Poll: Australians' support for Iraq war falling

Australians' support for the government decision to invade Iraq has fallen, with two thirds now saying the war was not worthwhile, a poll indicated Saturday.

The respected Newspoll results are bad news for Prime Minister &to=http://english.pravda.ru/war/2003/03/27/45146.html' target=_blank>John Howard, a staunch U.S. ally who has vowed to keep Australian troops in Iraq as long as they are needed.

The 66 percent of Australians who said the war was not worthwhile was up from 58 percent a year ago, the poll published in The Australian national newspaper found.

Just 27 percent believe the war was worthwhile, compared with 32 percent a year earlier.

Among supporters of Howard's center-right government, those who back the war had dropped from 50 percent to 43 percent in the past year.