Opposition to the 2003 Iraq War: Encyclopedia II - Opposition to the 2003 Iraq War - Opposition in European countries

Opposition to the 2003 Iraq War - Opposition in European countries

Around the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation of Iraq, polling data indicated that opposition to military action against Iraq was widespread in Europe [1].

'Anti-Bush' and anti-war sentiments were reflected in many western European countries, generally with the populace less sympathetic to the U.S. stance even when politicians in a given country (e.g. the UK and Spain) aligned themselves with the U.S. position. Opinion polls showed the population was against the war, with numbers as high as 90% in Spain and Italy, and also in Eastern Europe. [2] The general populations of France and Germany were opposed to the war and it would have been difficult for their governments had they failed to reflect those sentiments in policy. After the first UN resolution, the US and the UK pushed for a second resolution. The French government amongst others took the position that the UN inspection process should be allowed to be completed.

Some observers, unimpressed with US claims that Iraq's secular government had any links to Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that allegedly attacked the U.S., expressed puzzlement that the U.S. would consider military action against Iraq and not against North Korea, which had claimed it already had nuclear weapons and had announced that it was willing to contemplate war with the U.S. Many critics of the American policy did not believe that military actions would help to end terror, and believed that they would actually increase the ranks and capabilities of terrorist groups; some believed that during the war and immediate post-war period there would be a greatly increased risk that weapons of mass destruction would fall into the wrong hands (including Al-Qaeda).

Perhaps the most commonly heard criticism, at least outside of the U.S., was that the Bush Administration's reason for going to war with Saddam was to gain control over Iraqi natural resources (i.e. petroleum). Though few doubt that nuclear and WMD proliferation is a serious threat to stability and well-being, many felt that a war in Iraq would not aid in eliminating this threat and that the real reason was to secure control over the Iraqi oil fields (at a time when arguably links with Saudi Arabia were at risk). "No blood for oil" was a popular protest cry prior to the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Opposition in European countries", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki