GLOBAL MISTRUST OF UNITED STATES

March 16, 2004 -- The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released today a poll report showing that, a year after the war in Iraq, discontent abroad with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished.  Previous studies have shown that what people in other countries think of the U.S. matters to the American public:  84% of Americans feel that America's security and foreign policy are damaged when we are less liked and respected abroad. (Source)

The Pew Research Center's poll showed that approval ratings of the U.S. hovered under 40% in France and Germany, slightly lower than just after the conclusion of the Iraq invasion in May 2003.  In Britain, where 70% of the public had a positive view of the U.S.  last May, U.S. approval ratings fell dramatically to 58%.  This mirrors the plunge in British support for the decision to go to war, from 61% to 43% in less than a year.

There was broad agreement in nearly all the countries surveyed that the war in Iraq hurt, rather than helped, the war on terrorism.  In the predominantly Muslim countries surveyed, opposition to the war remains nearly universal and anger towards the U.S. remains pervasive.

+ TO PEW REPORT

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(1)  Source:  Openings for Framing a Progressive Foreign Policy, December 2003, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc.