Canada's Vietnam Syndrome?

www.thestar.com...

Jul 12, 2007 06:06 PM
Murray Brewster
Canadian press

OTTAWA – A growing number of Canadians, especially in Quebec, say the rising death toll among troops in Afghanistan is too high a price to pay for helping the troubled country, suggests a new poll.

A Canadian Press-Decima Research survey shows 67 per cent of those asked believe the number of casualties has been unacceptable, a five-percentage-point rise from a poll taken a little over a month ago.

Only 25 per cent of respondents said the number of killed and wounded was acceptable, in a survey taken following the most recent deaths of six soldiers in a roadside bomb attack.

Bruce Anderson, CEO of Decima Research, said Canadians are clearly becoming more doubtful about whether progress is being made, in light of the deaths of 66 soldiers and one diplomat in Afghanistan.

"In the absence of more evidence of progress, and in the wake of still more deaths of Canadian soldiers, it's clear that discomfort with the mission is growing, and people are questioning whether the lives being lost so honourably are being lost in vain," said Anderson.

It seems to me that this keeps on getting better and better as more news of death and destruction reaches to the public that pretty much think of wars that don't those kinds of things. I guess that no matter what kind of war you fight, whether its considered a justified or unjustified war, the people (understandably) don't like seeing troops dead and wants them out no matter the cost.

There are several factors that play into this.

I think a big one is that our losses have jumped dramatically over the last 1.5 years. We've gone from a few deaths a year to almost 40 in 2006 and we're on track to beat that with 34 (I think) to date in 2007.

It may not seem like a large number to someone from the US, but you need to remember we only have around 2500 soldiers there.