Afghanistan

Since I see a lot of talk regarding Afghanistan, I guess that's where we've decided to focus study? Here are the questions I'd like to ask Canadians:

“If Canadian forces remain in Afghanistan, they can help build a vibrant democracy.”

Strongly Agree. 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree. 5. Strongly Disagree. 6. I don’t know.

“I think we should immediately begin to remove all Canadian forces from Afghanistan”

Strongly Agree. 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree. 5. Strongly Disagree. 6. I don’t know.

“It was necessary to invade Afghanistan.”

Strongly Agree. 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree. 5. Strongly Disagree. 6. I don’t know.

“The Afghan mission has made life better for the people of Afghanistan.”

Strongly Agree. 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree. 5. Strongly Disagree. 6. I don’t know.

How do you think the average Afghan citizen feels about our presence in Afghanistan?

1. Strongly approves. 2. Approves. 3. Neutral. 4. Disapproves. 5. Strongly Disapproves. 6. I don’t know.

What effect do you think the invasion of Afghanistan has had on protecting Canadians from terrorism?

1. It has greatly reduced the threat of terrorism. 2. It slightly reduced the threat of terrorism. 3. It has had no effect. 4. It has slightly increased the risk of terrorism. 5. It has greatly increased the risk of terrorism. 6. I don’t know

How important do you feel the Afghanistan mission is to keeping Canadians safe?

1. Very important. 2. Important. 3. Not important at all. 4. It’s making it more dangerous. 5. Don’t know.

Gordon,

I like the questions you have provided, but I think we should split 2 questions for general defence and then another 3 aimed towards Afghanistan. I think it would be useful to tie in opinions about defence spending in Afghanistan with a more ideas/feelings towards defence. What do you guys think?

Sure, whatever balance we choose is fine by me. We can focus on broader defense spending and just have a couple about Afghanistan. Since we're talking about defense, I highly recommend we use one of the latter questions as it pertains to how the invasion of Afghanistan is actually defending Canadians.

I like the first question the best and agree with the splitting and I like protecting from terrorism question but I like Nadeems version of asking weather it has made you feel safer, like your last question.

No offense intended, but I think if you asked these questions to the citizens in Afghanistan, it would make more sense because if you think logically, Canadians are not really going to care about what happens in Afghanistan or is happening to Afghanistan - though I could be wrong. For example, to ask a question like, “If Canadian forces remain in Afghanistan, they can help build a vibrant democracy" is simply not going to work - Afghanistan has been in political turmoil throughout their entire history from the times of Alexander the Great, during the Soviet invasion, etc. Thus, to suggest that they will become a democracy or become more stable as a result of the Canadian forces being stationed there is something that is not going to happen overnight or even in 5 years, it will take a long time before it is materialized. Thus, I think asking questions that will have an impact on Canadians because it concerns them directly will be better.

There are two principle reasons we're told that our forces need to be in Afghanistan, both of which are in my questions. First, it will help build democracy in Afghanistan. Second, it will make the world a safer place. As for the validity of these claims, I too doubt them. That's the point of asking the questions. If the rest of Canadians give the same answers as you did, I think that tells us something very important.

I think I agree with Balamurugan...however, I also think Gordon is correct in gauging the effect of Canadians on Afghani lives. I think we should have at least 1 question pertaining to the effect of the Canadian effort and its impact on the lives of those in Afghanistan. It would help indicate how strongly Canadians support the overall effort. The question would probably have to be quite broad. What about something along the lines of

"The Canadian effort in Afghanistan has had a positive effect on Afghani lives"

1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Somewhat Agree 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree

I know this question has a lot of flaws, but what do you think of this approach?

I like the approach, I get where Bala is coming from, but Bala your a political science student at the University of British Columbia, yes democracy is a long ways away, and may not even be the appropriate option, but I think when we ask people it will like Gordon said give a good gauge at weather they feel these extremely optimistic ideals are even possible or not. I think it would be interesting to see the results. The funny thing is it really is absolutely irrelevant weather or not it is possible to have democracy there or not, what were wondering is if the average person thinks it could, and thus what they think about the point of us being in Afghanistan.

I like the questions. I don't think everyone feels as if Afghanistan is completely hopeless and not worth it, and if they do well then we'll have data to show that. If we reject questions based on what we think (democracy will never work there and everyone knows that) then it's a sign of bias, we need to be more open and transparent in our questions so we don't include our own feelings into the formation of the survey. Jacqueline is right, we're poli students from UBC who have spent the past 3 years discussing these topics, however we're not going to be asking people like us these questions.

Your question regarding average Afghan citizen assumes that many of these individuals (the majority of whom have spent recent years seeking refuge in nearby Pakistan,etc) and the different cultural and tribal separations in Afghanistan make this difficult to pose.

I do like the separation of the necessity of invasion and Canadian forces staying there, but what do other people think?

The last two questions are slightly redundant. Perhaps you could publish the one you personally like the best. The first one is far too normative - Afghanistan's vibrant democracy could not translate into more security at home. Egyptians currently are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood - spelling misery for Israel. Therefore, this needs to be a more general question - I have asked a question on Afghanistan as a safer place on the main page, something which you address also in your suggestions.

Maybe:

An unsafe Afghanistan is a threat to Canada

1. Strongly agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree 6. I don't know

Economic prosperity and social equality are fundamental to a safe, healthy society

1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree 6. I don't know

Canada's role in Afghanistan is integral to that country's economic development after 30 years of war

1. Strongly Agree 2. Agree 3. Neutral 4. Disagree 5. Strongly Disagree

One can separate necessity/presence and reconstruction and can observe interesting correlations potentially with regards to Afghanistan's developmental and security dimensions in terms of international security. Do we need to be there to keep us safe now and in the future? Do they need us to stay there to reconstruct their economy and make them safe in the long term? We can hit both scopes with these questions, added and/or in place of one or two of yours.

I like your question on how Afghans feel about us. Just Afghans through - Afghan citizen implies a bureaucracy exists there that tallies citizens which may be slightly optimistic given the nomadic nature of Afghans over the past 30 years.