This month marks the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war’s beginning, and a majority of Americans today say the conflict wasn’t worth the cost.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll found 58% of respondents believed the war was a waste, largely because they felt the conflict did not enhance U.S. security, while consuming billions of dollars and costing thousands of American lives.

The sentiment was nearly the same for the Afghanistan war—56% said that conflict, too, hasn’t been worth the sacrifice.

The numbers reveal a significant change in sentiment among Americans, compared to how they viewed the wars when they began. In 2001, when U.S. forces first entered Afghanistan, more than 90% of the country supported the decision. In 2003, about 80% of Americans favored the Iraq invasion.

A recent Gallup poll also showed that a majority of Americans think the United States made a mistake sending troops to Iraq. In fact, according to Gallup, a majority of Americans have held this opinion since at least the summer of 2005.

Disbelief in the Iraq war also exists among the soldiers who fought in the conflict. Another poll, by the Pew Research Center, showed that only about 40% of Americans who fought there believed the reasons for going to war justified the costs, according to NBC News.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

A Decade on, Most are Critical of the U.S.-Led War in Iraq (by Gary Langer, ABC News)

A Decade on, Most are Critical Of the U.S.-Led War in Iraq (ABC News/Washington Post)

Gallup Polls on Iraq

Ten Years After Iraq Invasion, US Troops Ask: 'Was It Worth It?' (by Jim Maceda, NBC News)