We heard a few days ago about another of those public opinion polls - this time about the war in Afghanistan, done for the BBC's Politics Show. It was taken as the public's support for the war is declining. But then I had a look at the questions asked.
It was one of those "Do you agree or disagree with the statement" type of surveys. The first one was, I feel I have a good understanding of the purpose of Britain's mission in Afghanistan. 42% disagreed, which means they admit to not understanding the purpose of the mission. However, 64% agreed with, The war in Afghanistan is unwinnable. But how can that many say that when 42% don't understand the mission in the first place?
Another statement was, All British forces should be withdrawn from Afghanistan as quickly as possible and 63% agreed. But surely isn't that what everyone should want, whether or not they agree with the war? I can't see that says anything about whether people 'support' the war or not.
The lesson for me, Don't just listen to the 'spin'!
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