The Iraq war and the leadership of President George W. Bush helped drag down the global image of the US for the second year straight, according to a study released on Tuesday.
The war and Bush's leadership were the main points provoking negative reactions from people in other countries, especially those in predominantly Muslim nations, according to an annual poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project.
But the poll also showed a growing convergence of views between the US and the Europeans on issues like Iran's alleged nuclear weapons aspirations and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"There is widespread sentiment -- especially in the West -- that countries that do not have nuclear weapons should be prevented from developing them," Pew noted.
The survey of 17,000 people in 14 nations -- released on the same day Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad to meet Iraq's new leaders -- shows a growing chasm of opinion between the US and both its western allies and Muslim countries.
"The war in Iraq is a continuing drag on opinions of the US, not only in predominantly Muslim countries but in Europe and Asia as well," Pew said.
In 10 out of 14 countries, a majority of people felt the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq has made the world more dangerous.
While 51 percent of Americans think the world is safer, only 30 percent of Britons agree -- and just 7 percent of Spaniards and eight percent of Chinese. Only in Nigeria and India did more people -- 41 percent in both -- feel safer than not.
Among allies, 56 percent Britons expressed a favorable opinion of the US, nearly the same as last year but down from 70 percent in 2003 and 83 percent in 2000.
China garnered a world-beating 81 percent satisfaction rate among those surveyed with the way things were going in their country.
That compared with 72 percent one year ago and 48 percent in their 2003 poll, Pew said.
Nigeria, came up on the bottom due to public strife, Pew noted, with only 7 percent content and 93 percent negative about the country's situation.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese