In a recent poll conducted in six Arab countries in October, found 78 percent of respondents thought there was more terrorism because of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with four out of five saying the war had brought less peace to the region:
Asked which countries posed the biggest threat to their nations, a majority chose Israel and the United States.
"The one fascinating outcome of this study is that the respondents view the United States and its policies through the prism of Iraq and Israel."
The poll with Zogby International was conducted in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Rather than being a model to inspire Arab nations to adopt democratic goals, respondents felt the opposite was true of the United States, whose image has been tarnished by scandals involving abuse by U.S. forces of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and at a U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In the new poll, 69 percent of those surveyed doubted that spreading democracy was the real U.S. objective. Oil, protecting Israel, dominating the region and weakening the Muslim world were seen as U.S. goals.
More than half -- 58 percent -- said Iraq was less democratic than before the war and three of four said Iraqis were worse off.
Asked from a list of countries which they would like to be the superpower, the first choice was France with 21 percent, followed by China with 13 percent, Pakistan and Germany tied with 10 percent, Britain with 7 percent, the United States with 6 percent and finally Russia with 5 percent.
France, which opposed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, was also seen as the country where people had the most freedom and its President Jacques Chirac, was the leader most admired by respondents. However, one have to note that the poll was taken before an outbreak of riots in France by disaffected youths, many of them Muslims of North African ethnicity, which provoked Muslim criticism of conditions for minorities in France.
Israeli President Ariel Sharon, U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were the most disliked by those polled.
No surprises here. The eastern and western cultures and politicians have to look at these result with serious attention rather than go into the defensive side. Even if they think that Arab are wrong in what they think and believe, however, we have to keep in mind that "perception is reality."
One can claim that Arab got it wrong. That's fine, then your job is to get it right for them. To get it right is not to enforce it, but to correct what you think fits Arab, cause clearly it does not sell. And what that maybe? Very easy, be Just and Fair.
On the other hand, looking at some of the negative side of the findings:
Mr. Telhami conducted the survey jointly with the U.S.-based polling group Zogby International. They interviewed a total of 39-hundred people in six countries -- Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. . . . Mr. Telhami said 36 percent of the respondents sympathize with al-Qaida in confronting the United States, but most do not support how the terror group operates or would want to see someone like terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in power."
However, one of the interesting results is the feeling that there's a vacuum of leadership in the Middle East, and they win by the default, they gain by default, not because people like them. They see them as an instrument of anti-Americanism, but none of them would love to see Zarqawi be their ruler. None of them would like to see the kind of Taleban order that was imposed on Afghanistan in the Arab world.
45 percent said the Arabic language television network Al Jazeera is their main choice for international news. The reason is that the network has tapped into the sentiment of the Arab world. The media outlet that reads the public opinion best is the one that is going to do well, because people respond to media outlets that reflect their heart and reflect their views far more than they allow the media to shape their views. [Source: here, here, here, here and here]
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