BERLIN, Feb 16: Two-thirds of all Germans say their feelings toward the United States have soured because of the Iraq conflict, according to a poll commissioned for Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The poll findings come a day after half a million anti-war protesters turned out in Berlin for the largest protest march in the city since the heyday of Vietnam anti-war protests.

The findings also coincided with warnings by federal law enforcement officials that Germany could come in for terrorist reprisals if Berlin agrees to a tacit role in any war in Iraq.

The poll, carried out by the Polis Institute, showed that 65 per cent of Germans say their respect for the US has fallen because of the Bush administration’s buildup toward war in the Gulf. The percentage was even higher among women, with 70 per cent saying they were more anti-American in their feelings now than before the crisis. Among men, the percentage was 61.

Only 31 per cent of respondents in the survey of 1,016 persons said Germany’s opposition to war had harmed the country’s international reputation. The same percentage, 31 per cent, said Germany’s foreign policy stance has isolated the nation on the international stage.

Federal law enforcement authorities in Germany said the threat of terrorist attacks could be heightened if Berlin takes a more active part in the US-led military building in the Gulf, according to a report in Der Spiegel news magazine.

The report, to appear in the Monday edition of Der Spiegel, says attacks on “soft targets” could occur if Germany were to deliver Patriot missiles to Nato ally Turkey or Fuchs armoured surveillance vehicles to Kuwait.

The magazine cited a classified situation paper prepared by analysts of the BKA Federal Criminal Investigation Office.

Likely terrorist targets would be US and British airlines along with oil company outlets such as refineries and service stations.

Terrorists could also target “German representatives at home and abroad”, the report said.—dpa