremist groups based inside the U.S., compared to 50 percent of Americans who said the same of extremist groups based outside of the U.S.

When broken down by party, Democrats were more likely to be concerned about homegrown terror threats than Republicans, 75 percent to 57 percent, according to the AP.

Seventy-five percent of respondents said they were extremely concerned or very concerned about the spread of misinformation, which was the highest percentage any of the threats received.

The poll also found that roughly one-third of Americans believe the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were worth fighting as the U.S. approaches the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which preceded the United States’ invasions of those countries.

Thirty-four percent of Americans said they believe the Iraq War was worth fighting, with 63 percent saying it was not worth fighting, according to the poll.

The results were similar for the war in Afghanistan: 35 percent of respondents said the conflict was worth fighting, while 62 percent said it was not worth fighting.

The survey, which was conducted from Aug. 12 to Aug. 16, came amid the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. The mission was completed last week after 20 years, ending America’s longest war.

A separate survey conducted by Pew Research Center last month, before the final troops left Afghanistan, found that 54 percent of U.S. adults supported the decision to pull troops from the country, with 42 percent saying it was the wrong move.

The poll also found that 69 percent of the American public feels the U.S. mostly failed in achieving its goals in Afghanistan, with only 26 percent saying President Biden’s administration had done an excellent or good job in handling the situation.

The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,729 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.