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Poll: Brits Want Troops Out
Support falls for Tony Blair's Iraq strategy
An opinion poll carried out for Britain's Guardian newspaper suggests that over 60 percent of Britons want British forces to leave Iraq by the end of the year. 45 percent apparently want an "immediate" withdrawal.
A poll for the showed similar results.
Only 30 percent of Britons polled support Tony Blair's plans to keep forces in Iraq "for as long as is necessary."
The Indie's poll looks in more detail at British opinions on Iraq. 72 percent believe the war is "unwinnable" - the same figure believes that Iraq will descend into civil war if troops withdraw. If the polls are to be believed, they seems to amount a collective shrugging of shoulders from the British.
The polls have strengthened calls for a Commons debate on Britain's exit strategy for Iraq. Several senior figures claim that Britain's 7,200 troops may be ready to leave by the end of next year, but Blair and his remaining allies are unwilling to set what they call "false deadlines."
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih warned that Britain and the US should resist the temptation to "cut and run" in Iraq. "Iraq is a pivotal state. It is in the heart of the Middle East and stability in Iraq is vital, not only to the people of Iraq but to the region and the world at large," he said, in an interview with the BBC.
Both the Guardian and the Independent were vehemently opposed to the Iraq war and have been strongly critical of its progress since the 2003 invasion.
