Iraq News Story

08 January 2009 18:31 BST

Iraq poll shows uncertainty remains on anniversary

Five years after Saddam Hussein's statue toppled in Baghdad, Britons remain uncertain about Iraq's future prospects.

An inthenews.co.uk poll suggests 53 per cent of respondents believe troops should be withdrawn sometime in 2008, with the remainder backing a later exit.

Furthermore the survey showed a 50-50 split on the question of whether UK troops, which have been largely stationed in the south of Iraq, have contributed to improving security in the country.

Recent violence in Basra, where the Iraqi government is struggling to assert its authority after the effective departure of UK troops from the city, reflects the ongoing uncertainty about its future.

This has forced defence secretary Des Browne to postpone plans to cut Britain's deployment in the south of Iraq to 2,500 this spring, as had been announced by Gordon Brown in autumn 2007.

According to the poll the vast majority of Britons believe the UK's international standing has been damaged by its involvement by the war in Iraq.

And, with the poll taking place before General David Petraeus told the US Congress yesterday progress following the troop surge had been significant but uneven, 57 per cent predicted the security and humanitarian situation in the country would deteriorate further in the coming year.

With the prime minister admitting last month an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the decision-making in the run-up to war will eventually have to be held, the issue is not fading from headlines.

Seventy-six per cent said they disagreed with the decision to go to war in 2003, while US president George Bush was top of the list of those to blame for the poor security situation behind al-Qaida and Iran.