NEWS: Polls Show Arab Nations Mistrust USA

A survey of six arab nations has found a massive 81 percent of people in arab nations believe the war in Iraq by the USA forces has bought more terrorism, less peace and will result in less democracy. The results showed that Israel and the USA are the most popular choices of countries to be a biggest threat to Arab nations and also found that many would like to see France as a superpower. The poll was conducted by the University of Maryland/Zogby and the respondants were interviewed in UAE, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Only 6 percent of those polled believed the war would bring more peace to the region.



This report is damaging to USA public relations which have worked hard to pushing a positive prescence in the middle east region.

The results of the polls are quite telling for these people and for the Americans currently inside their countries.

[edit on 2-12-2005 by Mayet]

I can't believe a poll was actually needed......

Would have thought it was bloody obvious that the US was mistrusted and not just in Arab Nations either.


EDIT:

Are Morrocans and Lebanese "Arabs"?

[edit on 2/12/05 by stumason]

Sounds about right.

It's pretty hard to Counterbalance the negativity, coming from
sources outside the US, and even worse, the bad press we provide from within as well.

im not surprised. this was pretty much obvious. i cant blame them for thinking that because, hell, i think the same thing. this has been gone over pleanty of times, but nothing ever changes in the end. were still over there and the government isnt haulting for anyone till bush is out of office at least. (since bush said as long as hes president we arent 'backing out')

This report is dubious and slanted towards one particular audience.
Furthermore it is not alarming news or even mentionable headline news.

I agree with stumason to some degree in that it would seem quite obvious that the US is mistrusted in the majority of the Middle East [ie: Iraq War and the continued special relationship with Israel]. In fact, this report is meaningless and redundant. The US has been mistrusted in the Middle East for decades, but it takes a Zogby poll and an anti-war media outlet, news.com.au to reaffirm what has already been established as fact? Hardly.

But given that Zogby International was involved in gathering the polling information utilized to write the News.com.au article, it certainly is not surprising, especially given John Zogby's own anti-war sentiments, which undoubtedly has some influence within his own polling organization. Some members insist that polling is a credible science. Personally I would say that it is an art; an art that some polling organizations are practicing with acute precision. That the art of 'credible-like' polling practiced by them is getting blacker by the day.

Having said that, ironically, I thought Zogby International was an alleged highly regarded, nonpartisan polling company, at least according to its clients? Seems evident to me, when doing a little research, that polling organizations, especially such as Zogby International, are easily affected and influenced by activist groups and organizations [much like lobbyist groups], whom these polling organizations often agree with. Making their polls, along with most polls, quite dubious and questionable, at best. Hardly the objective science polling was and is claimed to be by some.






seekerof

[edit on 2-12-2005 by Seekerof]

Well Seeker, It seems after reading about vote and poll rigging for the USA elections. It is rife. On one had you say this company is not totally above board in practises yet corruption and such practises are rife throughout the American government. Propaganda allegations, allegations of projected bombings or Arab media. Just who can stand there to be judged and judge others.

Just who is honest and not corrupt these days.

I am sure though that the university of Maryland gleaned as honest results as possible for the polls.

I think if I sat here with a phone book and an arab dictionary translater, I too could quickly come up with similiar figures.

[edit on 2-12-2005 by Mayet]

At any rate, Mayet, the information is redundant, as already mentioned.
For decades the Middle East has mistrusted the US.
This current information via Zogby, Univ. of Maryland, and News.com.au is only confirming an already established fact. They are presenting nothing new or mysterious, or are they?





seekerof

Originally posted by stumason

Are Morrocans and Lebanese "Arabs"?

[edit on 2/12/05 by stumason]

Yes they are and yeah this poll is redundant, Anybody with a brain could have told us this.
However the mistrust has now reached a whole new level.

The survey, in six Arab countries, also found that a plurality of respondents got their news from the Al-Jazeera satellite television network, currently at the centre of a storm over an alleged US idea to bomb its headquarters.

This in itself is damaging enough to the arab people, now add the rest of those figures and the reasons for them and you've got yourself one very big mess.

Good luck with that George.



[edit on 2-12-2005 by ImJaded]

Redundant? I think not. This information is an important part of a jigsaw puzzle that makes up this whole conflict. People have the right to know just how these people do feel instead of the official lines that the allied forces are welcome with open arms.

wait wait... did i hear that they would like to have France as a superpower???? lol
i wouldn't trust any european nation (espically France) more than the U.S.

It is redundant because what is being reported is already an established fact, Mayet. You can express the importance of this information as you so wish, it does not dismiss that it is redundant, a part of a greater jigsaw puzzle piece that had already been put in place a few decades back.

It is further redundant because it is obvious to self-evident that a region, already having decades of mistrust of the US, would further have increased mistrust due to the US presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., the Iraq War, the Afghanistan/Taliban conflict, and the still current special relationship with Israel.

Your use of "allied forces are welcome with open arms" is also incorrect and taken out of context. That too is old news, coming out with the liberation of Iraq from the Saddam Regime, remember? Yet, you have sought to use it now? Please provide the currently, still-used-today "official lines" that still indicate such.






seekerof

[edit on 2-12-2005 by Seekerof]

OMG, they mistrust the USA???
Why ever would they do that???
Only 46% of the people back the president (only 6% of Ohioans back Govenor Bob Taft, kinda makes bush look good in that light, lol)

Our government may be running secret cia torture camps
Our media constantly misrepresents information
Many people believe the US government was behind the 9-11 attacks just so we could have an excuse to goto war with afganistan and while we're there take Iraq too.
Americans go into rage over anything, a simple threat of a nazi march on the streets of a predominatly black neighborhood caused a riot not too long ago in toledo ohio.
secret military bases where secret technology is researched (area51)
Iraq war founded on misinformation, deciet
Even the American people don't trust their government

Why should anyone else trust us if we cant trust ourselves?

Originally posted by ulshadow
wait wait... did i hear that they would like to have France as a superpower???? lol
i wouldn't trust any european nation (espically France) more than the U.S.

www.albinoblacksheep.com...
France hasn't ever really won a war, why in the world should they even be considered as a superpower?

That poll was taken prior to the recent unrest & riots in France. You probably would not get the same results today. Heck, at least the U.S. finished above Russia.

Originally posted by Mayet
Forty-five per cent of those surveyed said they watch Al Jazeera most for international news...

Because we all know that Al Jazeera doesn't have any sort of anti-USA bias, right? Of course they don't!

Anyway, I'd have to agree with SeekerOf. This is quite redundant. If you were to "poll" Middle Easterners 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago you would probably end up with similar results. In fact, I'm sure polls like that have been done over the past two decades and with a bit of grub work I'm sure they could be found.

Originally posted by mrjones
www.albinoblacksheep.com...
France hasn't ever really won a war, why in the world should they even be considered as a superpower?

What an ignorant and completely untrue statement. Suggest you save you anti-french bashing for somewhere other than ATSNN.

EDIT: To back this up, here is a BBC story:

news.bbc.co.uk...

Earlier in 1805, Britain, Austria and Russia had formed a military alliance - part of a titanic 20-year struggle, which pitted revolutionary France - and its successor, Napoleon's French Empire - against Europe's other major powers.

After defeating the Austrians at Ulm in southern Germany, Napoleon seized the Austrian capital, Vienna. A combined Austrian-Russian army assembled 100km to the north.

Though outnumbered, Napoleon was keen to bring on a decisive fight. He deliberately weakened his right flank, tempting the Allies to try to encircle him - extending their own lines in the process.

He then struck hard at the centre, splitting the enemy forces and driving their left wing onto a frozen lake. The Austrians surrendered - and the surviving Russians marched back home.

The subsequent peace treaty gave France almost total control of Italy - and established a French protectorate over most of Germany. It had been a terrible year for the Allies - the only consolation being the British naval victory off Trafalgar.

[edit on 2/12/05 by stumason]

Originally posted by ulshadow
wait wait... did i hear that they would like to have France as a superpower???? lol
i wouldn't trust any european nation (espically France) more than the U.S.

I'd trust Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, Portugal, Hungary, or any others from a long list above the USA.

Seekerof, you call this poll redundant, and an already established fact, yet you mock it at every turn. Why is that? What are you motives for refering to this story as redundant? Is it because you believe everyone already knows this to be true? Or that you are annoyed because people are illustrating a point of view that you dont like?

Yeah, I saw this and my first thought was, we needed a poll?

Most Americans mistrust their government, is it any surprise outsiders feel the same way?

Why do people mistrust the government? Because the government isn't trustworthy. It lies.

Originally posted by Seekerof
It is redundant because what is being reported is already an established fact, Mayet. You can express the importance of this information as you so wish, it does not dismiss that it is redundant, a part of a greater jigsaw puzzle piece that had already been put in place a few decades back.

It is further redundant because it is obvious to self-evident that a region, already having decades of mistrust of the US, would further have increased mistrust due to the US presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., the Iraq War, the Afghanistan/Taliban conflict, and the still current special relationship with Israel.

Your use of "allied forces are welcome with open arms" is also incorrect and taken out of context. That too is old news, coming out with the liberation of Iraq from the Saddam Regime, remember? Yet, you have sought to use it now? Please provide the currently, still-used-today "official lines" that still indicate such.

It may be "in your opinion" redundant and old news. Mayhaps you have the inside line much faster than we have. The poll results have just been released and the poll was only conducted in Otober 2005.

It is in your opinion only that this is redundant and mayhaps the millions of people out there in the world today, just don't share that same opinion. You are however entitled to that opinion but that is all it is, one opinion versus the many opinions polled in the survey.

See things like these polls are of importance in the greater world today because they show us in the rest of the world exactly how six arab nations felt in October this year.

As a market researcher I hold much more stock in these polls than the "opinion" of someone knocking and poo pooing the results of such polls, just because the said polls do not nessessarily share the opinion of the poo pooer in question.