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The poll’s findings add weight to widespread British administration’s opposition to Blair’s support for an armed attack on Iraq
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LONDON,
September 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Seventy-one percent of
the British people oppose taking part in a war against Iraq without
United Nations approval, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported Monday,
September 2.
The
finding come in a survey carried out for the Daily Mirror and GMTV by
ICM Research.
Only
12% of those questioned think an invasion of Iraq is justified under any
circumstances, said the Mirror.
The
poll found 41 percent believed an attack against Iraq would be justified
if it were approved by the U.N.
U.S.
President George W. Bush was considered a threat to world peace by 51
percent of those polled, while 75 percent named Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein, and 77 percent named Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
ICM institute questioned a sample of 1,001 adults between August 27 and
29, said AFP.
As
opinion polls in Britain (and in France) showed a fierce opposition to a
fresh, unjustifiable strike on 12-year-sanction-hit Iraq, British Prime
Minister Tony Blair met August 17 with French Prime Minister,
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, in an attempt to heal the rift between Britain and
the rest of Europe over war on Iraq.
The
unscheduled talks in Le Vernet came amid a widening split on the issue
between Britain and her European partners, and an "offer" from
the Iraqi President to allow United Nations inspectors to return.
The
informal meeting came amid growing signs of British government unease at
the increasingly hostile rhetoric of the U.S. administration.
According
to an earlier poll in mid August, two thirds of the British voters said
they believed a military attack against Iraq is not justified.
The
British public have grave concerns over a fresh strike. They do not rate
Bush very highly and fear that a war on Iraq will somehow destabilize
the whole region, reported news agencies.
Asked
what level of confidence they had in Bush, 68 percent of the respondents
to the August Telegraph poll replied that they had "not much"
or "none".
Fifty-four
percent felt Blair was acting like Bush's "poodle".
Only
19 percent felt that British troops should be sent to back up any U.S.
action against Iraq.
The
polls findings have added weight to widespread opposition within the
British administration over the question of an armed attack against
Iraq.
