Only 29% think the US has a positive influence on the world

[PetriW]

Across the 25 countries polled, 49% of respondents said the US played a mainly negative role in the world.

BBC NEWS | Americas | View of US's global role 'worse'

Originally Posted by BBC

View of US's global role 'worse'

The view of the US's role in the world has deteriorated both internationally and domestically, a BBC poll suggests.

The World Service survey, conducted in 25 nations including the US, found that three in four respondents disapproved of how Washington has dealt with Iraq.

The majority of the 26,381 respondents also disapproved of the way five other foreign policy areas have been handled.

The poll, released ahead of President Bush's State of the Union speech, was conducted between November and January.

The number of those who said the US was a positive influence in the world fell in 18 nations polled in previous years.

In those countries, 29% of people said the US had a positive influence, down from 36% last year and 40% two years ago.

Across the 25 countries polled, 49% of respondents said the US played a mainly negative role in the world.

In Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and the US most of those polled said they thought America had a positive role.

But among Americans, the number of those who viewed their country's role positively fell to 57% - six percentage points down from last year and 14 percentage points down from two years ago.

Mid-East role

Respondents were also asked about the Bush administration's handling of six areas of foreign policy:

• The war in Iraq: an average of 73% of respondents disapproved (57% in the US). Disapproval was strongest in Argentina and France, while people in Nigeria, Kenya and the Philippines were more likely to approve.
• Detainees in Guantanamo: 67% disapproved (50% in the US). Backing for America on this issue was highest in Nigeria, where 49% approved.
• Israeli-Hezbollah war: Washington's role met with approval from respondents in Nigeria and Philippines, but on average 65% disapproved across the 25 countries (50% in the US).
• Iran's nuclear programme: again, support for US actions appeared strongest in Kenya (62%), Nigeria (53%) and the Philippines (52%). But, overall 60% of respondents disapproved (50% in the US).
• Global warming: more than 80% of respondents in Argentina, France and Germany disapproved compared to 56% overall (54% in the US). But the White House had 50% or more support among those polled in Nigeria, Kenya, the Philippines and South Korea.
• North Korea's nuclear programme: opposition to US policy was strongest among respondents in Argentina and Brazil. On average across the 25 countries 54% disapproved (43% in the US).

When asked about US military presence in the Middle East, an average of 68% of respondents across the 25 countries answered that it "provokes more conflict than it prevents".

In Nigeria, 49% of respondents said it was a "stabilising force", as did 41% in the Philippines, 40% in Kenya and 33% in the US.

The poll was conducted for the BBC World Service by GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa) at the University of Maryland. It has a margin of error ranging from +/-2.5% to +/-4%.

The questions were put to people in: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Of course, it does not matter what the world believes. The USA knows better.

[Dumpy Dooby]

Why should we give a shit what the UN or anyone else thinks of us?

[PetriW]

Why should China give a shit what the UN or anyone else thinks of them?

[PetriW]

BBC NEWS | Americas | 'Listen more' is world's message to US

Originally Posted by BBC

Listen more' is world's message to US
A new BBC international opinion poll reveals widespread disquiet about the United States' role in Iraq and its other foreign policy priorities. The BBC's Jonathan Marcus analyses the results.

The Bush administration's toppling of Saddam Hussein has had several profound and unintended consequences.

One has been the way in which the destruction of both the Taleban regime in Afghanistan, and of Iraq's military machine, have opened the way for the rise of Iran as a major regional player.

Another crucial but less tangible problem - as this opinion poll commissioned by the BBC World Service indicates - is that the US' image around the world is being seriously damaged by the chaos in Iraq.

And if that was not bad enough, it suggests that America's image problems are only getting worse.

The global image of the US has significantly deteriorated over the past 12 months, as the chaos in Iraq has deepened. And in 18 of the countries that were involved in previous polls, the slide in America's standing has steepened.

Anti-Americanism rising

Overall, this new opinion poll sampled the views of 26,000 people in some 25 countries.

Three in every four of those questioned disapproved of how the US government was dealing with the crisis in Iraq.

The poll did not just deal with Iraq. It also asked questions about the US handling of Guantanamo detainees; the Israel-Hezbollah war; Iran's nuclear programme; global warming; and North Korea's nuclear programme.

In every case, a majority of those questioned disapproved of America's handling of the issue concerned.

This poll underscores conclusions drawn from several other surveys - that anti-Americanism is on the rise, and the more the US flexes its hard power - the more it deploys troops abroad or talks tough diplomatically - the more it seems to weaken its ability to influence the world.

Maybe Washington will bounce back. America's image improved markedly in the post-Vietnam era.

But then there was still the Cold War to keep America's allies on-side.

What is striking in this survey is how negatively the US is seen across a range of diverse countries. Indeed the same policies are, in many cases, even unpopular in the US itself.

This, then, raises an obvious question. Is it simply the Bush administration's foreign policy or the whole image of America that is unpopular?

Comparable surveys suggest that there is still strong support around the world for the values enshrined in US society. But it looks as though America itself is seen to be living up to those values less and less.

As a result, America's soft power - its ability to influence people in other countries by the force of example and by the perceived legitimacy of its policies - is weakening.

And in a turbulent, globalising world, where the US - rightly or wrongly - is associated by many with the disruptive effects of globalisation, soft power matters more than ever. It is a resource that once squandered is very difficult to build-up again.

Complex issues

At root is the problem of legitimacy.

Iraq may have dented the utility of America's military machine. But the US remains the world's only superpower in an international system that shows few of the familiar landmarks we have come to associate with the past 50-or-so years of international diplomacy.

Opinion polls, by their very nature, are a snap-shot. They ask very particular questions and they need to be interpreted with caution.

Asking, as this survey does, about the participants' opinion of the US government's handling of, say, Iran's nuclear programme, provokes strong levels of disapproval.

But what does this really mean? Is there any constituency at all for getting tough with Iran? How far is Iran's nuclear programme perceived as being a problem at all?

Other opinion polls, asking different questions, suggest that ordinary people in many of America's allies are indeed worried by the suggestion that Iran might acquire nuclear weapons.

It is the Bush administration's handling of the issue that is reflected in this BBC poll; not the policy options themselves. These are complex. They depend upon often unavailable intelligence and uncertain assessments of what the Iranian authorities are really about.

Opinion polls are not terribly useful then in charting specific policy options.

But they do capture a mood and that mood should worry anyone in policy-making circles in Washington DC.

The US undoubtedly has an "image-problem", and there are worrying signs that this is having an impact upon the administration's ability to get the policy outcomes that it wants.

One of the wisest writers on these issues is Joseph S Nye, now Dean of the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is in many ways "Mr Soft Power", having written and theorised about the phenomenon for many years.

He has long-argued that Americans need to better understand how their policies appear to others.

"To communicate effectively," he has written, "Americans must first learn to listen."

This opinion poll, then, represents a powerful argument for those seeking to make the case that Washington should listen more and try to win over its friends as much by persuasion and force of example as by firm actions and tough rhetoric.

[Nonphixion]

Fuck the world. We're on top for a reason.

[Pro Street]

Originally Posted by Nonphixion

Fuck the world. We're on top for a reason.

not for long

[Scrum]

Originally Posted by Dumpy Dooby

Why should we give a shit what the UN or anyone else thinks of us?

[Dumpy Dooby]

Originally Posted by PetriW

Why should China give a shit what the UN or anyone else thinks of them?

Yes, why should they?

[Dumpy Dooby]

Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent

I'm glad we're in agreement.

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by PetriW

Why should China give a shit what the UN or anyone else thinks of them?

we really shouldn't or don't

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by Pro Street

not for long

I agree, as our entitlements increase the less likely we are going to stay at the top.

[ballz2wallz]

Hah! I view this like I view how happy Americans are. People in the world have no idea how much the US helps the world, just like people in the US have no idea how well they really have it. All anybody wants to do is complain.

It's people that live in the villages deep in the jungles of Africa and South America that have the real appreciation for life and the things they have.

[Dumpy Dooby]

Originally Posted by ballz2wallz

Hah! I view this like I view how happy Americans are. People in the world have no idea how much the US helps the world, just like people in the US have no idea how well they really have it. All anybody wants to do is complain.

It's people that live in the villages deep in the jungles of Africa and South America that have the real appreciation for life and the things they have.

But the UK "scholars" determined that Denmark was the "happiest" nation on Earth!

[Kytro]

Well you should care in so far as understanding why people have this attitude.

From small things, like people being derisive of the US tourists to the bigger issues that can arise it is unwise to dismiss other's opinion without good reason.

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by Kytro

Well you should care in so far as understanding why people have this attitude.

From small things, like people being derisive of the US tourists to the bigger issues that can arise it is unwise to dismiss other's opinion without good reason.

they don't really care what our opinion is of them and the feeling is mutual

[Pro Street]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

I agree, as our entitlements increase the less likely we are going to stay at the top.

I don't think it has much to do with it

[RMNIXON]

We should care what informed people think. But our countries media are practically 24/7 National Conservatism compared to left-leaning and/or Anti-Americanism in Europe, parts of the Middle East, and Russia for example. When you must divert attention from your own economic failings and weakness in the world we make a good target. Under the circumstances I would not expect any other poll result and perhaps even worse.

[RMNIXON]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

they don't really care what our opinion is of them and the feeling is mutual

I care about the unemployed youth in France!
























Just Kidding!

[kinggovernor]

Originally Posted by Pro Street

I don't think it has much to do with it

then what is it? Our drive to succeed and rugged individualism is what got us to the top. I believe if we continue on the entitlement track that we are, we will be like old world europe within a generation. Still a first world country, but certainly not at the top.