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American Morning
Poll: Britons See U.S. as Biggest Threat to World Peace
Aired February 11, 2003 - 07:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The most staunch ally the U.S. now has in the standoff with Iraq is Great Britain. But now, popular support among the English continues to waver. A new British poll suggesting a big shift in opinion there.
Let's go to Walter Rodger's at London's Heathrow Airport, where soldiers have been deployed because of a potential terror threat.
Good morning -- Walt.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
This latest poll, sponsored by Britain's channel 4, a television channel, is another bad black eye for the United States in Europe, and now especially in Britain. The British are now responding that the United States, not Iraq, not even North Korea, but the United States, according to this poll and according to the British public, is the greatest threat to world peace.
Look at the numbers in the poll; 32 percent of all British now believe that the United States is a greater threat to world peace than North Korea, which comes in at 27 percent, and a greater threat than Iraq, which is now down to only 23 percent.
The same channel 4 poll shows that the British believe on a scale of 1 to 10 that only 2.9 on a scale of 1 to 10 believe George Bush can be trusted.
Now, there's no love for Saddam Hussein in Britain; 7 in 10 of the British acknowledge he probably has weapons of mass destruction. And 68 percent, according to the same poll, believe that Saddam Hussein is trying to get a nuclear weapon.
One other very important facet of this poll is that the British now believe that because of Tony Blair's close alliance with the United States and the possibility of Britain going to war with the United States in Iraq, that there will be a greater likelihood of terrorist attacks in Britain.
I'm here at Britain's Heathrow Airport this morning, where there were essentially armored cars out, British military soldiers out around the airport. They're patrolling all four terminals, Terminal 4 this morning, because of what the British are calling a heightened security alert.
The British say it is precautionary but New Scotland Yard -- in announcing the heightened security alert in the British capital, New Scotland Yard is saying that it's a consequence of the fact that this week is the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, and they're afraid that al Qaeda may misuse that Muslim holiday to launch terror attacks in Britain; 450 British army soldiers on duty here at Heathrow Airport. That's the greatest since 1994 -- Paula.
ZAHN: Walt Rodgers, thanks for the update -- appreciate it so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired February 11, 2003 - 07:16 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The most staunch ally the U.S. now has in the standoff with Iraq is Great Britain. But now, popular support among the English continues to waver. A new British poll suggesting a big shift in opinion there.
Let's go to Walter Rodger's at London's Heathrow Airport, where soldiers have been deployed because of a potential terror threat.
Good morning -- Walt.
WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
This latest poll, sponsored by Britain's channel 4, a television channel, is another bad black eye for the United States in Europe, and now especially in Britain. The British are now responding that the United States, not Iraq, not even North Korea, but the United States, according to this poll and according to the British public, is the greatest threat to world peace.
Look at the numbers in the poll; 32 percent of all British now believe that the United States is a greater threat to world peace than North Korea, which comes in at 27 percent, and a greater threat than Iraq, which is now down to only 23 percent.
The same channel 4 poll shows that the British believe on a scale of 1 to 10 that only 2.9 on a scale of 1 to 10 believe George Bush can be trusted.
Now, there's no love for Saddam Hussein in Britain; 7 in 10 of the British acknowledge he probably has weapons of mass destruction. And 68 percent, according to the same poll, believe that Saddam Hussein is trying to get a nuclear weapon.
One other very important facet of this poll is that the British now believe that because of Tony Blair's close alliance with the United States and the possibility of Britain going to war with the United States in Iraq, that there will be a greater likelihood of terrorist attacks in Britain.
I'm here at Britain's Heathrow Airport this morning, where there were essentially armored cars out, British military soldiers out around the airport. They're patrolling all four terminals, Terminal 4 this morning, because of what the British are calling a heightened security alert.
The British say it is precautionary but New Scotland Yard -- in announcing the heightened security alert in the British capital, New Scotland Yard is saying that it's a consequence of the fact that this week is the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, and they're afraid that al Qaeda may misuse that Muslim holiday to launch terror attacks in Britain; 450 British army soldiers on duty here at Heathrow Airport. That's the greatest since 1994 -- Paula.
ZAHN: Walt Rodgers, thanks for the update -- appreciate it so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
