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Public support in UK for Iraq war falls sharply
London, July 08: Public support in Britain for the Iraq war has fallen sharply, with 45 per cent now believing that military action was wrong, a poll for the Times newspaper today suggested.
London, July 08: Public support in Britain for the Iraq war has fallen sharply, with 45 per cent now believing that military action was wrong, a poll for the Times newspaper
today suggested.
Whereas 64 per cent in April and 58 per cent in May thought military action was "the right thing to do," 47 per cent felt the same way when quizzed last Friday through
Sunday, the poll indicated.
Eight per cent replied "don't know." The poll, by the populous organization, was conducted after a month of allegations -- denied by Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government -- that Downing Street doctored intelligence data to beef up the case for war.
A report from the House of Commons foreign affairs committee yesterday, after two weeks of hearings, criticized Blair for the way he presented the case for joining the US-led war that began March 20. But it also concluded that his government did not mislead the nation over the threat posed by the now-deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction.
The poll, involving a random sample of 1,000 adults quizzed by telephone all over Britain, also followed the killing in an Iraqi town of six British soldiers -- the first to die since major combat was declared over on May 1.
Asked if Blair had the "leadership qualities needed in a Prime Minister," 56 per cent replied yes -- compared to 25 per cent for the opposition conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith. But 38 per cent said Blair did not, and 54 per cent agreed when asked: "I wouldn't trust him further than I could throw him."
Bureau Report
Eight per cent replied "don't know." The poll, by the populous organization, was conducted after a month of allegations -- denied by Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government -- that Downing Street doctored intelligence data to beef up the case for war.
A report from the House of Commons foreign affairs committee yesterday, after two weeks of hearings, criticized Blair for the way he presented the case for joining the US-led war that began March 20. But it also concluded that his government did not mislead the nation over the threat posed by the now-deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction.
The poll, involving a random sample of 1,000 adults quizzed by telephone all over Britain, also followed the killing in an Iraqi town of six British soldiers -- the first to die since major combat was declared over on May 1.
Asked if Blair had the "leadership qualities needed in a Prime Minister," 56 per cent replied yes -- compared to 25 per cent for the opposition conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith. But 38 per cent said Blair did not, and 54 per cent agreed when asked: "I wouldn't trust him further than I could throw him."
Bureau Report