British Polls Show Rising Call To Withdraw Immediately From Afghanistan

Maybe this is why Obama wants to "wait" for the announcement of his new War in Afghanistan strategy....perhaps he feels that the polls across Britain, Europe and then America will shift towards a pullout and since Obama is only concerned about his own political future, this would be timely for him - the problem is holding off the wolves while he sits and waits.

Here's the latest polling data from Britain that shows growing calls for pullout from Afghanistan...note that most of the increases are from British women. From the article at Times Online:

Rising clamour for British pullout from Afghanistan as PM sends 500 more troops

Calls for British troops to leave Afghanistan have risen sharply just as Gordon Brown prepares to send hundreds more to Helmand province.
More than a third of voters (36 per cent) believe that troops should be withdrawn immediately, according to the latest Populus poll for The Times — up from 29 per cent in mid-September. The growing unease at the armed presence has been driven by women. Four out of ten want Britain to quit Afghanistan, up from three out of ten over the past month. Opposition among men has risen from 29 to 32 per cent. Support for withdrawal is highest among Labour voters.
Nine British troops were killed in the month up to the poll. Fifty-five have died in the past four months.
The poll also shows strong opposition to General Sir Richard Dannatt’s appointment as an adviser to the Conservatives and a possible defence minister in the Lords should David Cameron win the next election.

Nearly half the public (48 per cent) believes he was wrong to have become involved in party politics within six weeks of retiring as head of the Army, with 42 per cent saying he was right. Tory voters (62 per cent) are the only group backing him.
However, there is a narrow split, 47 to 42 per cent, in favour of David Cameron’s decision to appoint General Dannatt.
More than half the public (54 per cent) think General Dannatt was right to speak publicly about confidential advice he gave to Mr Brown while he was head of the Army, with 41 per cent saying he was wrong.
The findings come as the Prime Minister prepares to announce an increase in troop numbers in Afghanistan from 9,000 to 9,500. He will make a statement in the Commons today in which he will announce that he has agreed in principle to send another 500 soldiers to Helmand. Before doing so, he will read out the names of the 37 soldiers killed during the MPs’ summer break.
Army chiefs have sought extra troops to help to dominate the ground more effectively and keep the Taleban from key areas. Elements of the Royal Anglian Regiment and Coldstream Guards have already been earmarked for the deployment.
Mr Brown will couch his statement with a number of caveats. He wants reassurance from the Service chiefs that the extra 500 will have the right equipment to take with them, and he expects other Nato partners to follow suit with offers of more troops. An informal Nato defence ministers’ meeting is to take place next week when troop numbers will be raised. Ministry of Defence sources said the announcement of a troop rise “in principle” meant there were bound to be delays before the extra 500 could be sent.
The main shift in the poll has been from those believing a timetable should be set for withdrawal within a year or so and that “we should stick to that timetable regardless of the situation”. This has fallen from 40 to 32 per cent since mid-September.
More than twice as many men as women (40 to 17 per cent) believe that British troops should remain until “the Taleban is defeated and the situation there is stable, even if that takes many years”. The overall number taking this view has slipped from 28 to 27 per cent over the past month.
The public strongly supports British troops. Despite demands for withdrawal, more than three fifths of those questioned (64 per cent) agree the Government should send more troops to Afghanistan if the Army requests.
Regardless of this case, 50 per cent think the Government should always deploy extra troops if the Army asks for them, while 43 per cent think governments should take other factors into account and be willing sometimes to refuse Army requests.