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Reuters | Ananova | Sky News | Photos Monday March 31, 10:01 AM |
LONDON (Reuters) - Public support for the war against Iraq has fallen
for the first time since the conflict began, an opinion poll shows.
The YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph also revealed a growing feeling
among people that the war was going to take much longer than they
initially believed and that British and U.S. troops were not doing as well
as expected.
Most opposed the war before the fighting started but recent polls
showed public opinion swinging behind Prime Minister Tony Blair, who
gambled his political future on a conflict that has split his party and
country.
The poll, conducted on Sunday, found 54 percent believed it was right
to take military action against Iraq -- down from 59 percent on March 27.
Those surveyed said the most inaccurate statements made about the war
before it started were that the southern city of Basra would fall swiftly,
that the invasion would spark popular uprisings and that Iraqi resistance
would crumble fast.
With the war entering day 12, Basra is still in Iraqi hands, resistance
has been unexpectedly fierce and there is little sign of a popular
uprising against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Most of the 1,004 people polled said they believed Iraqis wanted to see
Saddam toppled but still viewed U.S. and British troops as enemies.
Fifty six percent said they now believed it would take a few months to
defeat the bulk of the Iraqi army, against 37 percent on March 27 when
more people were optimistic the war could be concluded within a month.
People were also less positive about the progress of the war so far
with 30 percent saying they felt it was going "fairly badly" compared with
10 percent on March 23.
A similar survey in the United States showed that more than half of
Americans believe their government was too optimistic in its assessments
of the probable course of the war in Iraq. |
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