March 19, 2003
Negative Views of U.S. Are Increasing in Europe, Poll Finds
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS and MARJORIE CONNELLY
WASHINGTON, March 19 — As the Bush administration drives toward war in Iraq, resentment and hostility are building toward America in general and Mr. Bush in particular, a new poll has found.
Most of America's major European allies and Russia view the United States unfavorably, and overwhelmingly disapprove of the way President Bush is handling United States foreign policy, according to a nine-country survey released on Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
The poll was conducted within the last week in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. In most instances, it offered a glimpse of hardening, increasingly negative views of the United States, as compared to surveys from last year and 2001.
The survey lends empirical support to critics who say the Bush administration has squandered an outpouring of goodwill and sympathy among American allies and partners in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The nations asserted that American foreign policy has more of a negative effect on them than a positive one — with only the British evenly divided. All of them opposed taking part in a war to end Saddam Hussein's rule, even though most believed that the Middle East would be more stable after an American-led invasion.
Every nation surveyed wanted to recast the partnership between the United States and Western Europe to grant Europeans more independence in determining their security and foreign policy. The poll also underscored the extent to which the few governments allied with Washington, particularly Britain and Spain, are bucking the sentiments of their own people. ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/19/politics/19CND-POLL.html>
Carl
_________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail