From US Newswire:
A majority of Afghans surveyed think that their country is heading in the right direction, despite their concerns over security and the economic situation, according a public opinion survey report released today by The Asia Foundation. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed said they thought Afghanistan was heading in the right direction, while only 11 percent said the country was heading in the wrong direction, though respondents in the South and Northwest of the country were far less optimistic than the population as a whole.
Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said they plan to vote in the elections, currently scheduled for September or October 2004, and 77 percent said they thought the elections would "make a difference". Security and the economy were the greatest "national" concerns of those surveyed, with 37 percent naming security as the most important national problem, while 29 percent listed the economy. However, only in the South and the Northwest was security the top national concern; elsewhere it was the economy. This is reflected in the fact that security was listed as the leading 'local' problem by only 15 percent of respondents, behind the economy and infrastructure.
Matt's Chat
This is a foreign policy success for the President. Some will say the War on Terror is nothing but revenge, but I disagree. This is what it is about. Spreading freedom and democracy is the goal of the War on Terror; those are the weapons with which we will achieve our ultimate goal in this war.Mark's Remarks
I bet most media outlets won't cover this. In fact, I know they won't. The only thing I heard today about Afghanistan was that we are working on the risks of terror during elections, and thinking about casualty figures. Love that media! Who cares about truthful and fair news, we gotta win an election for Johnny boy!
The truth is that the Afghanis are getting it, the Iraqis are catching on. Freedom and democracy are the real deal, and as Matt said, this realization and advocacy of these ideals are the ultimate weapons to winning the war on terror and ignorance.
