Posted on 03/20/2003 2:30:51 PM PST by JohnHuang2
POLL-Australians evenly divided over Iraq war
CANBERRA, March 21 (Reuters) - Australians appear almost evenly divided over the involvement of their troops in a U.S.-led war on Iraq, and a majority support the U.S. role, the first poll released since the start of the war showed on Friday.
The Morgan poll showed 46.5 percent of 1,067 respondents approved of Australian participation in the Iraq war, while 48.5 percent were opposed -- a marked contrast with other polls which have shown two-thirds of Australians against the war.
The poll was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday nights, the night before and the night after the United States launched its attack on Iraq. The war began on Thursday afternoon Australian time.
Tens of thousands of Australians took to the streets on Thursday to protest the government's staunch backing of the U.S.-led attack and the participation of a 2,000-strong Australian force in the war.
The Roy Morgan Research Centre, which carried out the survey, also found a 51.5 percent majority said they approved of the use of U.S. force against Iraq to depose President Saddam Hussein, while 41 percent disapproved and 7.5 percent were undecided.
Australia's Prime Minister John Howard has been a staunch and consistent supporter of U.S. President George W. Bush's hard line against Iraq and has committed a 2,000-strong force of elite SAS troops, combat jets and warships to the war.
Conscious of his divided nation, the prime minister addressed the nation on Thursday to describe the "horrific" regime of Saddam Hussein and argue that disarming Iraq sent a vital message to other "despotic regimes" such as North Korea.
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