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#7 - JRL 7226
International Poll Suggests World Is Hostile To US - BBC
June 17, 2003
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LONDON -- Nearly two-thirds of respondents to an international poll for the BBC say they have an unfavorable opinion of U.S. President George W Bush, the BBC reports on its Web site Tuesday.

The survey of 11 countries - for the television program What The World Thinks of America, to be aired this week in the U.K. - revealed that 57% of the sample had a very unfavorable, or fairly unfavorable attitude towards the U.S. president.

The figure rose to 60% when discounting the views of the U.S. respondents. The survey - conducted for the BBC by ICM and other international pollsters - gauged opinion towards U.S. military, economic, cultural and political influence.

More than half the sample felt the U.S. was wrong to invade Iraq - this included 81% of Russian respondents, and 63% of the French response. A total of 37% thought it right to invade - including 54% of the U.K. response, 74% of the U.S. response and 79% of the Israeli sample.

Asked who is the more dangerous to world peace and stability, the U.S. was rated higher than al-Qaida by respondents in both Jordan (71%) and Indonesia (66%).

The U.S. was also rated more dangerous than two countries considered as "rogue states" by Washington. It was rated more dangerous than Iran, by people in Jordan, Indonesia, Russia , South Korea and Brazil, and more dangerous than Syria by respondents all the countries, except for Australia, Israel and the U.S.

The survey groups were also asked whether they felt that the U.S. military did enough to avoid civilian casualties during conflicts.

A total of 70% of the group as a whole thought the U.S. could do more - with the majority in each country bar the U.S. saying more could be done, including 73% of respondents in the U.K., 74% in France and 57% in Israel. However 70% of the U.S. respondents said other countries didn't appreciate how much the U.S. does to avoid civilian casualties.

The sample of more than 11,000 respondents also showed negative attitudes about U.S. initiatives, such as the war on terrorism and U.S. efforts in the Middle-East. Attitudes towards the U.S. as a whole, however, were a lot more favorable, with 50% expressing fairly or very favorable views, as opposed to 40% of unfavorable views. That figure excludes Americans polled.

All interviews were carried out during May and June 2003.

BBC Web site: http://www.bbc.co.uk

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