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New York Times - June 23, 2005
World view of U.S. improves slightly, except among Muslims
By Brian Knowlton
The anti-Americanism that surged through much of the world over the American-led war in Iraq shows modest signs of abating, although distinctly negative views persist in the Muslim world, according to a major new international opinion poll.
The snapshot of world opinions emerged from a Pew Global Attitudes Survey of nearly 17,000 people in the United States and 15 other countries: Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Spain and Turkey.
The poll, conducted from April 20 to May 31, found lingering doubts, fears and resentments about the United States, but a warming in a few countries, generally tied to specific policies, from a year earlier.
For example, 79 percent of Indonesians said they had a more favorable view of the United States as a result of the aid Americans provided after the Dec. 26 tsunami. Indians appeared pleased with closer economic ties to the United States, and Russians by cooperation on trade and terrorism.
"Anti-Americanism in most parts of the world we surveyed seems pretty entrenched," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center, in Washington. "But there are some very positive signs of progress in India and Russia and Indonesia."
In addition, he said, preliminary results from Morocco suggest significant improvements in the United States image there.
Favorability ratings of the United States - while well below levels of 2002, before a trans-Atlantic gulf opened over Iraq - improved slightly even in France and Germany, as both sides have sought to mend the earlier wounds.
Still, among traditional American allies, only Britain and Canada remained positive in their overall views of the country. And in many nations the unpopularity of President Bush remained a prominent factor.
In Britain, Canada and France, about three-quarters of respondents said Mr. Bush's re-election had made them feel less favorable toward the United States. Canadians were the people most likely to view Americans as rude and violent.
Around the world, a sense that the United States pays little attention to other countries' interests remained widespread, although India was an exception.
Americans appeared quite aware of their image problem. Only one in four thought the country was well-liked abroad. In contrast, Germans strikingly underestimated their own popularity. While only half thought their country was well liked, Germany received the highest favorability rating of the five economic powers in the survey, particularly from its historic foe, France.
Strong majorities in several countries said they would like to see another military power emerge to balance the United States - but most, especially in the West, did not want that to be China.
Seven in 10 of those surveyed in Britain, France and Russia opposed a Chinese superpower, as did approximately 8 in 10 Germans and Americans. But the idea was much more popular in developing countries: majorities in Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey were in favor of China's rise.
Most West Europeans prefer greater independence from the United States in security and diplomatic affairs. An overwhelming 85 percent of the French said it would be good if the European Union emerged as a military rival to the United States.
Although the United States has historically been viewed as a land of opportunity, people in most countries - asked where they would advise a young person to move in order to lead a good life - chose other destinations. Australia, Britain, Canada and Germany were cited more often than the United States.
President Bush was cited as the single largest factor behind the anti-American feelings. Outside the United States, he had majority support only in India, at 54 percent.
Over all, the most negative views of the United States were found in Muslim countries, with Turkey and Pakistan, caught up in the war against terror, registering the least favorable opinions. Only about 1 in 5 people in each country said they viewed the United States in a good light.
In the Muslim world and in Europe, the war in Iraq remained as unpopular as it was in 2003 and 2004. Views in Pakistan turned sharply more negative after allegations that United States guards at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, had abused the Koran.
Despite opposition to the Iraq war, majority support continued in most countries for the United States-led campaign against terrorism. One exception was Spain, where the Madrid terror attacks of March 11, 2004, may have contributed to a near-evaporation of support for United States efforts.
Confidence in President Bush was negligible in Muslim countries like Jordan, where only 1 percent of respondents expressed confidence in him. President Jacques Chirac of France, in contrast, received a vote of confidence from 56 percent in Jordan.
Many people in predominantly Muslim countries appeared to fear that the United States military, having invaded the mainly Muslim nations of Afghanistan and Iraq, could be employed against them…..
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/23/international/23cnd-poll.html?pagewanted=print
CNN – June 24, 2005
America's rating was lowest in Turkey, Pakistan and Jordan
WASHINGTON -- The United States' image is so tattered overseas two years after the Iraq invasion that communist China is viewed more favorably than the U.S. in many long-time Western European allies, an international poll has found.
The poor image persists even though the Bush administration has been promoting freedom and democracy throughout the world in recent months -- which many viewed favorably -- and has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in relief aid to Indian Ocean nations hit by the devastating December 26 tsunami.
"It's amazing when you see the European public rating the United States so poorly, especially in comparison with China," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which surveyed public opinion in 16 countries, including the United States.
In Britain, 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 United States' favorability rating was lowest among three Muslim nations which 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 were more upbeat about the United States, while Canadians were just as likely to see China favorably as they were the U.S.
The poll found suspicion and wariness of the United States in many countries where people question the war in Iraq and are growing wary of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.
"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.
The overseas image of the United States slipped sharply after the Iraq invasion in 2003, the Pew polling found, and it has not rebounded in Western European countries like Britain, France, Germany and Spain.
However the U.S. image has bounced back in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country which benefited from U.S. aid to tsunami victims, as well as in India and Russia.
Support for the U.S.-led war on terror has dipped in Western countries like Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Spain, while it remains low in the Muslim countries surveyed like Pakistan, Turkey and Jordan….
The survey found that a majority of people in most countries say the United States does not take the interests of other countries into account when making international policy decisions.
It also found most would like to see another country get as much military power as the United States, though few want China to play that role.
People in most countries were more inclined to say the war in Iraq has made the world a more dangerous place…..
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/06/23/poll.america.ap/
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