Almost half of respondents believe the federal government made a mistake in committing troops to the conflict in the first place.
The views of Canadians on the country’s military mission in Afghanistan are hardening, with three-in-five respondents voicing opposition to the mission and almost half regretting the decision to deploy troops in the first place, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
The online survey of a representative national sample of 1,007 Canadian adults also shows that more respondents are criticizing the federal government for not providing enough information about the conflict, and that fewer are expressing confidence in the way the U.S. government will ultimately deal with the war.
The Mission
This month, 37 per cent of respondents (down two points since April) say they support the military operation involving Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, while 59 per cent oppose it (up three points).
This is the highest level of opposition to the conflict ever recorded since this particular question was first asked (in July 2009).
At the national level, “strong opposition” to the mission has increased from 23 per cent in February to 33 per cent this month, while “strong support” has dropped from 19 per cent four months ago to 13 per cent today. Alberta (56%) is the only area of the country where at least half of respondents support the mission, while opposition is highest in Quebec (72%).
Almost half of Canadians (48%, +6) believe Canada made a mistake in sending military forces to Afghanistan, while 34 per cent (-2) think this was the correct decision. Overall, 56 per cent of respondents say they have a clear idea of what the war in Afghanistan is about, a proportion that has remained stable throughout the year.
When The War is Over
When asked about what they think will be the most likely outcome of the war in Afghanistan, six per cent of Canadians (-2) expect a clear victory by U.S. and NATO forces over the Taliban, 30 per cent (-1) foresee a negotiated settlement from a position of U.S. and NATO strength that gives the Taliban a small role in the Afghan government.
In addition, 13 per cent of respondents (-2) believe the Taliban will play a significant role in Afghanistan after the war is over, and 16 per cent (+3) believe U.S. and NATO forces will ultimately be defeated by the Taliban.
Obama’s Plan
Canadians have grown more doubtful about the plan for Afghanistan outlined by U.S. President Barack Obama. This month, only three-in-ten respondents (31%, – 5 since February) are “very confident” or “moderately confident” that the Obama Administration will be able to “finish the job” in Afghanistan. Conversely, three-in-five Canadians (61%, +7) are “not too confident” or “not confident at all.”
The Media and the Government
Canadians hold differing views on the way their media and their government have dealt with the conflict. Half of respondents (51%, =) think the country’s media outlets have provided the right amount of attention to Afghanistan, while 25 per cent (+3) say it has been too little, and 12 per cent (-3) think it has been too much.
A majority of respondents (57%, +4) think the federal government has provided too little information about the war in Afghanistan, 29 per cent (+2) think it has been about right, and just two per cent (-4) claim it has been too much.
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com
From June 11 to June 12, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1.007 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
Time to get out. Actually it was time to get out 5 years ago.
If this Prime Minister will not do what the people want it’s time to ditch him too.
The Question about military involvement in Afghanistan should have been answered BEFORE getting involved.
The question I have always asked is….What conditions would have to prevail to have it considered a Victory in Afghanistan?????
Personally I have never been able to get a clear understanding of any official answer to this question. I think it was a mistake to get involved without a clear understanding of what was to be achieved.
In many ways the situation is similar to Vietnam. In order to achieve long term sustainable results it is necessary to win over the political support of a ‘massive’ number of local muslum citizens in the country. I think the attempts at economic development in the 1950’s failed and the present military involvement is doomed to failure too. If the objective was to root out the base of opperations for terrorists training for attacking the west was the objective probably sustained diplomatic efforts may have made some long term progress.
The question has changed to….How do the military extract themselves out of Afghanistan????? Without leaving a set of conditions worse than before.
I do not think the locals will accept a pupet democratic government friendly to the west.
Re Wikileaks releasing 92000 files on the war in Afghanistan and Peter Worthington article Wikileaks is Wikiweak.. file that only contradict the News we are told in our Media.
see *http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/peter_worthington/2010/07/28/14856936.html*
Peter wrote: The real danger lies in individuals who squeal and steal stuff in order to leak it. They are a menace who violate their oaths and/or betray trust while often posing as people motivated by a concern for truth and principles — all of which camouflages their treachery.
Amazing if a person commit murder before your eyes, we should not report it because it makes people squealers and we shouldn’t report it because it is our government and our army committing the murders. Marvelous way of thinking that is not surprising from a militarist.
I am amazed by Peter W sense of investigative journalism as it does look like the opinion you give being a mere reflect
of the official Orwellian version given to you by the US administration and Robert Gates , a US you never condemn.
The wiki leaks is very important because it exposes various war crimes committed by our heroic Nato Forces who are way off their mandate
occupying Afghans in an illegal war.
You mentioned that it is hardly news that Karzai and his administration is corrupted, failing to mention that it is the corrupted Bush administration
that put him there when knowing Karzai does not have 3% of the popular vote. Also you fail to mention that women are now than they were under Taliban , You fail to mention that the Pashtun population
is the majority and having a free election there, it would be the Taliban who would win.. Thus to win in Afghanistan you would have to wipe out the Pashtun, sound genocidal?
So you could give up the crap about democracy, look at what happened in Gaza, Hamas won the popular vote and Gazans have been punished and under siege
since then, The Israeli having practiced State Terrorism and attacked in a planned and timed manner i.e. when the kids were coming out the schools..
Our mainstream media is still propaganding that Israel has the right to defends itself from attacks even if Israel is the OCCUPIER and THE ATTACKER in the Territories has the right to protect itself from a population who resist the illegal approriation of their lands , house etc. What’s next Peter
were the Chinese right to organizes themselves against the Japanese occupier in 1937? Did you ever heard the Japanese claim self defense when murdering the Chineses?
Who is the Taliban may I ask? They are the population in Afghanistan who live under the sharia laws the same as they do In Kuwait, The Emirates or Saudi Arabia. However amid the
fact that most of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis to the exclusion of 2,( Al-Quaida being a Saudi organization by the way) it is The Afghans who get attacked and not the Saudis.
There were no reasons to attack Afghanistan, The Taliban having said that they would remit Bin Laden should the US deliver proofs that he masterminded it or was involved. And as for today no proof were ever given because none ever existed.There were never one reason to invades Afghanistan other than securing a pipeline deal with Karzai..
The wiki leaks are very important , they display a wide discrepancy between what our media including the SUN is telling us ie what We are told about the war and what is being reported by the army in the Wikileaks reports and in most cases;
the cover-up of war crimes committed against the civilian population.You also fails to mention the name of The US intelligence whom released the reports along with a video note that since it does not show the US with a favorable
image, CB C, CNN or our mainstream media never showed it..
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saSVZTveRbs&feature=related*
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nDMv_M6WWY&feature=related*
Also of notes, The war in Afghanistan (9 years) is already longer than WWII Mr Worthington, you should pay attention to the giant massacre and the numerous war crimes that is occurring against the Afghan population .
Just imagine these beautiful drones attack or air strikes using Bunker-Busters filled and fabricated with our beautiful Canadian nuclear waste or depleted uranium knowing for well that it is illegal for us canadian to provide nuclear waste to the US to make weapons.. If you consider that an average Bunker Buster Bomb contains 1.5 tons of our nuclear waste and the numbers of these bombs , artillery and munition containing our canadian nuclear waste being DUMPED in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This nuclear waste has become dust, is in the air, water and food chain. Thus you can anticipates a high increase of cancer rising and infants mortality as this recent report on Fallujah were your heroic US liberated the town committing the worst atrocities while using WMDs and chemical warfare.
Depleted Uranium – The Ultimate Dirty Bomb ( US Army health Physicist Nuclear Medicine Officer )
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg2NHfoC2pc*
Cancer & Infant Mortality Rates Soar in Fallujah
In news from Iraq, The Independent of London reports a new medical study has found dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004. There has been a four-fold increase in all cancers and a twelve-fold increase in cancer in children under the age of fourteen. Infant mortality in the city is more than four times higher than in neighboring Jordan and eight times higher than in Kuwait. The report says that the types of cancer are “similar to that in the Hiroshima survivors who were exposed to ionizing radiation from the bomb and uranium in the fallout.”
Infant mortality due to our Nuclear Waste is already happening in Afghanistan if you care looking at the following pictures..
Death Made In America
Wondering if your conscience is still anesthetized
*http://www.rense.com/general70/deathmde.htm*
Considering this it is not difficult to know who is worst between the Taliban or the US in this war because of this slow genocide and massacre , considering insofar Afghans never attacked anyone and never attacked the US so to speak and as far as you can look
it is the US being the occupier or aggressor and our famous Canada is nothing more than an accomplice to war crimes, having Canada being part of this illegal war is a great shame , it has no other goal than enriching the american military complex and with this ” Profit making ” The Afghan War does bare similarities to The US war in Vietnam
And i wonder when will be the day, your news paper will be used to report real news.
Cordially
Stephane Verreault
By the way I don’t know if anyone has ever noted but comments section and opinions have vanished from our media specially
in regards to real politics and issues such as war and the most plausible reason is that too often the comments desconstruct the News and what the goverment wnat the population to believe
Sun media , canoe, yahoo, all major news paper have got ride of comments and it is a form of censorship.