How to push an anti-Afghan-mission agenda

Hire the right pollster:

Canadians support talks with Taliban: poll

Canadians still think it's a good idea to negotiate with Afghanistan's Taliban insurgents as a way to end the violence there, a poll finds.

[...]

"In a way, it's a very Canadian thing to believe that nothing can't be solved by sitting across a table and talking," Peter Donolo of The Strategic Counsel told CTV.ca on Sunday.

However, Canadians might also think the mission is a morass, with no real end point in sight, he said...

Why, pray tell, would the Globe and Mail, which also sponsored the poll, and CTV hire a certain Mr Donolo (link via Milnet.ca) if they are seeking unbiased information?

From 1993 to 1999, Peter served as Director of Communications in the Prime Minister's Office and chief communications strategist for Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his government. In that position, Peter established a strong record in developing successful communications strategies for the most important government initiatives and most contentious political and public policy issues of the past decade. In the process, he established a strong personal reputation in one of the most intense and high-pressured jobs of its kind.

Following his tenure in the PMO, Peter served for two years as Canadian Consul General to Milan...

I guess the Globe's just gotta keep pushing that agenda forward.

Mark C.

Update: The Globe (unlike CTV which is part of the same company) has not, for reasons which escape me, reported on the negotiation section of this poll.

Upperdate: Kate McMillan shows how Charles Adler fisked the polling firm, Strategic Council.

Posted by markc at May 22, 2007 07:18 AM