Getting our allies to participate in the Iraq war may have just become a tougher proposition:

More than two-thirds of the people living in Australia, Britain and Italy - three countries allied with the United States in the Iraq war - believe the war has increased the threat of terrorism.

Leaders of those countries - prime ministers Tony Blair of Britain and John Howard of Australia and Premier Silvio Berlusconi of Italy - all get low marks from their people for their handling of the war on terrorism, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll shows.

The number of Americans who believe the Iraq war has increased the threat of terrorism is now over 50%.

"In the context of the presidential campaign in the United States, this is undeniably a blow for George W. Bush, since it shows that a majority of Americans don't agree with the main justification for his policy in Iraq," said Gilles Corman, research director at Ipsos-Inra of Belgium, who studies public opinion trends across Europe.

Time for an exit strategy. Anybody have one?