you betcha... there's a new chef in town
Posted on 10/15/2002 6:15:02 PM PDT by Pokey78
There has been a spectacular surge in support among British voters for military action against Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the terror attack in Bali, according to the latest Guardian/ICM poll.
The survey, which was carried out on Monday, shows that support for a military attack on Iraq has risen 10 points in the last week from 32% to 42% of voters.
The ICM poll also shows that more voters agree with Tony Blair that it is necessary to fight on two fronts against both al-Qaida and Iraq. Only one in three voters agree that the United States and Britain "took their eye off the ball" by concentrating on Iraq.
Mr Blair yesterday told the Commons in an emergency statement that the Bali attack was "an act of pure wickedness" which he said would be met "with defiance and determination".
He told MPs that he entirely rejected the contention that terrorism should be fought alone and that dealing with Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was a distraction.
"Some say that we should fight terrorism alone and that the issues to do with weapons of mass destruction are a distraction. I reject that entirely," he said. "Both, though different in means, are the same in nature. Both are the new threats facing the post-cold war world. Both are threats from people of states who do not care about human life, who have no compunction about killing the innocent. Both represent the extreme replacing the rational, the fanatic driving out moderation."
The Guardian/ICM poll shows that 41% of voters agree with the prime minister that it is not a choice between fighting either Iraq or al-Qaida. Fewer - 35% - disagreed and said they believed the United States had "taken its eye off the ball".
The level of support for a military attack on Iraq is now at its highest level since the Guardian started a weekly tracker poll on the question in August. Opposition to a war against Iraq reached a peak in the last week of August when it touched 50% and has now fallen to its lowest level at 37%.
Support for a war against Iraq is strongest amongst men - 51% approve as opposed to only 34% of women - and among 25- 34-year-olds who approve by 52% to 25%. Opposition to war is strongest among women - 41% of whom disapprove compared with 33% of men.
The poll results also show that the belief that a new UN mandate is needed before British troops are committed remains overwhelming with 85% of voters saying this must be a precondition.
A similar proportion - 81% - also says there needs to be a Commons vote before there is British participation in an attack on Iraq. Mistrust of Saddam Hussein also remains at a very high level in Britain. Three-quarters say they do not believe he would honour his commitment to allow UN weapons inspectors into Iraq without any conditions. Only 13% are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.
ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,008 adults aged 18 and over by telephone on Monday 14 October. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
And you are quite correct. If the Guardian is showing a ten-point surge, it may actually be more than that.
This is Huuuuuuge ! God bless the U.K. !
Oh, those cynical British. They just need to have Jim McDermott and David Bonior come over there and tell them that they personally got assurances from Saddam that he'll let the UN weapons inspectors do their jobs.
/sarcasm
How predictable.
I wonder how many have to die befoe they attain a majority.
you betcha... there's a new chef in town
If Al Qaeda remains true to form, they will now target the French and the Germans. It is hard to think of an attack that would not be good tactics when you believe that God is on your side.
These attacks just show huge misjudgement on the part of Al Qaeda. History has clearly shown that virtually all groups come together in common defense when attacked. If they do enough of these, the western governments will be hard pressed to keep their people from demanding an extermination of all Muslims. That would not be good, but we have already seen many otherwise sane people calling for the destruction of Mecca via atomic weapons.
An article from The Independent(UK) is reporting the same 10% change.
Oh, they're definitely in a snit, all right. Notice how they said only 13% are prepared to give Saddam the benefit of the doubt, when they should have said, "Unbelievably, a whopping 13% are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt." Because it is un-freaking-believable that 13% of those polled really think Saddam is to be trusted in this matter.
It’s real sad. What’s sadder is that only 42% now believe military action is warranted. This begs the question: What do they the other 58% think should be done instead? Diplomacy? That requires a desire to negotiate. These idiot terrorists have proven well beyond doubt that they, and the issues that cause them to hate us, are non-negotiable.
We are moving in that direction, although I don't think the United States will ever go as far as that. But if they use nukes, all bets are off.
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