Respect for United States Continues to Fall; Bush Not Trusted
Associated Press, Jun 27th
WASHINGTON - Unease with American foreign policy and President Bush has intensified in countries that are some of the closest U.S. allies and around the globe, while Russia and China also face growing international wariness, a survey released Wednesday said.
Support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, the NATO military action in Afghanistan and worldwide American efforts against terrorism have dropped since 2002, according to an international survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Views of the U.S. in much of the Muslim world remain particularly negative.
In one measure of Bush’s unpopularity, the poll showed he is less trusted on foreign policy than Russian President Vladimir Putin by allies Britain, Germany and Canada, even as faith in Putin has plummeted. About half in the U.S. say they have little or no trust in either leader’s conduct of foreign affairs.
Bush’s sagging numbers partly reflect widespread opposition to the U.S. war in Iraq. Of the countries surveyed — which included the U.S. — more people favored the removal of American forces from Iraq in all but Israel, Ghana, Kenya. Click here to read more.