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Brits see the Afghanistan War as unwinnable

by albertacowpoke | July 28, 2009 at 06:40 am

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The War in Afghanistan has come to the forefront lately. President Obama has placed his priority in that region, sending an extra 22,000 troops to reinforce NATO's efforts.

An operation, Op Kanjar (Strike of the Sword), was launched involving 4000 U.S. Marines and 650 Afghanistan National Army troops. The operation is focused on Hellmand Province and has the aim of winning the "hearts and minds" of the local population.

Hellmand Province, which is under heavy Taliban influence, has been and is the area of Operation for British troops.

A new poll released by ComRes has found that most Britains, 58%, don't believe the war is winnable. In fact they believe it is impossible to win.

52% of Britains feel that their troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan right away.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband told NATO allies on Monday that military power alone could not win the war — and that efforts must be made to talk to the Taliban.

Support in the United States has also dropped. In a recent USA Today Gallop poll, 42% believed that the U.S. made a mistake sending troops to Afghanistan.

Canada's Parliament has voted to end its combat mission in 2011.

LONDON — A new poll says many people in Britain see the Afghan war as impossible to win.

The ComRes poll for The Independent newspaper says that more than half of those questioned — 52 percent — say British troops should be pulled out of Afghanistan right away.

The polling agency says that 58 percent of those surveyed viewed the war as unwinnable. The poll of more than 1,000 people conducted last week had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The release of the poll Tuesday comes amid a major government effort to shore up support for the war.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband told NATO allies on Monday that military power alone could not win the war — and that efforts must be made to talk to the Taliban.

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albertacowpoke

at 08:20 on July 28th, 2009

I wouldn't bet on that. The dissatisfaction with the mission has also grown in Canada. I would be more willing to bet on a re-up if the Liberals under Ignatieff were in power.