As United States Prepares to Deploy 30,000 More Troops into Foray in Afghanistan, Majority of Canadians (66%) Disagrees that the Build-Up Will Create Military Victory Over Taliban

Toronto, ON - U.S. President Barack Obama deliberated for weeks on the recommendation by General McChrystal, his top General in Afghanistan, to contribute tens-of-thousands more troops to the NATO effort to combat the Taliban. After careful consideration, the Commander-in-Chief ordered a build-up of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan to be deployed in early 2010, with forces beginning to come home one year later.

But a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global National has found that most Canadians believe the build-up of NATO forces will ultimately be in vain, as two in three (66%) `disagree' (23% strongly/43% somewhat) that the build-up of U.S. troops in Afghanistan with NATO forces, including Canada, will ultimately create a military victory over the Taliban'.

In contrast, just one in three (34%) `agree' (5% strongly/29% somewhat) that the build-up of troops will ultimately create a military victory over the Taliban.

In no province or region across the country does a majority believe the build-up will create a victory over the Taliban:

• Four in ten (43%) Albertans and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (42%) believe the build-up of NATO forces will lead to a victory, while significantly fewer Ontarians (35%), Quebecers (34%), British Columbians (27%) and Atlantic Canadians (24%) believe the escalation will create a military victory over the Taliban.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on December 9th and 10th, 2009, on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global National. For this survey, a national sample of 1,038 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

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