No to War

Four out of ten people in Britain (40 per cent) are not in favour of military action against Iraq 'under any circumstances' according to findings published by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) and Gallup International Association (GIA). A further 39 per cent of Britons would only support a war with Iraq if it were sanctioned by the United Nations, with just one in ten (10 per cent) fully supporting military action.

The study - undertaken across 40 countries and territories worldwide - has found little support for America and its allies to attack Iraq. At a global level, more than half of all respondents (52 per cent) said they would not support a war in Iraq under any circumstances, with a further 30 per cent only supporting military action if sanctioned by the UN.

Although people in America showed the strongest support for a war against Iraq globally, just one third (33 per cent) were in favour of unilateral military action by America and its allies. This suggests that, even at home, George Bush has a long way to go to convince the public that a war in Iraq is the right course of action. In Western European markets, sentiment against war was strongest in Spain and France.

If America did launch an attack on Iraq, less than five out of ten people in Britain (44 per cent) believe the country should support the military action. Across Europe, support for America in a war with Iraq fell to just 29 per cent in France, 24 per cent in Germany and 16 per cent in Spain.

Despite the low levels of support for military action, 85 per cent of people in Britain believed that a war with Iraq was 'likely' to be launched in the next few months.

Anita Emery, Director Omnimas, Taylor Nelson Sofres commented 'Although world leaders such as President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have pledged that a war against Iraq will be launched in forthcoming months, these findings show that, at a global level, the public majority has yet to be persuaded that military action should be taken. Moreover, if an attack on Iraq is launched, public support for the US is likely to be low in the majority of countries surveyed. With political leaders in key markets such as France and Germany refusing to stand by the US, more will need to be done by the US to establish whether a war is the most appropriate form of action to take against Iraq.'

The GIA survey interviewed 29,982 people in January 2003 across 40 countries worldwide.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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