By Nigel Morris
The Independent, 10 May 2004
VOTERS SUPPORT the withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq by the end of next month by a majority of two to one, a poll for The Independent reveals today.
With ministers considering sending more soldiers to Iraq to quell the insurrection against Allied forces, the survey reflects growing public discontent about government policy on the war and occupation.
The poll, which contradicts recent surveys showing a narrow majority wanting to keep troops in Iraq, comes at a turbulent time for the Government, rocked by allegations over the mistreatment of Iraqi captives.
Tony Blair, speaking on French television last night during a visit to Paris, apologised for any abuse by British soldiers. Echoing the US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's apology before Congress on Friday, Mr Blair said: "We apologise deeply to anyone who has been mistreated by any of our soldiers."
In a further embarrassment for Britain and America, it emerged that their ambassadors to Switzerland had been summoned by the Swiss government to demand respect for international law in the treatment of prisoners in Iraq.
Acting as the guardian of the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare, the Swiss Foreign Minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, said she felt "abhorrence and rage" over the disclosures of prisoner abuse.
She told the SonntagsBlick weekly: "It violates international humanitarian law. I am very concerned. These are occurrences that we cannot keep silent about."
Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, faces an uncomfortable Commons appearance today . It is bound to be dominated by challenges about the alleged abuse of prisoners of war and suggestions that the Government was alerted to human rights concerns about their treatment as long as a year ago.
His appearance comes as the situation in Iraq descends further into crisis. Last night, a bomb ripped through the bar of the Four Seasons Hotel in central Baghdad, wounding two British civilians, two Nepalese and two Iraqis, according to early reports. Another explosion at a market in the city killed at least three Iraqis and wounded nine. Three Iraqi policemen, two civilians and a guerrilla were killed in a gun battle.
British forces patrolling Basra were under attack throughout the weekend, first confronting hundreds of militiamen loyal to the radical Shia leader Muqtada Sadr on Saturday and then suffering a grenade attack yesterday.
Calm was restored to the city last night, with at least two Iraqis left dead and seven British troops injured.
Details of the first court martial in connection with abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers were announced. Specialist Jeremy Sivits, 24, of Pennsylvania, a member of the 372nd Military Police Company, will stand trial in Baghdad on 19 May. He has been charged with conspiracy to maltreat subordinates and detainees, dereliction of duty and cruelty and maltreatment of detainees.
The NOP survey for The Independent was conducted between 30 April and 2 May as the storm broke over pictures of British soldiers allegedly abusing Iraqi prisoners. It also followed an upsurge of attacks on coalition forces. Fifty-five per cent of respondents called for British troops to be pulled out by 30 June, the planned date for the transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi administration. Sixteen per cent supported an immediate withdrawal and 39 per cent thought the 8,000 soldiers in Iraq should be brought back to coincide with next month's handover of power.
Twenty-eight per cent supported an open-ended British military commitment to Iraq, and 17 per cent said they did not have a firm view.
Hostility to British involvement in Iraq runs across both sexes, all age groups, all social classes and all parts of the country. The deployment is opposed by 57 per cent of women, 53 per cent of men, 52 per cent of professional and managerial groups, 59 per cent of unskilled workers, 61 per cent of the over-65s and 54 per cent of voters between 15 and 24 years old. The opposition is shared by at least 55 per cent of voters in Scotland, the North, the Midlands and the South.
The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the poll.
Professor Colin Francombe, of Middlesex University, who commissioned the survey, said: "People were sold war on the basis that it would only be temporary. Most do not want it to be an ongoing commitment."
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Citation: Nigel Morris. "Poll shows majority want UK troops to pull out," The Independent, 10 May 2004.
Original URL: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=519735
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