Canadians back combat if goal just, poll shows

Chris Lackner, Ottawa Citizen, 28 Oct 06

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A majority of Canadians supports military participation in

"conventional combat missions," such as the Afghan

counter-insurgency, as long as the cause is just and progress is

being made, according to a new poll conducted for the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute.

The survey revealed that 55 per cent of Canadians are willing to

send troops into danger -- even if it leads to deaths and injuries -- as long as they believe in the military's goals.

"Some people might be surprised to see the level of Canadian

commitment to getting on the playing field and not just sitting on

the grandstands when it comes to military combat missions," said

Greg Lyle, managing director at Innovative Research Group Inc.,

which carried out the survey.

Only 19 per cent of respondents said they've always been firmly

opposed to combat missions, while 23 per cent said they'd be willing

to send troops, but that casualties would affect their level of

support.

"This isn't a blank cheque for the government to take troops

wherever they want," Mr. Lyle said. "But if Canadians are convinced

the cause is right and we're making a difference, they are prepared

to send soldiers into harm's way -- even if there is no direct

Canadian interest at stake and no Canadian lives at risk."

But the poll also showed that Canadians are increasingly uneasy

with the military's current role in Afghanistan.

While 54 per cent support the troops presence, public opposition to

the mission has risen from 36 to 42 per cent since a similar poll

was conducted in June.

"There is an erosion among Canadians who think we're making a

difference," Mr. Lyle said. "The key issue for the government is

they can't rely on Canadians' willingness to send troops into combat

for a just cause -- they need to demonstrate that cause is just and

that we're making a difference."

The online poll of 2,494 Canadians, conducted between Oct. 25 and

27, was commissioned for a CDFAI conference that will be held in

Ottawa on Monday. It has a margin of error of 1.96 percentage

points, 19 times out of 20.