Arabs: 90% say Qaddafi illegitimate, 75% Want him Forcibly Removed

I received this press release from the Doha Debates (a member of the Qatar Foundation) by email. The results vis-a-vis Libya are not surprising, since Qaddafi is widely hated in the Arab world and everyone watched in horror as he had tank salvos and cluster bombs fired at non-combatants. But that last bit about being willing to consider a NATO intervention in Syria is astonishing. The poll is based on 1,000 respondents from 16 Arab states; it is not scientific because respondents replied to a call to fill out the form, which means that the sample is skewed to those who felt strongly enough to do volunteer to do so.

“HUGE MAJORITY OF ARABS WANT GADDAFI REMOVED FROM POWER

Doha, Qatar, May 17, 2011 – A staggering 75 per cent of Arabs want to see the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi forcibly removed from power, according to an opinion poll commissioned by The Doha Debates.

A similar number of respondents support immediate, external intervention in Libya, but insist that Arab governments should mount the operation, without assistance from NATO.

Last month, by contrast, more than half the mainly-Arab audience at The Doha Debates supported military action, led by the Western alliance.

The latest opinion survey was completed between April 26 and May 2 by 1000 respondents in 16 Arab states.

Only one in 10 Arabs now believe Gaddafi’s regime is legitimate – compared to 41 per cent who have thrown their support behind the National Transitional Council, based in Benghazi.

As for other flashpoints in the Middle East, a majority said they would not support any NATO moves in Bahrain – but would welcome the alliance’s intervention in Syria if civilians continued to be killed in the widespread disturbances. ”