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Eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan were buried yesterday, spurring a wave of public anger that reveals how divided the British public is on the war. From political elites to the press to grieving communities to the general public, Britons are questioning what they’re doing in Afghanistan.
In Parliament, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has faced tough questioning from Conservative Party leader David Cameron regarding the definition of the mission and the lack of equipment there.
In the press, heartbreaking portrayals of dead young soldiers and their families carry, in my reading, an unspoken criticism of the war.
In the communities that surround these families and their lost ones, a cheery patriotism coexists with uneasy doubts about the war:
"We have to support our troops," said Percy Miles, who as mayor in early 2007 arranged the first turnout in the town for four Afghanistan casualties. But with deaths mounting, the 77-year-old Mr. Miles, a British Army veteran, added: "We shouldn’t be there. It’s not a war of our making, it’s a U.S. war."
And in polling, the BBC says support for the war is up – but opinion is still "evenly divided." Moreover, 42% want out immediately, and 60% want out by the end of 2011.
If more casualties occur, pressure on the British government to get out will increase. For Washington, which still seems to be hesitating over the precise definition of our mission in Afghanistan, British public anger should come as a warning – our European allies may not support this war for much longer.
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In the Atlantic this month there’s an article on “great ideas to help save the world” and one of their recommendations is “Give up on Democracy in Afghanistan.” Certainly it seems that propping up a democracy in Afghanistan is a fool’s errand and, if Washington ever defines our mission, that task should be conspicuously absent. We can hardly afford that Herculean task with such a large deficit and so many problems at home, especially if we’re going it alone.
If you watch Prime Minister’s Questions over at CSPAN, you see that there’s much dissent caused by Gordon Brown’s refusal to end the involvement. Each session begins with condolences to the families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Witness the difficult questions put to the British Defense Secy on Tuesday this week.