War: interesting poll result

[Tannin]

As you must all know by now, Australia is one of only three countries commited to war on Iraq (alongside the United States and Britain). As you probably also all know by now, my particular part of the country is a small rural town of about 90,000 people. Country towns in general are known for their conservative attitudes, and Ballarat more than most. If any part of the country could be expected to support Prime Minister Howard's wish to make war on Iraq, it would be Ballarat.

Imagine my surprise, then, to open the local paper and discover that even this bastion of old-fashioned right-wing support for anything American is anything but keen on participating in a unilaterial war.

Support joining US action against Iraq: 29%
Oppose joining US action against Iraq: 60%
Unsure: 11%

Less than one-third of people in conservative, pro-US Ballarat support joining Bush's war.

In sharp contrast, Ballarat people are deeply committed to supporting United Nations action:

Support joining UN-sanctioned action against Iraq:60%
Oppose joining UN-sanctioned action against Iraq: 30%
Unsure: 10%

Almost two-thirds of Ballarat people support joining a United Nations action.

(PS: there is one of those stupid internet poll thingies on their web page: ignore that meaningless nonsense - I'm not even going to link to it. The figures above were from a proper random telephone survey and published on the front page yesterday.)

 

[Tannin]

By the way, the latest national figures are:

24% support Australian participation in a US attack without UN approval.

67% support Australian articipation in an attack with UN approval.

 

[Mickey]

Sounds similar to the breakdown for folks in the US. Most people support an attack only if a UN resolution is passed. Of course, being on the Left Coast as I am the breakdown is probably skewed more against the war than for it.

 

[Howell]

Tannin, Is your town planning any sort of group message to the PM?

PS. Among UN Council members, Spain and I think Bulgaria are also commited. Thanks for the support though. I never hear any news that Oz is commited.

 

[Tannin]

I shouldn't think so, Howell. If the national polls are anything to go by - and they do look kosher, they all agree to within a few percent - we are smack bang in the middle of the mainstream. All the other towns in Oz are saying and thinking the same things.

Committed? Hoolie Doolie! Australia is one of only three nations in the entire world to have already sent troops! (alongside the US and the UK).

I think the group message to the Prime Minister will come from more places than just Ballarat, and it will happen in about 18 months time when Howard loses the next election. He needs to think really, really seriously about this.

The last time an Australian Government committed troops to a conflict without the clear support of the majority of the Australian people, it was Vietnam. There, the pro-troops side had 50 to 60% of the public, with the anti-troops side having 40-50% support. (Guestimates.) And we all know what a disaster that turned out to be.

This time, Howard has committed troops with 60% against , 10% undecided, and only 29% in favour. Quite simply, he is mad.

Now, if the Shrub Administration would only have the sense to get out there into the real world and actually talk to foreigners face-to-face same way that Bush Snr's crew did, instead of thinking that they can do everything by telephone, they might get that UN mandate - and like the citizens of so many other countries, Australians support the idea of acting provided it is a proper, legal UN decision. (Better than 60% support, only 30% against.)

Seriously, imagine I am the President of ... of ... say Belgium or Botswana. How impressed do you think I would be with your bona fides if you care so little about my opinion that you can't even be bothered getting onto one of your VIP jets to come and talk to me about it?

How impressed do you think I would be with a nation so in-bred and inward-looking that two-thirds of US Congressmen don't even hold a passport?

The message from Australia (and indeed from the rest of the world) is very clear: respect international law and do things the right way, and we will all help. If Shrub insists on setting himself above the international law that he himself appplies to everyone else, then he and all his followers can go to hell.

(The same applies to Saddam: if he wants to comply with UN resolutions, then fine: we will leave him alone and do our best to sell him vast quantities of wheat. If not, then we will work to get the UN to agree on action, and provide troops, ships and aircraft to help perform that action.)

 

[its.fubar]

It is a fantastic democratic show our democracy are showing the rest of the world,and what a wonderful world we are living in the twenty first century,don't forget to how we interact and educate the less fortunate into believing the western democratic system is something to behold,with words like You to can be rich like us, you do what we tell you to or you go hungry next year, and isn't the global economy something that we all should strive after with It's fantastic perception that there is enough for everybody.


Don't misunderstand me now I really do think the world really does need the west and out teachers they are doing such a great job in teaching the third world everything they need to know about the western first class civilized nations and of course how they should become exactly like us.

I really do also believe our great great grandchildren We'll be so proud of us in the knowledge we can destroy any country that disagrees with us at the drop of a hat and won't lose any sleep Doing it .