British Prime Minister Tony Blair is planning military action against terrorists this weekend with the backing of two thirds of his electorate. Sixty-three percent of British voters believe Britain is now "at war" with terrorism, and 65 percent support the use of surgical air strikes against countries harboring terrorists.
The results of an Observer/YouGov poll, carried out among more than 3,000 respondents, will come as a relief to Downing Street strategists, who had been worried that support for military action against those behind the World Trade Center attacks might fade. But Blair's visits to Washington and New York last week, where he addressed a service attended by relatives of British victims, appear to have hardened support.
Voters are deeply cautious, however, about the role of President George Bush in managing the crisis. While 65 percent express confidence in Blair's judgment, only 37 percent say the same of the US leader. One of the most striking findings is that 62 percent of British voters have "little or no confidence" in Bush taking the right decisions.
Only 27 percent of voters support general air strikes against countries harboring terrorists -- a possibility raised by Bush's advisers. More than 90 percent insist the US must build global support rather than act alone.
The survey shows, as in previous conflicts, that women are less likely than men to support military action. Three quarters of men back air strikes; this falls to 55 percent among women. Fifty-three percent of men believe Britain should commit troops to the cause, a view shared by only 36 percent of women.
Older people are also more likely to back a military response. Almost four out of five voters over 40 support air strikes; this falls to 64 percent among under-40s.
There is clear endorsement for Blair's belief in conditional, rather than automatic, backing for US action -- 77 percent say the Prime Minister should tell Bush that we will only support measures that Britain has "specifically approved." Men are almost twice as likely as women to be among the 22 percent who believe in "unconditional support" for the US.
The poll also reveals that seven out of 10 people fear that the crisis is either likely or very likely to lead to "all-out war" in the Middle East. A majority think the crisis will escalate closer to home, too; 63 percent feel that terrorists will now start using other weapons of mass destruction in the West, such as chemical or nuclear weapons.
Only days after Home Secretary David Blunkett said he would consider introducing compulsory identity cards in Britain, the poll found backing for the idea from 71 percent of voters. Eighty-eight percent would be happy to see security checks in public places, such as railway stations, while 56 percent are in favor of on-street police security checks and 47 percent support increased monitoring of telephone lines and the Internet. Women are more enthusiastic supporters of these limits on civil liberties than men.
While there has been some criticism of public figures opposed to military action, the poll confirms a clear commitment to vigorous public debate, with 70 percent in favor of newspaper columnists critical of the US being allowed to voice their opposition.
Conservative voters are twice as likely as Labour or Liberal Democrats supporters to think critics should stay silent.
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