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World image of US declines { December 5 2002 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11089-2002Dec4.htmlWhen asked whether the United States was more interested in achieving stability in the region or more interested in controlling Iraqi oil reserves, majorities in Russia (76 percent), France (75 percent), and Germany (54 percent) said "the U.S. wants to control Iraqi oil." In Britain, the public was evenly divided, while Americans rejected the idea that oil motivated U.S. policy toward Iraq, just one of many findings in the poll suggesting that Americans "are strikingly at odds" with much of the world on a number of key issues, Kohut said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11089-2002Dec4.html
World Image of U.S. Declines
Poll Says Countries Suspicious of Iraq Motives, Global Role
By Richard Morin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 5, 2002; Page A26
Suspicion about U.S. motives in Iraq coupled with the widely held beliefs that the United States routinely ignores the interests of other nations and doesn't do enough to help solve global problems have battered the nation's image around the world, according to a survey of attitudes in 44 countries by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
While majorities in most countries still have a favorable view of America and Americans, the poll found that discontent with the United States has grown in the past two years, said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, who headed the Global Attitudes Project.
Moreover, Kohut reported that "images of the U.S. have been tarnished in all types of nations: among longtime NATO allies, in developing countries, in Eastern Europe and, most dramatically, in Muslim societies."
A separate follow-up survey conducted last month in the United States and in five allied nations revealed deep and conflicting views on Iraq. Majorities in Britain, France, Germany and Russia agreed that Saddam Hussein represented a threat to stability in the Middle East and a danger to world peace. Nearly as many said that regime change in Iraq is necessary -- that disarming Hussein isn't enough to eliminate the threat.
But this consensus collapses into contradiction on other critical issues. Overwhelming majorities in France, Germany and Russia oppose the use of force to end Saddam's rule. Even in Britain, America's staunchest ally on Iraq, opinion is sharply divided: Fewer than half -- 47 percent -- favor using force to oust Hussein while an equal proportion disagree.
And in Turkey, eight in 10 opposed allowing the United States and its allies to use bases in their country to launch strikes against Iraq. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said Turkey might give the United States approval to bomb Iraq from bases in Turkey but only if United Nations inspections fail.
Such views suggest British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other allies face a challenge as they attempt to balance their pledges of support for U.S. efforts in Iraq with broad suspicion from citizens back home, Kohut said.
There is even sharp disagreement on whether Iraq or the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians poses the greater domestic danger. In no countries except the United States and Britain was Hussein's continued rule seen by a plurality as "the greater international threat to our country."
This uneasiness over Iraq arises, in large part, from suspicions of U.S. motives for using military force to remove Hussein, the survey found.
When asked whether the United States was more interested in achieving stability in the region or more interested in controlling Iraqi oil reserves, majorities in Russia (76 percent), France (75 percent), and Germany (54 percent) said "the U.S. wants to control Iraqi oil." In Britain, the public was evenly divided, while Americans rejected the idea that oil motivated U.S. policy toward Iraq, just one of many findings in the poll suggesting that Americans "are strikingly at odds" with much of the world on a number of key issues, Kohut said.
In Turkey, more than half -- 53 percent -- viewed threats by the United States to use force to remove Hussein as part of a "war against Muslim countries that it sees as unfriendly" and not a means to bring peace to the Middle East.
A total of 38,263 randomly selected adults in 44 countries were interviewed between June and October for the survey, which was translated into 63 languages. In some countries, interviewing was restricted to a few major cities. An additional 6,056 adults were interviewed in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Turkey for the separate Iraq survey. Former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright chaired the committee that oversaw the project.
The poll found that majorities in most nations surveyed believe that the United States acts without giving proper consideration to the interests of other countries, contributes to the growing worldwide gap between the rich and the poor, and has failed to do its part to address world problems.
At the same time, relatively few were bothered by the role of the United States as the world's only superpower. American technology and popular culture were widely admired, with substantial majorities in most non-Muslim countries embracing American music, movies and television.
According to the poll, the United States is rated favorably by majorities in 35 of the 42 countries where government officials allowed the question to be asked. But, cautioned Kohut, "the U.S. is viewed only somewhat favorably in virtually all of these countries. And negative opinions of this country have increased in most of the nations where trend benchmarks are available."
The image of the United States has taken a particularly hard beating in predominantly Muslim countries, the poll found. Three in four residents of Jordan, the fourth-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, have a negative image of the United States. In Pakistan and Egypt, seven in 10 expressed an unfavorable view. "In Jordan, Pakistan and Egypt, the intensity of this dislike is strong -- more than 50 percent in each country have a very unfavorable view," Kohut and his research team reported.
Even more troublesome, Kohut and Albright agreed, were the rapidly eroding views of the United States expressed in Turkey, a NATO ally. Two years ago, a majority of residents had a favorable view of the United States; today, three in 10 do. At the same time, more than half -- 55 percent -- now say they had a negative view of the United States and more than four in 10 felt that way strongly.
President Bush was questioned yesterday about the anti-American findings reported in the Pew survey.
"I hope the message that we fight not a religion, but a group of fanatics which have hijacked a religion is getting through," replied Bush, who said he had not read the poll results. "I understand the propaganda machines are cranked up in the international community that paints our country in a bad light. We'll do everything we can to remind people that we've never been a nation of conquerors; we're a nation of liberators."
There are two exceptions to the rising tide of anti-Americanism: Russia and "our new friend and ally, Uzbekistan," Kohut said. Uzbekistan has been a major beneficiary of U.S. assistance since the war in Afghanistan was launched.
The survey also found that majorities of Muslims in Lebanon and the Ivory Coast believed suicide bombing in defense of Islam was justified, and "more than a quarter of Muslims in another nine nations subscribe to this view," Kohut said.
The survey also found broad dissatisfaction with the way things are going among citizens in most countries of the world.
Staff writer Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
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