Posted on 02/10/2007 4:48:09 PM PST by Posting
Poll shows Arabs dislike Bush
New poll shows Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah most popular leader among Arabs. US President Bush, on the other hand, at bottom of list
Reuters Published: 02.09.07, 21:16 / Israel News
A new poll on Thursday underscored deep Arab unhappiness with the United States but said the negative image could be repaired if Washington brokered a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement.
The survey of 3,850 people in six Arab countries rated President George W. Bush as the most disliked world leader, while the United States and Israel were viewed as significantly greater threats than Iran .
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents said the United States could improve its image by brokering a comprehensive Middle East peace agreement.
A smaller number -- 33 percent -- said this image change could happen if Washington withdrew its troops from Iraq.
The results show the Arab-Israeli conflict "remains the central prism through which people are evaluating the United States", even when the international focus is on the Iraq war and nuclear crisis with Iran, said Shibley Telhami of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
Major powers recently backed a US push to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planning to travel to the region next week.
Based on face-to-face interviews conducted for the Saban Center by the Zogby International polling firm last November and December, attitudes were surveyed in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and United Arab Emirates.
Respondents were asked to identify which world leader outside of their own country they disliked most.
Bush was named by 38 percent, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon by 11 percent, current Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert by 7 percent and British Prime Minister Tony Blair by 3 percent.
Nasrallah admired
The most admired leader was Hassan Nasrallah of Hizbullah , the Iranian-backed Islamic militant group in Lebanon, with 14 percent.
French President Jacques Chirac followed with 8 percent, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with 4 percent and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with 3 percent.
Hizbullah, Ahmadinejad and Chavez are all adversaries of the United States, while Chirac was at odds with Washington in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Seventy-nine percent of the respondents cited Israel as their biggest threat, while the United States was named by 74 percent. Iran, which Washington considers a major threat because of its nuclear ambitions, was named by only 6 percent of the Arabs surveyed.
Although Bush and some US politicians insist American troops cannot now be withdrawn from Iraq without leaving worse chaos behind, 44 percent of the Arabs polled said Iraqis will find a way to bridge their differences and 33 percent said a US withdrawal would have no effect on the current situation.
Only 24 percent of the respondents predicted an American withdrawal would cause the Iraqi civil war to expand rapidly.
Thank you, thank you very much.
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When did Arabs ever like America and its leaders?
Their dislike for President Bush ,obviously, has been exaggerated and emphasized by the MSM (here and in Europe) because of their (the MSM's)extreme opposition to the Iraq War and antagonism toward Israel.
"Hey if the Aaaaaarabs hate him he must be doing something right !!!'"
American Jews don't like him, either, whatever that means.
Thanks. I found that yesterday and immediately copied it for future use.
How much one hates Bush and America is a sign of how evil a person is. Those who hate Bush are either directly evil or they sanction evil. Those who sanction evil are just as evil as those who are directly evil.
I would say these are very positive numbers.
I have seen polls in the past that were much worse for Bush, Israel and other democratic interests.
If I had to guess, I would say that these numbers are substantially improved over what they were 2003 -2005. I am amazed that the writer can avoid that rather apparent implication.
Why do Arabs rate our chances of success in Iraq so much higher than the American public?
Could it be that they know something we don't ? Could it be that our media runs 94% negative stories on Iraq trying to propagandize the American public to get out now?
Even the peace agreement for Israel seems low. It appears that fear of Iran is starting to register with the Arab public-- though this article seems to evade that question.
That means all Israelis report to the train station in an orderly fashion for relocation, right? And just bring one suitcase.
Right on.
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