Support for Afghan Mission Plunges

This is something of an update to my April 9 post, where I talked about the Taliban's offensive and their belief that Canadian support for the mission in Afghanistan was soft and that forcing casualties would damage the soft underbelly of Canada's Afghanistan policy--the Canadian public. Since that post, this has come to light:

"About 54 per cent of those polled oppose or strongly oppose Canadian involvement, compared with 41 per cent in mid-March. Negative sentiment has grown sharply in Quebec, where 70 per cent of respondents are against sending troops to Afghanistan, compared with 53 per cent two months ago."

This is bad, very bad. A debate in Parliament, increased focus on the mission after the tragic death of four soldiers and media feud with Harper over their funerals, and new money for the Canadian military in the budget have all had a negative effect on public support for our important presence in Afghanistan. The poll results are very upsetting and I'm disappointed to see that Canadians are turning their backs on the Forces, the mission, our commitment to our allies, and to the people of Afghanistan.