From: abc@a123.ca   
      
   Canadians feel 'under-informed' about military's role: study   
      
      
   BY AMY CHUNG, POSTMEDIA NEWS AUGUST 26, 2011   
      
   An Afghan soldier watches a ceremony marking the handover of the Canadian   
   Panjwai task force to American forces in forward fire base Masum Ghar in   
   Panjwai district in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, July 5,   
   2011.   
      
   OTTAWA — A new study shows that a majority of Canadians think the   
   Canadian Forces are important, but would like to see the military return   
   to a more traditional peacekeeping role instead of a combat one.   
      
   An Ipsos-Reid study, published in June 2011 for the Department of   
   National Defence and titled: Views of the Canadian Forces 2011 Tracking   
   Study, surveyed 1,651 Canadians across the country between March 21 and   
   24 on their knowledge and opinions about Canada's military and its   
   missions, primarily in Afghanistan and Libya.   
      
   When asked to describe the mission in Afghanistan, such words as   
   "deadly," "expensive," "underfunded" and "endless" were used.   
      
   "There was a also a sense of "enough is enough," the study authors wrote.   
      
   "In general, many participants seemed to feel that they were under-   
   informed about the Canadian Forces' role in Afghanistan, and that they   
   did not know why the Canadian Forces was still there," the study said.   
      
   Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan started in 2002 and ended this   
   July. Four civilians and 157 troops died during that time. Ottawa spent   
   about $11 billion on the military mission and another $1.7 billion on   
   humanitarian assistance.   
      
   Two out of three Canadians surveyed were aware of the military's shifting   
   role from combat to training Afghan troops until 2014. Nearly three-   
   quarters said they support this mission.   
      
   Respondents said the government should be selective about missions but   
   would ultimately like to see the Canadian Forces gear more toward its   
   historical peacekeeping role.   
      
   "Less combat, more peacekeeping, more humanitarian. It's expensive to   
   drop more bombs. Targeting ammo sheds in Libya, it's not about firing on   
   people, it's about disarming them so it can't continue," said one   
   respondent.   
      
   Some participants felt the Canadian Forces tends to follow the U.S.   
   military and often mistakenly referred to the Iraq conflict as an   
   example. Two in five respondents say the military is underfunded, a   
   decrease from 2010 when half of respondents felt this way.   
      
   With regards to Arctic sovereignty, 70 per cent of respondents said they   
   were concerned about other countries such as Russia, the U.S., and   
   Denmark trying to claim a piece of the remote, resource-rich area. But   
   only 62 per cent said that it's an important federal issue and should not   
   take precedence at the expense of other issues such as health care or the   
   environment.   
      
   "It's Canadian territory, we should have the ability to be there first.   
   It shouldn't be up for any other country to protect our resources in our   
   country," said one participant from Yellowknife.   
      
   "If that means putting more military (in the North), to show Denmark that   
   we really do own that island and they can't go there, then that's what we   
   should do," said another from Iqaluit.   
      
   The study is an ongoing assessment to measure Canadians' perception of   
   the military to help the Department of National Defence better   
   communicate the military's roles, mission mandates, needs and activities   
   effectively.   
      
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