So soon?

I anticipated a drop in support among Canadians for their increased mission responsibilities in Afghanistan--just as we all expected the liberals in the U.S. to get cold feet (or at least display them) sooner or later. But really--isn't it a little soon for Canadians to start wailing about the inevitable casualties? They have little over 2000 troops there and just assumed primary leadership: Either the pollsters are out creating something from thin air, the media is spinning the results (most likely), or Canadians are truly ready to call it quits?

Read the scoop here in the Edmonton Journal.

Observe the headline: "Dangers leave Cdn's split over Afghan mission"

And yet one of the poll questions is telling.

The IpsosReid poll, conducted for CanWest News Service and Global News, found 52 per cent of Canadians feel the 2,200 Canadian Forces troops deployed to Kandahar are on a vital mission and should stay the course, while 48 per cent said the troops should be brought home as soon as possible.

I would have thought that 100 percent would think the troops should be brought home as soon as possible. Doesn't everyone think that? I mean, no one thinks (in Canada or the U.S.) that we should just waste time in another country. So "as soon as possible" means "when the mission is completed" right?

Of course, I wouldn't say "as soon as possible" because the zombie pollster probably doesn't know what he's asking and spin my answer to mean I'm anti-war. But since I'm not exactly in the "mainstream" (liberal), I guess I don't have to worry about being asked such questions.