saw this on bbc.co.uk and thought you boffins may enjoy it Smeg Global poll slams Bush leadership George W Bush Negative feelings for Mr Bush extended to Americans as a whole More than half of people surveyed in a BBC World Service poll say the re-election of US President George W Bush has made the world more dangerous. Only three countries - India, Poland and the Philippines - out of 21 polled believed the world was now safer. The survey found that 47% of the 21,953 people questioned now see US influence in the world as largely negative, and view Americans negatively as well. None of the countries polled supported contributing their troops to Iraq. "This is quite a grim picture for the US," said Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), which carried out the poll with GlobeScan. There may be some underlying openness to repairing relations with the US" Steven Kull Bush election riles Europeans India backs Bush "Negative feelings about Bush are high and are generalising to the American people who re-elected him." On average across all countries, 58% of people - and 16 out of 21 countries polled - said they believed Mr Bush's re-election to the White House made the world more dangerous. Traditional allies Most negative feelings were found in Western European, Latin American and Muslim countries. They include traditional US allies such as Germany, France, Britain and Italy as well as neighbours Canada and Mexico. Read key points and see graphs from the World Service poll. At-a-glance The only European country to buck the trend was Poland, one of the new members of the European Union, which gave the thumbs up to both President Bush and the US. Turkey topped the anti-Bush list, with 82% believing his re-election would be negative for global security. The result is bad news for the president as Turkey is a US ally and the only Muslim member of Nato, says the BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels. Other predominantly Muslim countries - Indonesia and Lebanon - were also high up the list. But, any warmer feelings in Indonesia towards the US following its tsunami relief operations would not show up as the poll was carried out before the disaster struck, says the BBC's Dan Isaacs. Economic boom Anti-Bush sentiments also appeared to be strong in Latin America. Argentina, with 79%, and Brazil, with 78%, follow Turkey in the list. This seems surprising given that the region has had less direct involvement in US foreign policy issues, says our correspondent. Another surprise was India's support for Mr Bush. The poll found 62% believed his administration was positive for global security. The BBC's Nick Bryant says the reason for this may be because the poll was carried out in cities where people have benefited economically from closer trade ties with the US. Doug Miller, President of Globescan, said the findings "supports the view of some Americans that unless his administration changes its approach to world affairs in its second term, it will continue to erode America's good name, and hence its ability to effectively influence world affairs". But Mr Kull says the results do not constitute a definitive world-wide majority, "suggesting there may be some underlying openness to repairing relations with the US". PIPA interviewed between 500 and 1,800 people in each of the 21 countries surveyed, plus 1,000 Americans, in face-to-face or telephone interviews. The interviews took place between 15 November 2004 and 5 January 2005. The margin of error is between 2.5 and 4 points, depending on the country. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4185205.stm Report at a Glance http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/americas_opinions_of_the_us/html/1.stm Second term Anti-Bush sentiment was strongest in Western European, Latin American and Muslim countries. However, in the Philippines and India the trend was reversed, with a majority viewing the election result positively. Anti-Americanism On average 42% said the result made them feel worse towards the US people. However, countries varied widely in their results, and 25% of those polled said it made them feel better. Global dominance On average 47% said they now view US influence in the world as mostly negative, but 38% saw it as positive. France is often presumed to be staunchly anti-American, but only 54% viewed US influence as negative. Iraq conflict When asked about how they feel about contributing troops to Iraq, not a single country had a majority in favour. On average 70% of those polled were against sending troops.
Nahhh...Let 'em know who you are, engage in coversation, show them the difference--celebrate that you are a REAL Texan and that "W" is a spoiled, east coast, WASP, blue-blooded rich-kid that thinks he's the second coming of Sam Houston. We MUST be a VERY VOCAL miniority, our patriotisim demands it. Now, if you are in Turkey....MIGHT want to lean towards being Canadian!!
Wow, if I really gave a *darn* what misconceptions these people have about me I might start crying right now. Do you think if they ever (which they wont) had a poll about how Americans feel about the rest of the world that it would get half the press these daily "Americans are bad" polls get. No, because they don't care and neither should we.
Yep, you're right. It's not like we need the rest of the world for anything, like world peace, a global economy, etc. etc.
Wah Wah Wah!!!! You know in light of the fact that America is the BIGGEST giver of aid to the rest of the world, I know we're doing what we should. I shouldn't care that a bunch of people I'll never meet aren't greatful. Boo frickity hoo.
Sure, they all hate us...but let some ruthless dictator try to overrun their country and whom do you call? The good ole US of A ! Hitler, Sadam, Milosovich, Hirohito......etc...etc..etc...etc... DD
Halfbreed, do me a favor and stay in the lower 48 for vacation and don't ever leave the country, thanks. I hate to break this to you but a lot of those people didn't call us; in fact, I don't think any of them did. And if I started to list the number of "ruthess dictator(s)" who the US has supported and propped up over the last 50 years, well, let's not even start because I'd be here all night.
I think that what this Bush administration has taught us is that this isn’t true anymore. Now, Canada certainly has some very strong trading ties with the US, but the rest of the world’s reliance on the US is decreasing at a dramatic rate.
A significant percentage of the world now sees the US as that ruthless dictator. The US is not seen as a liberator in Iraq. It’s seen as an occupier.
Really? Hmmm. What happens if everyone decides to boycott American goods and services? What happens if all countries drop sell the US dollar tomorrow and use the Euro as 'the' hard currency instead? Apparently, you have NO concept of how much we rely on the rest of the world for our standard of living.
Their economies would be crushed overnight. Investment would flee and their economies would collapse. Ours might as well, IMO, but we should not underestimate either.
yes be ignorant. another thing..while the U.S has helped other nations like you say....they have received ALOT back....the U.S does'nt spend more money than most countries GDP on military for no reason....there has to be a retern.
