Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
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- Angela Merkel
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- Vladimir Putin
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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Israel is the Only Middle East Ally for Americans
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(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the U.S. believe Israel is a partner, according to a poll by Opinion Research Corporation released by CNN. 42 per cent of respondents describe Israel as an ally of the United States.
Conversely, 40 per cent of respondents believe Saudi Arabia is friendly to the United States. In addition, 77 per cent of respondents think Iran is either unfriendly or an enemy of their country, and 57 per cent feel the same way about Syria.
In July and August, Israel waged war against Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants. On Aug. 18, U.S. president George W. Bush discussed the ceasefire in the Middle East, saying, "The issue is broader than just Hezbollah. The issue is also Syria and Iran, two nations that supported Hezbollah in its attempts to create enough havoc. I guess people feel like they could take political advantage of the situation, we just can't let them do it."
In April 2005, Bush met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah in Texas. The two leaders issued a joint statement, where their two nations re-committed to "fostering values of understanding, tolerance, dialogue, co-existence, and the rapprochement between cultures (and) fighting any form of thinking that promotes hatred, incites violence, and condones terrorist crimes which can by no means be accepted by any religion or law."
On Dec. 6, the Iraq Study Group—a bipartisan panel of experts—presented its findings on how to deal with the situation in Iraq. The ten members called for a quicker process to train Iraqi forces, engaging with Iran and Syria in a dialogue aimed at stabilizing Iraq, and pulling back U.S. combat troops by early 2008.
Polling Data
For each of the following countries, please say whether you consider it an ally of the United States, friendly but not an ally, unfriendly, or an enemy of the United States.
Ally | Friendly | Unfriendly | Enemy | |
Israel | 42% | 39% | 8% | 5% |
Saudi Arabia | 18% | 40% | 18% | 18% |
Iran | 4% | 14% | 29% | 48% |
Syria | 8% | 23% | 29% | 28% |
Source: Opinion Research Corporation / CNN
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,019 American adults, conducted from Dec. 15 to Dec. 17, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.