Majority of British think Afghanistan war is unwinnable and not worth fighting
Robert Peffers
From correspondents in London
November 08, 2009 09:40am
BRITISH public support for the war in Afghanistan is falling, while
more than 40 per cent do not understand why British troops are
fighting there, a poll released on Remembrance Sunday showed.
Some 64 per cent agreed that "the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable",
up six per cent from July, while 27 per cent disagreed, down four per
cent. Ten per cent said they did not know.
Similar numbers said British forces should be withdrawn as quickly as
possible, with 63 per cent agreeing and 31 per cent disagreeing.
Some 54 per cent felt they had "a good understanding of the purpose of
Britain's mission in Afghanistan", with 42 per cent disagreeing.
"Overall there is the sense that Afghanistan is becoming for (British
Prime Minister) Gordon Brown what Iraq became for (his predecessor)
Tony Blair," said Andrew Hawkins, chief executive of pollsters
ComRes.
"More than four in 10 don't understand Britain's mission; support for
the British presence there is ebbing away, and a majority have
responded to the presidential election very negatively indeed.
"The results suggest that the impact of the war must be having an
impact on Labour support, since it is that party's core supporters who
are most strongly opposed to it."
Meanwhile, 52 per cent agreed that "the levels of corruption involved
in the recent presidential election show the war in Afghanistan is not
worth fighting for." Thirty-six per cent disagreed.
"This is potentially devastating for the government's case for war,"
Mr Hawkins said.
ComRes surveyed 1009 adults of different ages and social classes
across Britain for BBC television's The Politics Show.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,26321104-5005361,00.html