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Government
winning public
support for
Afghan war
Andrea D'Cruz
British public support for the
war on Afghanistan has risen
over the past two years, as
Afghan political leaders call for
negotiations with the Taliban.
In an ICM/BBC poll of 1,002
adults taken on 12–13 March,
40% of Britons expressed support for military operations in
Afghanistan.
This figure was up 9% from
31% in a September 2006 poll.
However, opposition still outnumbers support though it is
down from 53% to 48%.
Interestingly, most of the
increase in support came from the
18–34 age group. An ICM
spokesperson suggested that
footage of prince Harry's front–line
deployment to Afghanistan had
"brought the war to life."
The prince was deployed to the
front line in Afghanistan for 10
weeks, under a media embargo.
However, after the online Drudge
Report broke the story on 28 February, the prince was returned to
the UK.
Public perceptions
Asked to choose from a range of
options the main reasons for the
war, 71% of poll respondents said
it was part of the global fight
against al–Qaeda, 63% said it
was to help the Afghans fight the
Taliban and 44% said it was to
stop the flow of drugs.
US plans for aerial spraying of
Afghanistan's opium poppy crop
have so far not materialised.
Negotiating now
Meanwhile, Gulab Mangal, governor of the violence–wracked
"poppy belt" province of Helmand, has promised to hold face–to–face talks with Taliban fighters,
insisting that he has the support
of president Karzai for this venture.
Mangal told journalists that one
of his first tasks would be to set
up traditional Afghan jirgas (meetings) with "second and third–tier"
fighters.
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