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OTTAWA — An unusual new survey in southern Afghanistan suggests NATO's eight-year campaign to win hearts and minds in the embattled region is in serious trouble.
Field researchers with the International Council on Security and Development, a policy think-tank with an office in Afghanistan, last month interviewed 532 men in mostly rural parts of Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
The survey found a significant majority, 70 per cent, of southern Afghans felt military operations were bad for the Afghan people and NATO forces did not protect the local population.
A total of 75 per cent said foreigners did not respect their religion and traditions; a similar number, 74 per cent, believed it was "wrong" to work with international forces.
A total of 59 per cent opposed a new military offensive against the Taliban in Kandahar.
"These results are troubling and demonstrate the mistrust and resentment felt towards the international presence in Afghanistan," concludes the council's report entitled: 'Afghanistan: The Relationship Gap,' published Friday.
The opinion survey was conducted as 30,000 U.S. troops "surge" into southern Afghanistan, which has been the scene of heavy fighting between Taliban and NATO forces.
Since 2002, 150 Canadian soldiers have died serving in Afghanistan, most of them in Kandahar province.
It is estimated the military mission could cost Canadian taxpayers $18.1 billion by the time it concludes in 2011.
Norine MacDonald, president and lead researcher with the International Council on Security and Development, said the survey highlights the communication gap that exists between NATO forces and the Afghan communities they've been deployed to protect.
The survey found most Afghans thought foreign forces were in the country to occupy or destroy it, 44 per cent, or to harm Islam, 12 per cent.
"We are failing to explain ourselves or our objectives to the Afghan people," said MacDonald, a Canadian lawyer who has worked in Kandahar for much of the past five years. "There's a lot of disinformation about why we're there and who we are."
Those failings, MacDonald said in a telephone interview Friday, have allowed the Taliban to sow its anti-Western propaganda.
Among the survey's other findings:
- a sizable majority, 65 per cent, of southern Afghans supported the idea of the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Omar, joining the national government.
- a remarkable number, 64 per cent, said local government officials have links to the Taliban insurgency.
- many interviewees, 39 per cent, said their town was under Taliban control as opposed to Afghan government, 38 per cent, or NATO, 11 per cent, control
Research teams with the international think-tank put 50 questions to more than 500 men in southern Afghanistan in June.
Most of the face-to-face interviews lasted about an hour.
Women were not surveyed, MacDonald said, due to logistical problems — it requires specialized research teams — and on-the-ground realities. "Unfortunately, their opinions are of limited relevance to what's going to happen in Afghanistan in the short term," she said.
Given the nature of the survey, MacDonald said she was pleasantly surprised to find a majority of Afghan men, 57 per cent, supported girls' education.
There were other encouraging signs in the results: 40 per cent of Afghans said democracy was important to them, and when given the choice between an elected government and the Taliban, a strong majority, 72 per cent, favoured the democratic option.
MacDonald said the findings suggest the battle for hearts and minds is not over particularly when a majority, of Afghans, 55 per cent, still believe NATO is winning the war.
"We have not been very good at understanding what their needs are and responding to that," she said. "But that's something that can be fixed without more troops or a lot more money."
She argues more must be done to address the basic needs of Afghans for food, health care and jobs. Many Afghan men, 74 per cent, reported worrying about how to feed their families.
"We've been completely unable to come to grips with the fact that this is an extremely poor part of the world," MacDonald said.
Finding a way to deliver food aid to rural communities, she said, would be a simple and effective step in winning local support.
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Field researchers with the International Council on Security and Development, a policy think-tank with an office in Afghanistan, last month interviewed 532 men in mostly rural parts of Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
The survey found a significant majority, 70 per cent, of southern Afghans felt military operations were bad for the Afghan people and NATO forces did not protect the local population.
A total of 75 per cent said foreigners did not respect their religion and traditions; a similar number, 74 per cent, believed it was "wrong" to work with international forces.
A total of 59 per cent opposed a new military offensive against the Taliban in Kandahar.
"These results are troubling and demonstrate the mistrust and resentment felt towards the international presence in Afghanistan," concludes the council's report entitled: 'Afghanistan: The Relationship Gap,' published Friday.
The opinion survey was conducted as 30,000 U.S. troops "surge" into southern Afghanistan, which has been the scene of heavy fighting between Taliban and NATO forces.
Since 2002, 150 Canadian soldiers have died serving in Afghanistan, most of them in Kandahar province.
It is estimated the military mission could cost Canadian taxpayers $18.1 billion by the time it concludes in 2011.
Norine MacDonald, president and lead researcher with the International Council on Security and Development, said the survey highlights the communication gap that exists between NATO forces and the Afghan communities they've been deployed to protect.
The survey found most Afghans thought foreign forces were in the country to occupy or destroy it, 44 per cent, or to harm Islam, 12 per cent.
"We are failing to explain ourselves or our objectives to the Afghan people," said MacDonald, a Canadian lawyer who has worked in Kandahar for much of the past five years. "There's a lot of disinformation about why we're there and who we are."
Those failings, MacDonald said in a telephone interview Friday, have allowed the Taliban to sow its anti-Western propaganda.
Among the survey's other findings:
- a sizable majority, 65 per cent, of southern Afghans supported the idea of the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Omar, joining the national government.
- a remarkable number, 64 per cent, said local government officials have links to the Taliban insurgency.
- many interviewees, 39 per cent, said their town was under Taliban control as opposed to Afghan government, 38 per cent, or NATO, 11 per cent, control
Research teams with the international think-tank put 50 questions to more than 500 men in southern Afghanistan in June.
Most of the face-to-face interviews lasted about an hour.
Women were not surveyed, MacDonald said, due to logistical problems — it requires specialized research teams — and on-the-ground realities. "Unfortunately, their opinions are of limited relevance to what's going to happen in Afghanistan in the short term," she said.
Given the nature of the survey, MacDonald said she was pleasantly surprised to find a majority of Afghan men, 57 per cent, supported girls' education.
There were other encouraging signs in the results: 40 per cent of Afghans said democracy was important to them, and when given the choice between an elected government and the Taliban, a strong majority, 72 per cent, favoured the democratic option.
MacDonald said the findings suggest the battle for hearts and minds is not over particularly when a majority, of Afghans, 55 per cent, still believe NATO is winning the war.
"We have not been very good at understanding what their needs are and responding to that," she said. "But that's something that can be fixed without more troops or a lot more money."
She argues more must be done to address the basic needs of Afghans for food, health care and jobs. Many Afghan men, 74 per cent, reported worrying about how to feed their families.
"We've been completely unable to come to grips with the fact that this is an extremely poor part of the world," MacDonald said.
Finding a way to deliver food aid to rural communities, she said, would be a simple and effective step in winning local support.
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