(08/07/09) - Global Citizens More Cautious About Afghan War
Public opinion is drifting away from the conflict formerly known as the œglobal war on terrorism.
Gabriela Perdomo – While the Obama administration has been steadfast in its decision to ban the term "war on terror", there is no such thing as a global sentiment regarding the military operations in Afghanistan. As its eight anniversary approaches, the multinational effort is becoming harder to understand and easier to reject in the countries that supply the soldiers for it.
Gabriela Perdomo – While the Obama administration has been steadfast in its decision to ban the term "war on terror", there is no such thing as a global sentiment regarding the military operations in Afghanistan. As its eight anniversary approaches, the multinational effort is becoming harder to understand and easier to reject in the countries that supply the soldiers for it.
Spring and summer have always been times of increased violence in Afghanistan and this year has been no different, as the country prepares for its second presidential election since the fall of the Taliban. Several new opinion polls show that perceptions on the mission are negative and support for it is weak in most of the countries that provide the troops.
Most people in the United States continue to be pessimistic about the war in Afghanistan. A New York Times / CBS News poll shows that 54 per cent of Americans think the war is going badly for the U.S. That same level of pessimism has been registered since at least December 2008.
Americans, however, remain supportive of their military presence in Afghanistan. A three-country Angus Reid Strategies poll places support for the war in the U.S. at 55 per cent, while majorities in Britain (53%) and Canada (52%) now oppose their own presence in Afghanistan.
Canada and Britain, two countries with major contingents that have suffered great losses in Afghanistan, are not the only places where the public is increasingly uncomfortable with this conflict.
In the Netherlands, a staggering 74 per cent of respondents want the government to pull out all or at least most of its troops, according to a poll by Maurice de Hond—despite recent calls by U.S. president Barack Obama for the country to extend its mission beyond 2010.
Italians share a similar view. The majority wants the government to draft a plan to withdraw all soldiers from Afghanistan either immediately or gradually. Australians are also wary of an increased role in Afghanistan, with half of the population rejecting a recent decision by the government to send some 500 more troops.
Only in countries with contingents that work exclusively on Afghanistan’s reconstruction and peace efforts are people less in a rush to see their troops come home. In Finland, most people are at ease with maintaining the current number of soldiers on the ground—only a few want to send more men and women or call for a full withdrawal. In New Zealand, the public is mostly supportive of a recent government decision to extend the presence of Kiwi peacekeepers in Afghanistan through September 2010.
According to a very detailed account by the American news network CNN, there have been 1,275 troop fatalities in Afghanistan—including 763 Americans, 191 Britons, 127 Canadians, 30 Germans, 29 French, 25 Spaniards, 24 Danes, 19 Dutch, 14 Italians, 11 Romanians, 11 Australians, nine Poles, four Norwegians, four Estonians, three Latvians, three Czech, two Swedes, two Turks, two Portuguese, two Hungarians, one Finn, one Lithuanian, and one South Korean—either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The polls suggest that Americans—although not a very strong majority—are more inclined to support the Afghan effort than the public in other participating countries. This is understandable, given the fact that the event that triggered the "war on terrorism" happened on American soil. However, it is also clear that countries focused on reconstruction efforts and peacekeeping are more likely to sway the public’s opinion in favour of a prolonged stay in Afghanistan, than those enduring conflict fatalities.
Governments of all the countries involved in the war in Afghanistan must do more to draw support for their military efforts if they really want to stay engaged in the coalition force. If political leaders—such as Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and Obama himself—believe that a military strategy alone will not win this war, then they must all make sure that their missions are re-designed accordingly to prioritize training, reconstruction, and peacekeeping efforts. These actions must also be explained to the public in a proper manner.
