US image in Arab countries deteriorates: poll

Published: 12/7/2005
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=84830

WASHINGTON - The image of the United States took a beating this year in six Arab countries due to the war in Iraq and "American treatment of Arabs and Muslims," according a poll released Wednesday.

The poll by US-based Zogby International showed that the attitude toward the United States had particularly hardened in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where 84 percent and 82 percent, respectively, said their opinion of the superpower had worsened in the past year.

Negative sentiment was less severe in Lebanon, with 21 percent saying their opinion had improved and 49 percent saying it worsened, according to Zogby.

In Jordan, a key US ally in the war on terror, 62 percent said their attitude toward the United States had worsened, while 72 percent said so in Morocco and 58 percent in the United Arab Emirates.

China wins the popularity contest against the United States, Russia and India in five of six Arab countries.

The Asian giant is seen favorably by 70 percent in Egypt, 68 percent in Jordan, 46 percent in Lebanon, 52 percent in Morocco and 40 percent in Saudi Arabia. India leads in UAE with 58 percent.

To burnish the US image in Arab countries, President George W. Bush picked his close confidante Karen Hughes this year to become the US imagemaker abroad as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy.

Hughes traveled to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in her first tour in October.

In each of the six Arab countries, Zogby interviewed between 500 and 800 people in October. The margin of error is between 3.5 and 4.5 percentage points, except in UAE where it is 10 percentage points.

12/07/2005 18:34 GMT