As President Trump moves closer to fulfilling his promise to withdraw American forces from Afghanistan as part of a deal with the Taliban, some in the foreign policy establishment and on Capitol Hill are aggressively pushing back against any drawdown or peace agreement. This group includes retired Gen. David Petraeus, who recently argued that withdrawing from Afghanistan would repeat President Barack Obama’s mistake of “abandoning” Iraq.

This argument is specious, wrongly assuming that the two wars are the same. Yet many prominent policymakers are repeating it to reinforce the narrative that the president would pay a price in the court of public opinion if he ends America’s nearly 18-year-old war in Afghanistan. However, polling data and academic research shows the opposite is true: If he were to completely withdraw from Afghanistan, President Trump would enjoy strong support from the American people, including from veterans and military families who have borne the brunt of the conflict.