War On Terror: Polling in Afghanistan
THE Croydonian spots something about the War on Terror that will most likely escape BBC news:
The Globe & Mail, and sundry other Canadian media organisations have paid to have the unfortunate people of Afghanistan polled on the issues of the day, and the results are quite noteworthy. While polling in Helmand is unlikely to be as straightforward / accurate as polling in the Yukon or Ontario, there is a full breakdown of statistical method, and it deserves to be taken seriously. There is a heightened emphasis on Kandahar, as our Canadian friends are based there.
So, the Big One:
What do Afghans think about the multitude of foreign countries that have been present in their country over the past five years? Most believe this has been a positive presence. Six in ten (60%) Afghans say the foreign presence is a good thing for their country, compared with 16 percent who say it is a bad thing; another 22 percent are more ambivalent…Are the foreign countries doing a good job fighting the Taliban? Yes, say nearly two thirds (64%) of Afghans, versus 17 percent who say a bad job (in Kandahar, 58% say a good job versus 27% who disagree.
So, pretty good, all things considered.
But not this: In terms of public awareness of the presence of foreign countries (covering all functions and roles), Canada ranks fourth after the United States (95%), Germany (63%), the U.K. (52%) and then Canada at 46 percent.
I think that is a bit raw given that the British are by far the second biggest contributor to NATO forces after the Americans.
And “Who, top of mind, is fighting the Taliban? Nationwide, it is almost exclusively the United States (89%) that is seen as playing this role. Few mention any other country, including Germany (4%) and, the U.K. (3%), with virtually no mention of Canada. Even in Kandahar (where our forces have lost 71 soldiers and counting), it is the U.S. who is seen as the military presence (90%), with only two percent naming Canada. This result is in sharp contrast to the perspective within Canada, where the public is painfully aware of our troop casualties, the highest proportion of any foreign country”.
And the Taliban?
When asked, almost three quarters of Afghans nationwide have a very negative (53%) or somewhat negative (20%) opinion of the Taliban, compared with only 14 percent who hold a positive view.
And the more run of the mill questions?:
“A majority (51%) say their country is going in the right direction compared with 28 percent who say it is heading in the wrong direction…six in ten (60%) Afghans say they are personally better off today than they were in 2002…Seven in ten (71%) are very or somewhat positive in their general opinion of the Karzi government (versus 20% who are negative), and six in ten (59%) believe the Karzi government represents their interests as an Afghan”.
So, it looks as though the work of NATO is appreciated, and the men on the ground are making a difference. What chance this poll being picked up by the UK media, I wonder?
Well, it’s here. But is it on the mainstream media? Er..
Source: CroydonianÂ
Posted: 19th, October 2007 | In: Twitterings Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
October 20th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
OK so what if another Country’s Army was to come to the UK to “free us” I’m sure they would get some support from some sections of the community. We could go gon and on forever. Afghanistan is Afghanistan. Ruled by Afghans. Anything else is just propaganda. Go home
October 20th, 2007 at 6:15 am
What is being accomplished in Southern Afghanistan can not be measured in terms of who is doing what better. The Afghans paint everybody working there in the same brush - American, British, Canadian and German (the Dutch, who command deep respect from the Afghans seem to have been left out altogether). It’s not a popularity contest. Popularity contests are for children, or for those who have nothing better to do than ready their fingers to point when something goes wrong. Everybody there is in it together - and beleieve me (I have been there) it’s a war. More concern should be directed at what’s being accomplished - security, infrastructure and hope for the future - rather than whose doing what.
All Westerners are targets in Southern Afghanistan, so keeping that in mind, you would best be served by keeping a low profile anyway.
October 20th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Andrew: The Taliban only appeared in 1994, long after the US has lost serious interest in Afstan (the Soviets withdrew in 1989).
http://www.rawa.org/afg-info.htm
The US had nothing directly to do with bin Laden. Read:
“Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden ”
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghost-Wars-Secret-History-Afghanistan/dp/0141020806/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/203-5808458-4066352?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192849142&sr=8-1
Or choose to remain ignorant out of apparent ideology.
Mark
Ottawa
October 20th, 2007 at 2:48 am
You can’t defeat the Taliban.
America loved them AND BIN LADEN whilst they were fighting russia, then all of a sudden they are naughty bad people. Get real… leave them alone
Anyway, America couldn’t even secure that tiny little island called CUBA for gods sake haha!! And not only that, America has one of the highest crime/murder rates in the ~World. Sort your own shop out before you go spoiling the rest of the world. Nobody wants that brand of freedom and democracy. not even AmericA!
October 20th, 2007 at 1:06 am
More analysis at Canadian military blog “The Torch” (to which I contribute):
“Why would we abandon them?”
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2007/10/why-would-we-abandon-them.html
Mark
Ottawa
October 19th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
If anyone actually bothered to analyse the Environics poll results, they would have noted the conclusion, marked by The Toronto Globe and Mail only in the last sentence of the article on the poll, taht “74 per cent said they supported negotiations between the Karzai government and Taliban representatives as a way of reducing conflict. In Kandahar [where Canadian troops are stationed and where Taliban support is very large] support for talks jumped to 85 per cent”.
On what basis, therefore, is there any warrant for concluding that “Afghans want foreign troops to stay and fight”, as The Globe and Mail headlined? It’s a complete distortion of the facts. Afghans want a political solution made a priority, rather than a military one.