Gold9472
07-09-2007, 12:50 PM
U.S. seen as threat to stability
In a Harris poll, 36% of Europeans in five countries name America as the No. 1 danger to world peace.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-ft-peace9jul09,1,3490669.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
By Daniel Dombey and Stanley Pignal, Financial Times
July 9, 2007
LONDON — Europeans consistently regard the United States as the biggest threat to world stability, a poll reveals.
A survey carried out in June by Harris Research for the Financial Times shows that 32% of respondents in five European countries regard the United States as a bigger threat than any other state.
In the U.S. itself, North Korea and Iran are seen as the biggest risks. However, the youngest American respondents share the Europeans' view that the United States is the biggest threat, with 35% of American 16- to 24-year-olds identifying their own country as the chief danger to stability.
The level of European concern about the U.S. has remained broadly consistent over the last year. In 11 previous polls dating to July 2006 the proportion of respondents that considers the U.S. a threat to stability has ranged between 28% and 38%.
The latest poll comes in the wake of the "surge" that has increased U.S. forces in Iraq to about 160,000 troops, but has not been accompanied by political breakthroughs or a dramatic reduction of violence. During President Bush's second term, the administration has also taken a more multilateral approach to international issues such as Iran's nuclear program and North Korea's atomic bomb.
But the poll shows that the European public still considers Bush a risk.
"It is evidence of the continued estrangement between the European public and the Bush administration, in spite of a real improvement in official ties," said Ron Asmus, head of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund, which works to bolster transatlantic ties.
"It is proof that the next president will be confronted with the major challenge of improving America's image abroad, starting with Europe and our main allies."
Inhabitants of Spain are most concerned about the U.S., with 46% of respondents naming America as the biggest threat.
European poll respondents — who come from Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Britain — are increasingly concerned about China, which 19% perceive as the biggest threat, up from 12% last July.
Meanwhile, 17% identify Iran as the biggest threat, 11% Iraq and 9% North Korea. Only 5% single out Russia, despite increased tensions between Moscow and the West.
The poll's data on the United States indicate that 25% of Americans see North Korea as the biggest threat, followed by Iran with 23%, China with 20%, and the U.S. itself with 11%.
The poll was consistent with findings by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which found that favorable ratings of the U.S. had declined in 26 of 33 countries over the last five years.
But the Pew poll also contrasted unfavorable ratings of the U.S. with much more positive responses in Israel, Poland, Japan, India and parts of Africa and Latin America.
The survey for the Financial Times was carried out online by Harris Interactive between July 2006 and June 2007. More than 1,000 people were polled in each country each month.
In a Harris poll, 36% of Europeans in five countries name America as the No. 1 danger to world peace.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-ft-peace9jul09,1,3490669.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
By Daniel Dombey and Stanley Pignal, Financial Times
July 9, 2007
LONDON — Europeans consistently regard the United States as the biggest threat to world stability, a poll reveals.
A survey carried out in June by Harris Research for the Financial Times shows that 32% of respondents in five European countries regard the United States as a bigger threat than any other state.
In the U.S. itself, North Korea and Iran are seen as the biggest risks. However, the youngest American respondents share the Europeans' view that the United States is the biggest threat, with 35% of American 16- to 24-year-olds identifying their own country as the chief danger to stability.
The level of European concern about the U.S. has remained broadly consistent over the last year. In 11 previous polls dating to July 2006 the proportion of respondents that considers the U.S. a threat to stability has ranged between 28% and 38%.
The latest poll comes in the wake of the "surge" that has increased U.S. forces in Iraq to about 160,000 troops, but has not been accompanied by political breakthroughs or a dramatic reduction of violence. During President Bush's second term, the administration has also taken a more multilateral approach to international issues such as Iran's nuclear program and North Korea's atomic bomb.
But the poll shows that the European public still considers Bush a risk.
"It is evidence of the continued estrangement between the European public and the Bush administration, in spite of a real improvement in official ties," said Ron Asmus, head of the Brussels office of the German Marshall Fund, which works to bolster transatlantic ties.
"It is proof that the next president will be confronted with the major challenge of improving America's image abroad, starting with Europe and our main allies."
Inhabitants of Spain are most concerned about the U.S., with 46% of respondents naming America as the biggest threat.
European poll respondents — who come from Spain, France, Germany, Italy and Britain — are increasingly concerned about China, which 19% perceive as the biggest threat, up from 12% last July.
Meanwhile, 17% identify Iran as the biggest threat, 11% Iraq and 9% North Korea. Only 5% single out Russia, despite increased tensions between Moscow and the West.
The poll's data on the United States indicate that 25% of Americans see North Korea as the biggest threat, followed by Iran with 23%, China with 20%, and the U.S. itself with 11%.
The poll was consistent with findings by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which found that favorable ratings of the U.S. had declined in 26 of 33 countries over the last five years.
But the Pew poll also contrasted unfavorable ratings of the U.S. with much more positive responses in Israel, Poland, Japan, India and parts of Africa and Latin America.
The survey for the Financial Times was carried out online by Harris Interactive between July 2006 and June 2007. More than 1,000 people were polled in each country each month.