From RAW STORY
A "secret military poll commissioned by senior officers" from the Ministry of Defence reveals that the majority of Iraqis support the insurgent attacks against British and American troops, according to an exclusive story in The Sunday Telegraph.Among other findings, the poll also concludes that 82 percent are against the continued occupation and that millions of Iraqis believe that suicide attacks are justified.
The survey's results are "markedly different" than a poll conducted in March of 2004 by the BBC which found that "whilst the overwhelming majority of respondents thought any violence was unacceptable, some 17% said attacks on coalition forces would be acceptable."
The article notes that the poll "appears to contradict claims made by Gen Sir Mike Jackson, the Chief of the General Staff, who only days ago congratulated British soldiers for "supporting the Iraqi people in building a new and better Iraq."
Earlier today, President Bush gave a short speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California during the opening ceremony of the Air Force One Pavillion, in which he claimed that "we're draining the militants of future recruits by replacing hatred and resentment with democracy and hope and freedom across the broader Middle East."
These are the major findings from the secret MoD poll as published in The Daily Telegraph:
- Forty-five per cent of Iraqis believe attacks against British and American troops are justified - rising to 65 per cent in the British-controlled Maysan province;
- 82 per cent are "strongly opposed" to the presence of coalition troops;
- less than one per cent of the population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security;
- 67 per cent of Iraqis feel less secure because of the occupation;
- 43 per cent of Iraqis believe conditions for peace and stability have worsened;
- 72 per cent do not have confidence in the multi-national forces.
