2/3 Britons: Blair bears "a lot of responsibility" for attacks

7/20/2005 9:14:00 AM GMT

While Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Tuesday against linking the London bombings to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, latest poll showed that two-thirds of the British people believe there is a link between London bombings and the war in Iraq. A new poll published by The Guardian newspaper showed that third of the Britons think Blair bears "a lot of responsibility" for the attacks, while nearly a-third think he's at least "a little" responsible, and less than a third say he shouldn't be blamed.

In the poll, conducted by a polling company for The Guardian during the period between July 15 to 17, a random sample of 1,005 adults aged from 18 were asked "to what extent, if at all, Tony Blair's decision to invade Iraq was responsible for the bombings."

"Sept. 11 happened of course before both of these things, and then the excuse was American policy, or Israel. They will always have their reasons for acting. But we have got to be really careful of almost giving in to the perverted and twisted logic with which they argue," claimed the British Prime Minister.

Blair met On Tuesday at his Downing Street office in London with 25 Muslim politicians, theologians and community leaders.

The community leaders were joined at the end of the meeting by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who is in London for talks with Blair

. Also according to the poll, 75 percent of those questioned believe further attacks in the UK were likely, while 11 percent said the opposite.

The poll comes after the British government rejected a report by an influential think-tank that says that Britain's decision to join the United States in the Iraq war left it more vulnerable to attacks like the July 7 bombings, in which 56 people lost their lives, and hundreds were wounded.

There was "no doubt" that the invasion of Iraq caused particular difficulties for Britain, said the report.

The government criticized the report from the formerly Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Although the British Prime Minister rejects the link between Iraq war and London bombings, the government announced it will scale back its 8,500 troops in Iraq during the next 12 months to take over responsibility for security in the country.

Blair won a third term in office in May with a reduced Parliamentary majority, saying he would stand down rather than fight for a fourth term.

Although he hasn’t yet set a date for his departure, it would be hastened if he is blamed for making Britain more vulnerable to attacks.

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