Canadian Afghanistan mission: poll

Since Prime Minister Stephen Harper has wrapped up his visit to the Canadian troups in Afghanistan, 55% of Canadians now support our mission, as opposed to a poll taken in February where only 27% of Canadians supported the mission.

What do you think? Do you now support Canada's mission in Afghanistan?

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Canadian PM Harper lifts support for Afghanistan mission

OTTAWA (AFP) - Anxiety at home over Canada's more robust military role in Afghanistan has faded, according to a new poll released as Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrapped up a visit to the war-torn country.

Some 55 percent now support the Canadian-led international mission, according to the Strategic Counsel poll published in The Globe and Mail newspaper Tuesday.

Only 41 percent of the 1,000 Canadians surveyed over the past four days said they were opposed to Canada's deployment in Afghanistan. The poll was conducted as Harper traveled to Kandahar to defend the mission as necessary for global security.

A similar poll in February, when Canada deployed 2,300 troops in Kandahar and took command of an international security force in the volatile southern region of Afghanistan, found 27 percent of Canadians supported the mission.

Sixty-two percent were opposed then.

The sudden reversal suggests a concerted effort by Harper's Conservative government to sell the mission to wary Canadians has succeeded even as troop casualties mounted, wrote the Globe and Mail.

Ten Canadian soldiers and a senior Canadian diplomat have been killed in accidents or attacks since late 2001 when the United States ousted the hardline Taliban over their refusal to surrender Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

Three of the deaths occurred this year after Canada moved its base from Kabul to Kandahar in Afghanistan's south, the area worst-hit by a Taliban-led insurgency.

After Harper met Tuesday with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, the prime minister said Canada would only scale back its involvement in the country when peace was restored and threats of terrorism were silenced.

"Unless we control the security situation in countries like Afghanistan, we will see our own security diminished," Harper said.

"The message from that event (September 11) is not simply that we live in a dangerous world, but that we can ignore the dangers if we want, but the dangers will not ignore us," Harper said at a news conference with Karzai.

Two dozen Canadians died in the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York blamed on the Al-Qaeda network.

Harper said he hoped Canada would only reduce its military presence "because we have achieved our objectives."

The Strategic Counsel survey also found a whopping 78 percent expected Canadian troops would have a positive impact on the lives of Afghans.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they would tolerate Canadian casualties "to help achieve security and stability in the region."

The poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Were there not two other polls prior to this showing 70%+ support for the war in Afghanistan?

Anyone else have a comment? I thought this was an interesting switch in such a short time.....

Yeah....polls are meaningless.

But such a shift just because Harper visited our troups? Why?

Damded if I know

Maybe the fact that the guys and gals on the ground are finally being heard talking about what the job is really all about. Sure it involves helping out the locals as we have come to expect from past ops, but this time we are actually getting to see these folks on a war footing and how damned serious they take their jobs. Very little is more visually impressive than a "warrior" especially when you know that this guy, that you know by looking at is someone you don't want to fuck with, could well be the neighbour that shoveled the driveway for you and brought over a beer afterward to shoot the shit.

I think maybe, jess a little, that Canadians are starting to see our soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen as the true professionals we have always been.

My 2c.........