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Articles In English
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- August.16.2004
James Zogby: It’s Still the US Mideast Policy, Stupid
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"The results are
disturbing. Overall, favorable ratings for the US have declined in
the past two years. In some countries, the change has been
dramatic.."
By James J. Zogby
Two years ago, I wrote an article entitled, "It's the Policy,
Stupid." Zogby International had just completed two major polls in
several Arab countries. We found that Arabs had very positive
attitudes toward American science and technology, freedom and
democracy, products, people, education, movies and television. What
drove down the overall attitudes towards America, however, was US
policy "toward the Arabs" and Palestinians.
The article and the poll found a receptive audience. My brother,
John Zogby, and I addressed the Department of State, testified
before Congress, and lectured on the results before distinguished
audiences across the US. What we provided was an antidote to the
factious claim made by some who had argued that Arab displeasure
with the US was based on "cultural differences," or "hatred of
American values."
What our polling data showed, quite simply, was that Arabs judged
America by how they saw America treating them. It was clear that
Arabs, in fact, respected American values-but they did not see
American policy reflecting those values. This became even clearer
when our poll asked our Arab respondents to name the first thought
that came to mind when they heard "America." They told us "its
unfair policies." And when we asked, "what the should the US do to
improve its relationship with the Arab World," responses focused on
the need for the US to change its policies to be "more just" and
"less biased."
In no case did our respondents mention American values or products.
We have just completed a follow-up study in six Arab countries to
measure what changes in attitudes may have occurred in the past two
years and to identify the factors that may have accounted for these
changes.
The results are disturbing. Overall, favorable ratings for the US
have declined in the past two years. In some countries, the change
has been dramatic. In 2002 for example, 38% of Moroccans had a
favorable view of the US. In 2004 only 11% held such a view. Similar
results are in evidence in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt.
Even more disturbing is the fact that while Arab attitudes toward
American values, people and products remain mostly favorable; these
too have declined in the past two years.
All of this continues to be driven by US policy. Arab attitudes
about American policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are
extremely low. But these negative attitudes have now been eclipsed
by an even greater Arab rejection of US policy toward Iraq. In
Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, for example, America's Iraq policy
rates a less that one percent favorable rating. In Jordan, it
received a two percent rating, while in Lebanon and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), only four percent of the public approve of US policy
in Iraq.
What was surprising was that in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the UAE,
anger over America's treatment of Arabs and Muslims appeared to be
an even more significant factor than Iraq and Palestine in
determining overall negative attitudes toward the US.
In responses given to open-ended questions, the role that anger with
US policy plays in this growing Arab disenchantment with America
becomes even clearer. When asked to identify the "first thought that
comes to mind," the "best and worst things they could say about
America," and "what America should do to change its image in the
Arab World," the principal responses all focused on policy issues.
"Stop supporting Israel," "Change your Middle East policy," and
"Stop killing Arabs" were among the most common responses.
It is interesting to note that the only time that values factored
into the discussion was when Arab respondents urged America to adopt
a more values-driven foreign policy, i.e., "show more respect,"
"apply justice," or "work harder for peace."
What our data demonstrates is what most of the world and a great
number of Americans already know: Policy matters. What is
disturbing, however, is the degree to which US policy makers refuse
to acknowledge the role that policy plays in this widening gap that
is separating America from the Arab World. The President and leading
lawmakers continue to obfuscate this fact, insisting that the
problem lies elsewhere. Commissions have been formed to study the
situation, but have been instructed rule out a priori any discussion
of "policy as the problem."
Even the 9/11 Commission, in its otherwise thoughtful treatment of
issues related to this tragedy, skirted this problem by noting,
"right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding
the Arab-Israeli conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant
staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world. That
does not mean that US choices have been wrong. It means those
choices must be integrated with America's message of opportunity to
the Arab and Muslim world."
In fact, it is the Commission's findings that are right and wrong.
They are right to observe that America's policy is at the root of
Arab discontent, but they are wrong to assume that a "message of
opportunity" can change that dynamic. What our 2002 and 2004 polls
show is that Arabs judge America not by what it says, but by what it
does, and in this regard, it is still "the policy, stupid," that is
the problem.
- Dr. James J. Zogby is President of the Arab American Institute.
For comments or information, contact jzogby@aaiusa.org
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