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71% support Afghan withdrawal: poll (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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71% support Afghan withdrawal: poll
8:00pm Saturday 14th November 2009
A large majority of voters wants British troops out of Afghanistan within a year, according to a new poll.
Some 71% of those quizzed by pollsters ComRes said they would back a phased withdrawal leading to an end of combat operations within 12 months, against 22% who disagreed.
And 47% said the continued deployment of the 9,000-strong UK force made terrorism at home more likely, against 44% who said it does not.
The findings, in the survey for the Independent on Sunday, came as the British deputy commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan spoke out about his son's horrific injuries after falling victim to a Taliban roadside bomb.
Lieutenant General Sir Nick Parker said that shortages of equipment were not to blame for his 26-year-old son Harry, a captain in 4 Rifles, losing both legs as a result of the booby-trap bomb in July.
Gen Parker said that the kit supplied to British troops is right for the job they are doing. And he suggested that the key to stemming casualties in achieving military success in the country, where 232 British personnel have lost their lives since 2001, is not more helicopters but a strategy to win the hearts and minds of local people by getting out into their communities.
Gen Parker said: "Rather than asking for more helicopters -- which may be a requirement -- what we've got to do is develop tactics that get you out and amongst the people and re-establish ourselves as a force for good in the community. I know my view, as a fat general sitting behind a desk, will be treated with derision... I genuinely believe there is no need to buy extra kit.
"I'm absolutely convinced that what Harry was given was right for what he was doing. However, nothing was ever going to stop his leg getting blown off."
The ComRes poll also found a large majority (60%) of those questioned believed that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had been treated unfairly in publicity over his letter of condolence to Jacqui Janes, whose son Jamie died in Afghanistan. Just 27% said that The Sun had treated Mr Brown fairly.
And only 39% said that Conservative leader David Cameron would handle the war better than Mr Brown, against 46% who said he would not.
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A large majority of voters wants British troops out of Afghanistan within a year, according to a new poll
A large majority of voters wants British troops out of Afghanistan within a year, according to a new poll
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