Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Terrorism
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Lebanese Ponder Motives for Recent Conflict
- Many adults in Lebanon question the justification for the war between Israel and Hezbollah, according to a poll by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan published in the Daily Star. 84 per cent of respondents think the conflict was a premeditated attempt by the United States and Israel to impose a new regional order in the Middle East.
On Jul. 12, Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two more in a cross-border attack. The Israeli armed forces launched air strikes inside Lebanese territory to fight Hezbollah, targeting the country's infrastructure and its airport. Hezbollah retaliated by firing rockets into several Israeli towns.
A ceasefire brokered by the United Nations (UN) came into effect on Aug. 14. Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for "a full cessation of hostilities" from both sides and allows Lebanese government troops and a 15,000-member peacekeeping force to enter into southern Lebanon during the withdrawal of Israeli forces, but sets no timetable for the disarmament of Hezbollah or the return of the two abducted Israeli soldiers.
Earlier this month in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Lebanese prime minister Fuad Siniora discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "The expression disarmament does not exist in our dictionary. What I am saying is that the army troops have the right to enter any place in the south they want to enter and they will confiscate any weapons they find."
Polling Data
Do you think the recent war on Lebanon was a premeditated attempt by the United States and Israel to impose a new regional order in the Middle East?
Yes | 84% |
No | 13% |
Source: Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan / Daily Star
Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Lebanese adults, conducted in September 2006. No margin of error was provided.