Australians Reject New Afghan Deployment

Australians Reject New Afghan Deployment
May 19, 2009

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Australia believe their government is wrong in boosting the country’s military presence in Afghanistan, according to a poll by Essential Research. 49 per cent of respondents oppose the commitment of another 450 troops to 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 without evidence of his participation 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.

At least 1,141 soldiers—including 10 Australians—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). There are currently about 1,100 Australian troops serving in Afghanistan, most of them involved in reconstruction efforts.

Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the Australian Labor Party (ALP) 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. ALP leader Kevin Rudd was officially sworn in as prime minister in December, bringing an end to the 11-year tenure of Liberal leader John Howard as head of Australia’s government.

Howard was one of the staunchest supporters of the military interventions in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Rudd withdrew all Australian soldiers from Iraq in June 2008, but the country is still involved in the Afghanistan mission.

On Apr. 28, Rudd announced the deployment of 450 additional soldiers to Afghanistan, saying, "As I make these further commitments today, I am acutely conscious of the fact that I am placing more Australians in harm’s way and I fear that more Australians will lose their lives in the fight that lies ahead. (...) Australia concurs with the United States that the current civilian and military strategy is not working. If anything, security in Afghanistan is deteriorating."

Polling Data

Prime minister Kevin Rudd has announced the commitment of another 450 troops to Afghanistan which will bring the total number of Australian troops to about 1,550. Do you support or oppose this increase in the number of Australian forces in Afghanistan?

Support


36%

Oppose


49%

Not sure


15%

Source: Essential Research