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| Britain |
| Men and women unite to support military action |
| 2003-02-20 |
| Some heartening news from this side of the Atlantic (Edited for length) Despite claims to the contrary, YouGov's survey for The Telegraph suggests that regardless of party preference, sex, age, social class or income, the British public is broadly united in its approach to dealing with Saddam Hussein. Large majorities of both sexes believe Saddam does possess weapons of mass destruction, does pose a threat and should be disarmed, by force if necessary. For example, YouGov asked respondents which of three possible ways of dealing with Saddam corresponded most closely to their own view. [...]only a small minority of either men or women believes Saddam does not pose a threat to the outside world and that therefore no kind of attack on Iraq would be justified. A difference between the sexes exists but it concerns the relatively narrow issue of the role the United Nations should play. A considerably larger proportion of women than men would prefer to see Britain, America and their allies act on the basis of a new Security Council resolution. As the figures in the chart make plain, large majorities of both men and women are firmly on the same side of the issue. Both groups would prefer to see the UN taking the lead. I conclude from this that whilst the likes of Chirac reduce the moral authority of our oppsers in the UN to risible whimperings, provided Blair and others can shout loud enough the moral case for action, public opinion will only shift more towards military action. Even more striking is the fact that exactly equal proportions of women and men - 84 per cent - accept that Iraq under Saddam does pose a threat and that it is one that should, if necessary, be countered by force. Other findings from the YouGov survey point to considerable public uncertainty about what the ultimate aim of any military action in the Middle East should be. I can see why this worries people. YouGov asked whether people thought the main purpose of external pressure on Iraq should be to force that country to disarm or whether it should be to topple the Iraqi dictator. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the mixed messages emanating from the Government on the issue, opinion on the point, as the figures in the chart indicate, is almost evenly divided. What is clear from YouGov's data is that neither Tony Blair nor President George W Bush has succeeded in causing Britons to link Iraq in their minds with the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre. The poll asked respondents: "Is it your impression that the US wants to attack Iraq partly to revenge September 11?" It then asked: "If the US does want to revenge the attack on the World Trade Centre, is Iraq an appropriate target for such an attack?" The answers point to considerable doubt in Britain about both America's motives and its apparent selection of Iraq as a target. By more than two to one, Britons believe America does indeed have revenge in mind but, by considerably more than two to one, Britons do not believe Iraq is an appropriate target for American wrath. Britons seem to find Saddam sufficiently objectionable without his having to be linked to al-Qa'eda. YouGov's findings also suggest that a large majority of people in this country fears that the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict is souring relations between the Islamic world and the West. It asked: "Do you believe that the way Israel is handling its dispute with the Palestinians is causing Muslims in other parts of the world to turn against western countries like Britain and the US?" The responses, set out in the chart, are unambiguous. By nearly seven to one, people in Britain believe the widespread tensions between much of the Islamic world and the West are linked, at least in part, to the continuing Middle East conflict. YouGov elicited the opinions of 2,357 adults across Britain online on Feb 17 and 18. The data have been weighted to conform to the demographic profile of British adults as a whole. Blair and Bush: Must try harder Chirac: Keep up the excellent work |
| Posted by:Bulldog |