Iraq war made world more dangerous, say most Britons

Twice as many Britons believe that the Iraq war has made the world more dangerous compared with those who hold the opposite view, according to a new survey.

The Washington-based Pew Research Center, in a poll of 17,000 people in 15 countries between March and May, found more people worldwide were more concerned about the US presence in Iraq than about Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

In Britain, 60 percent of respondents said that the Iraq war had made the world more dangerous, with only half the number holding the opposite view.

Some 41 percent of Britons also felt that the US presence in Iraq represented a great danger to peace, more than the number of French or Germans, even though their countries, unlike the UK, refused to be militarily involved.

The highest number in the UK was the 45 percent that believed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a great danger to world peace.

On other issues, just over a quarter of Britons expressed a great deal of concern about climate change, while only 9 percent said they were worried about the spread of bird flu.