June 24, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Britain want their country’s soldiers fighting in Afghanistan to return home, according to a poll by YouGov. 54 per cent of respondents think the troops should be brought back from the battlefield, while 34 per cent believe they should remain in Afghanistan.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The majority of people in Britain want their country’s soldiers fighting in Afghanistan to return home, according to a poll by YouGov. 54 per cent of respondents think the troops should be brought back from the battlefield, while 34 per cent believe they should remain in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Britain committed troops to both the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and the U.S.-led coalition effort in Iraq. At least 850 soldiers—including 106 Britons—have died in the war on terrorism, 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).

On Jun. 15, British prime minister Gordon Brown pledged to send around 230 more soldiers to Afghanistan over the next year, declaring, "We have resolved, first of all, as we did some years ago, that it is in the British national interest to confront the Taliban in Afghanistan, or Afghanistan would come to us."

Polling Data

Turning to foreign issues, the 100th British soldier was killed in Afghanistan earlier this week. Both the government and the Conservative party say British troops should remain in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and prevent the country becoming a base for international terrorism. Do you think Britain’s troops should continue to fight in Afghanistan or be brought home?

British troops should stay in Afghanistan	34%
British troops should be brought home	54%
Don’t know	12%

Source: YouGov
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,769 British voters, conducted on Jun. 12 and Jun. 13, 2008. No margin of error was provided.