For months I’ve been arguing that the uphill fighting in Afghanistan and President Obama’s refusal to actively rally public support would have a detrimental effect on US public support for the war and, ultimately, undermine the entire effort. And, as I wrote for both POLITICO and Huffington Post in recent days, that’s exactly what is happening.

Today, Admiral Mullen said he was seeing the same thing, and is concerned about it. Reports the AP:

The U.S. military’s top uniformed officer expressed concern Sunday about eroding public support for the war in Afghanistan…

Just over 50 percent of respondents to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this past week said the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting.

Mullen, a Vietnam veteran, said he’s aware that public support for the war is critical. “Certainly the numbers are of concern,” he said. But, he added, “this is the war we’re in.”

“The war we’re in” isn’t much of a rallying cry, but the fact that the nation’s top uniformed officer is publicly warning about the consequences of eroding public support should be a wake up call for the Obama Administration. Hopefully, when the President returns from his vacation, there will be a renewed effort to rally Americans to support the Afghanistan war. Otherwise, public support will continue to fall, undermining political will in Congress and further limiting our chances of long-term success in Afghanistan.