AU students expressed frustration this week over a recent British Broadcast Company poll, in which 73 percent of people surveyed worldwide disapproved of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war.
The survey, conducted Nov. 3 to Jan. 9, polled over 26,000 people from 25 different countries. In 18 of those countries, only 29 percent of respondents saw United States as a positive influence in the world - a drop of 7 percentage points since early 2006, according to the BBC. The BBC also reported that an additional 68 percent believed that the United States' presence in the Middle East "provoked more conflict than it prevented."
Nick Jonczak, a freshman in the School of International Service, said the results disturbed him.
"I think the poll is extremely significant because the success of American foreign policy depends upon the support of our allies," he said. "Currently, the U.S. is playing too antagonistic a role to garner the international resources it needs to regain control of Iraq."
AU students also expressed concern over the larger impact of the BBC's findings.
"The numbers make a difference," Fouad Debs, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, said. "Anti-American sentiment is rising in the Middle East and across the globe. While I don't blame the U.S. for the conflict, America's foreign policy has revealed hidden tensions in the Middle East. The U.S. should pay more attention to international disapproval."
Sara Pitney, a freshman in SIS, said the numbers surprised her, as well.
"I would expect the [Iraq disapproval rating] to be a lot higher than 73 percent," she said. "Likewise, the 29 percent who feel America has a positive world influence seems rather high to me."
Still, Christopher Housenick, a professor in SIS, said he was skeptical of the survey's conclusions.
"The sample isn't so much the issue, but I'd like to see the poll conducted over a longer period of time ... to see how support ebbed and flowed through the events of Sept. 11 [and] the initial successes of the war," Housenick said.
Housenick also said he saw little to no correlation between the poll's results and Bush's recent decision to deploy an additional 21,500 troops to embattled cities in Iraq.
"The [troop surge] isn't that significant," he said. "It's been a unilateral effort for quite some time. If it was the Persian Gulf War, it would matter ... but not now."
The full survey questioned international respondents on five other U.S. foreign policy issues as well, including how the United States has handled Guantanamo Bay detainees (67 percent disapproval) and U.S. efforts to prevent global warming (56 percent disapproval).
Housenick, however, offered one explanation for United States' overall low approval rating.
"The survey examined a wide variety of areas, some of which are sensitive subjects in certain parts of the world," he said. "For example, it is no surprise that Europeans - who embrace the Kyoto Protocol - disapprove of America's environmental policies. They see reducing carbon emissions as more important than we do and grade the U.S.'s overall international influence accordingly."
But the professor's caveats weren't enough to assuage Jonczak's concerns.
"Sure, different areas of the world will view the U.S. differently," Jonczak said. "But it doesn't explain respondents' unanimity on Iraq and the U.S.'s international influence. Perhaps the U.S. should consider a change in strategy."
FOREIGN RESPONSE CRITICIZES U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
The BBC poll surveyed over 26,000 people from 25 countries on a variety of key foreign policy issues:
* The War in Iraq: 73 percent disapproval
* U.S. handling of Guantanamo detainees: 67 percent disapproval
* U.S. involvement in the Israeli-Hezbollah war: 65 percent disapproval
* U.S. policy toward Iran's nuclear program: 60 percent disapproval
* U.S. stance on global warming: 56 percent disapproval
* U.S. policy toward North Korea's nuclear program: 54 percent disapproval
Additionally, 68 percent believed the United States "provokes more conflict than it prevents" in the Middle East. Only 29 percent of respondents in 18 countries previously surveyed in early 2006 view the United States' global influence as "positive"
