(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Britain remain disappointed with their government's decision to take part in the coalition effort, according to a poll by YouGov published in the Daily Telegraph. 60 per cent of respondents think the United States and Britain were wrong to take military action against Iraq.

Britain committed troops to both the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and the U.S.-led coalition effort in Iraq. The conflict against Saddam Hussein's regime was launched in March 2003. At least 3,624 soldiers have died during the military operation in Iraq, including 147 Britons.

Yesterday, Europe minister Geoff Hoon—who previously served as defence secretary—acknowledged mistakes in the planning of the coalition effort, saying, "Maybe we were too optimistic about the idea of the streets being lined with cheering people. Although I have reconciled it in my own mind, we perhaps didn't do enough to see it through the Sunni perspective. Perhaps we should have done more to understand their position."

British prime minister Tony Blair defended his decision in the House of Commons, declaring, "The reason why things are so challenging and difficult in Iraq is that we have al-Qaeda on the one hand, which is an outside terrorist organization, committing appalling acts of carnage in Iraq, and Iranian-backed Shia extremists, and our job in my view, is to stand up to both of those elements, since they're precisely the elements we face in Iraq, Afghanistan and the world over."

Polling Data

Do you think the United States and Britain were right or wrong to take military action against Iraq in 2003?

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