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'Bush is a war criminal'
17/06/2006 20:28 - (SA)
Vienna - Austrian right-wing populist, Joerg Haider, called United States President George W Bush a war criminal on Saturday, days before Austria's government hosts Bush and European leaders in Vienna.
Haider, whose group is part of Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's government coalition, said Bush's meeting with his European peers on Wednesday was "pointless" as he did not expect the US president to pay attention to what Europe had to tell him.
"He is a war criminal. He brought about the war against Iraq deliberately, with lies and falsehoods," said Haider in an interview with Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse.
"The Iraqi population is suffering terribly. Bush took the risk of an enormous number of victims," said Haider.
Haider visited Iraq's former president, Saddam Hussein, shortly before the US-led invasion in 2003.
US popularity in Austria has plummeted in the last three years, Die Presse reported separately, citing a Euro-barometer poll.
The poll showed 62% of Austrians thought the US played a negative role in world peace, up from 56% in the same poll in 2003.
About 49% thought the US's role in fighting terrorism was a negative one.
- Reuters
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