LONDON, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks worldwide according to an opinion poll carried out for the B.B.C.
Sixty percent of people interviewed in 35 countries feel more vulnerable to terrorist strikes today than before the 2003 invasion, with only 12 percent believing attacks are less likely.
"It's official. Citizens worldwide think Western leaders have made a fundamental mistake in their war on terror by invading Iraq," said Doug Miller, president of the international polling firm GlobeScan, which carried out the survey.
Some 45 percent of respondents in the global poll believe removing Saddam was a mistake, with 36 percent saying it was a good idea. Opinion was more evenly divided over whether coalition troops should withdraw immediately from Iraq, with 35 percent saying 'yes' and 32 percent saying 'no.'
"Though the Bush administration has framed the intervention in Iraq as a means of fighting terrorism all around the world, most people view it as having increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks," Steven Kull, Director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland told the B.B.C. "The near-unanimity of this assessment among countries is remarkable in global public opinion polling."
Some 41,856 people were questioned between November and February, before the latest upsurge in sectarian violence.
