大象传媒

Bridget Kendall reports on an emotional homecoming parade for the 1st Battalion Princess of Wales Royal regiment in Portsmouth to a rousing public reception, with support for the troops tempered by mixed feelings about the mission, as evidenced by two contributions from members of the crowd.

In the studio, there is analysis of a Guardian/大象传媒 Newsnight public opinion poll sampling 1000 people on various aspects of the war in Afghanistan.

Asked when Britain should aim to pull its troops out, 42% said now, 14% said by the end of the year and 40% said they should stay until the end of 2011, or as long as is necessary.

As for what impact the troops are having, 33% thought they were improving the situation, 46% thought they were making no difference and 16% thought they were making things worse.

Overall attitudes to the British operation in Afghanistan showed that 46% supported, while 47% opposed it. This is compared to a similar poll in 2006, which showed 31% support and 53% opposition. Kendall makes the point that, although this would appear to indicate an upsurge in support for the Afghan war, the 2006 poll was taken at the height of the Iraq conflict.

The report closes with shots of a small protest from the Stop The War coalition outside Downing Street that afternoon and a brief interview with Brian and Jill Murphy, whose son Joseph died in Afghanistan, with Kendall noting that British politicians will be watching to see how the public responds as fatalities rise.

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