Posted on 06/23/2005 3:59:16 PM PDT by Jean S
Jun 23, 2005
The image of the U.S. slipped sharply in 2003, after its invasion of Iraq, and two years later has shown few signs of rebounding either in Western Europe or the Muslim world, an international poll found.
"The U.S. image has improved slightly, but is still broadly negative," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. "It's amazing when you see the European public rating the United States so poorly, especially in comparison with China."
In Britain, which prides itself on its "special relationship" with Washington, almost two-thirds of Britons, 65 percent, saw China favorably, compared with 55 percent who held a positive view of the United States. In France, 58 percent had an upbeat view of China, compared with 43 percent who felt that way about the U.S. The results were nearly the same in Spain and the Netherlands, the Pew poll found.
The United States' favorability rating was lowest among three Muslim nations that are also U.S. allies - Turkey, Pakistan and Jordan - where only about one-fifth of those polled viewed the U.S. in a positive light. Only India and Poland viewed the U.S. more positively than they viewed China.
"Clearly, with or without this poll we know we have a public diplomacy challenge, and that challenge is not lessening by the day," said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.
He said the United States is trying to combat that image problem, citing the frequent travels of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was ending a six-day swing through the Middle East and Europe on Thursday.
The poll found suspicion and wariness of the United States in many countries where people question the war in Iraq and are growing leery of the U.S.-led war on terror.
"The Iraq war has left an enduring impression on the minds of people around the world in ways that make them very suspicious of U.S. intentions and makes the effort to win hearts and minds far more difficult," said Shibley Telhami, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Support for the U.S.-led war on terror has dipped in European countries like Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Spain, while it remains low in the Muslim countries surveyed, such as Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey.
"The position of the United States as the one surviving superpower is to be assertive in responding in a world of terrorism. But in the rest of the world, there is a great wariness about that," said John Danforth, a former Republican senator from Missouri and a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
The poll found a positive reaction in European countries to President Bush's campaign for more democracy in countries around the world. People in Muslim countries were wary of the U.S. campaign, but supportive of the idea of democracy in their own countries.
Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under President Clinton, said the poll results are troubling because leaders of democracies allied to the U.S. have to rally the public in their countries when supporting U.S. policies.
The polls were taken in various countries from late April to the end of May with samples of about 1,000 in most countries, with more interviews in India and China and slightly fewer than 1,000 in the European countries. The margin of sampling error ranged from 2 percentage points to 4 percentage points, depending on the sample size.
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On the Net:
Pew Global Attitudes Survey: http://pewglobal.org
AP-ES-06-23-05 1818EDT
Yeah, the media can do that to you when its all our fault 24/7/365.
International relations isn't a popularity contest.
The Democrats can't seem to figure that out.
I could care less what the leftists over there think.
polls-schmols
I put 0% stock in polls.
Bump for later
That's why they call it "Pew!" (rimshot)
ping
If you go to the poll's web site and accompanying story, you will see that America's favorability rating has been INCREASING around the world. That's why tehy say it "remains low" in some countries. Yes but it's higher than a few years ago and there are still plenty of countries viewing us favorably. One of teh articles quotes M Albright saying it is because of Bush's reelection taht we are disfavored (traitorous skank) but the ratings clearly have gone up since the election.
So we're not popular in a socialist, communist and dictator oasis. Gee, my heart is deeply saddened.
By the way, IF a European rates communist dictatorship genocidal polluting Red China ahead of us, that European is obviously a stupid immoral ass.
To those europeans that like China better, name one thing that China has done to make the world safer and more free?
Good. The next time 'the world' gets in trouble, they can call the Chinese.
It's better to be fearwed than loved.
-Machievelli
Time the US got over trying to 'win over' the rest of the world and (a la China) just get on wioth the business of achieveing its goals, 1 way or another.
Hey great next time Europe is overrun by a genocidal dictatorship they can call China to come to their defense.
Oh wait China will probably be the genocidal dictatorship which overruns them.........
Bring out those pictures of the kid being run over by a tank and ask them again.
Of course, the press in this nation and around the world (barring Foxnews) demonizes us U.S. citizens 24/7 every single day of year by saying about we are responsible for all the ills and cruelity in the world; past, present and future...
And I think that the press in this nation (barring most of those at Foxnews) needs to be charged with treason. Those in the press want to see our nation dead. To see our freedoms stripped us and too make us slaves to a 'world nation' where they are our masters.
For example, the press is practically cheering today at the Supreme Court for their anti-freedom/anti-property-rights Eminent Domain desision.
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