Poll shows the public are losing confidence in the Afghanistan war

A YouGov poll for Channel 4 News suggests that opposition to the war in Afghanistan has risen sharply in the past fortnight.

The numbers thinking the Taliban can be defeated are down from 42 per cent to 33 per cent in the space of two weeks.

The poll suggests that the numbers thinking the Taliban cannot be defeated are up from 48 per cent to 57 per cent in the space of two weeks.

Number Ten says the Prime Minister’s acutely aware of the “public debate” and has changed his diary to give a speech tomorrow morning making the case for keeping troops in Afghanistan. The speech isn’t yet written but is not expected to signal a change in policy.

The deaths of British servicemen at the hands of an Afghan policeman were already known about when the polling was conducted yesterday.

That’s leading to a rethink on the ground about how security can be tightened.

Strategically, the Karzai problem is triggering a rethink of its own.

The central government President Karzai runs lacks credibility and reach but there’s no plan B yet developed to side-step him.

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