Shift in Public Opinion for Military Action

Some 54 per cent of people in Britain feel that recent US military action against Iraq was justified, according to new research from TNS. This is a significant increase from the 10 per cent of Britons who said they would support the war in a similar study in January, reflecting a major shift in opinion since the war took place.

Despite this shift, only a minority of Britons (one in five) feel that the threat of terrorism has been 'significantly reduced' by the war and more than half of the public believes that the world has become a 'more dangerous place' since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sue Homeyard, Omnibus Director at TNS, commented: 'Prior to the war with Iraq, public sentiment against the war was very strong with a significant proportion of people in Britain stating that they would not support military action against Iraq under any circumstances. However, the swiftness of the war and the successful overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime is likely to have contributed to some people in Britain believing the war was justified. Despite this, the impact of the war has had a negative effect on the public perception of international security, suggesting that people in Britain still have serious concerns about global safety.'

Although the public has shown a greater tolerance towards the war in the aftermath of the conflict, a majority of Britons (62 per cent) still feel that the US, on the whole, is 'too keen' to use military force.

At the same time, half of those surveyed feel that America's relationships with countries opposed to the war, such as France and Germany, may be harder to remedy.

Homeyard added: 'It remains to be seen whether the US will be able to rebuild relationships with some of its former European allies. The success or failure of this is likely to hinge on whether America decides to take further military action in the Middle East.'

The findings also show that opinion towards the United Nations (UN) has been significantly undermined. More than six out of ten people in Britain (63 per cent) feel that the UN had been 'seriously damaged' by recent events. Yet despite this, more than eight out of ten Britons (83 per cent) believe that the UN should be involved in the reconstruction of Iraq.

A representative sample of 1009 adults aged 16 and above were interviewed by telephone from 2nd to 4th May 2003. Questions were included as part of PhoneBus telephone omnibus.

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

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