"America's Image Slips, But Allies Share U.S. Concerns over Iran, Hamas" - Summary of Findings from the 2006 Pew Global Attitudes Survey, released 13 June 2006
America's global image has again slipped and support for the war on terrorism has declined even among close U.S. allies like Japan. The war in Iraq is a continuing drag on opinions of the United States, not only in predominantly Muslim countries but in Europe and Asia as well. And despite growing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the U.S. presence in Iraq is cited at least as often as Iran - and in many countries much more often - as a danger to world peace.
A year ago, anti-Americanism had shown some signs of abating, in part because of the positive feelings generated by U.S. aid for tsunami victims in Indonesia and elsewhere. But favorable opinions of the United States have fallen in most of the 15 countries surveyed. Only about a quarter of the Spanish public (23%) expresses positive views of the U.S., down from 41% last year; America's image also has declined significantly in India (from 71% to 56%) and Indonesia (from 38% to 30%).
Yet the survey shows that Americans and the publics of major U.S. allies share common concerns, not only over the possible nuclear threat posed by Iran but also over the recent victory by the Hamas Party in Palestinian elections. In contrast, the predominantly Muslim populations surveyed generally are less worried about both of these developments....
The latest survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, conducted among nearly 17,000 people in the United States and 14 other nations from March 31-May 14, finds that the U.S.-led war on terror draws majority support in just two countries - India and Russia. In India, support for the U.S.-led war on terror has increased significantly over the past year - from 52% to 65% - even though opinions of the U.S. have grown more negative over that period.
But in most other countries, support for the war on terror is either flat or has declined. In Japan, barely a quarter of respondents (26%) now favor the U.S.-led war on terror, down from 61% in the summer of 2002. Only about four-in-ten Indonesians (39%) back the war on terror, compared with 50% a year ago. And in Spain, the site of a devastating terrorist attack two years ago, four times as many people oppose the war on terror as support it (76% vs. 19%).
The survey shows that the Iraq war continues to exact a toll on America's overall image and on support for the struggle against terrorism. Majorities in 10 of 14 foreign countries surveyed say that the war in Iraq has made the world a more dangerous place. In Great Britain, America's most important ally in Iraq, 60% say the war has made the world more dangerous, while just half that number (30%) feel it has made the world safer.
Moreover, even as concerns about Iran have increased, somewhat more Britons believe that the U.S. military presence in Iraq represents a great danger to stability in the Middle East and world peace than say that about the current government in Iran (by 41%-34%). In Spain, fully 56% say the U.S. military presence in Iraq is a great danger to the stability of the Middle East and world peace; just 38% regard the current government in Iran in the same way. Among America's traditional allies, Germany is the only country where more people say Iran is a great danger than offer the same view of the U.S. military presence in Iraq (by 51%-40%).
Opinions about threats to global peace also reflect regional concerns. While solid majorities in Jordan and Egypt see America's presence in Iraq as a great danger, even higher percentages in these countries view the Israel-Palestinian conflict as a great danger to regional stability and world peace. The Japanese are particularly concerned about North Korea - 46% say the government there represents a great danger to world peace. Those concerns are not shared nearly as much in China, which borders North Korea; just 11% of Chinese feel that the current government in Pyongyang poses a great danger to Asian stability and world peace....
Reports about U.S. prison abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have attracted broad attention in Western Europe and Japan - more attention, in fact, than in the United States. Roughly three-quarters of Americans (76%) say they have heard of the prison abuses, compared with about 90% or more in the four Western European countries and Japan.
Among predominantly Muslim countries, large majorities in Egypt (80%), Jordan (79%), and Turkey (68%) say they have heard of the reports of prison abuse. But in Indonesia, Pakistan, and among Muslims in Nigeria, most people have not heard of this issue. Moreover, just 38% of Chinese and 23% of Indians say they are aware of the prison abuse story....
Also see:
"America's Image Declining in Indonesia" - AP (Jakarta), as carried in the Jakarta Post (Indonesia), 15 June 2006
JAKARTA (AP): America's image is declining again in Indonesia, reversing a brief rise attributed to U.S. aid to the world's most populous Muslim country following the devastating tsunami in 2004, poll results showed.
Indonesia is seen as a close U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism, but the Pew Global Attitudes Project survey results, released Tuesday (Wednesday Jakarta time), also said public support for the campaign dropped sharply this year in the archipelago.
U.S. officials have hoped that helping out in recent disasters in Muslim countries like Indonesia and Pakistan would help win hearts and minds. The poll seemed to suggest that such gains may be short-lived.
Only 30 percent of the 1,022 Indonesians surveyed April 8-30 indicated they have a favorable opinion of the United States, according to the poll, co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former U.S. Sen. John C. Danforth.
America's image plunged from a 75 percent approval rating in 1999-2000 to just 15 percent in 2003, the poll said. It recovered to a 38 percent positive assessment in 2005 -- after Washington rushed aid to survivors of the tsunami -- before falling again this year.
By contrast, Indonesians had generally positive views of Japan, with a 78 percent favorable rating; China, 62 percent; Germany, 56 percent; and France, 52 percent.
Support for the U.S.-led fight against terrorism dropped to 38 percent from 50 percent last year, the poll said.
Confidence in President George W. Bush remained steady at 2005's mark of 20 percent, which was up from just 8 percent in 2003. Other world leaders didn't fair much better, with France's Jacques Chirac getting just 30 percent approval, Britain's Tony Blair 23 percent and Russia's Vladimir Putin 21 percent.
Indonesians gave the highest approval rating of the United Nations -- 78 percent -- of the 15 countries surveyed by Pew....
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