Posted By Josh Rogin Share

More than a year after Barack Obama's landmark speech in Cairo, where he laid out his vision to repair relations with the Muslim world, Muslims are growing weary and disillusioned with the U.S. president and his international policies, according to a new survey.

Obama's favorability ratings in all seven Muslim-majority countries surveyed dropped from 2009 to 2010, the Pew Global Attitudes Project found.  He suffered a 10-point drop in approval in Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt, the location of the speech. In Pakistan, where Obama has given billions of dollars in new aid but where he has also approved a massive campaign of aerial drone strikes, his personal support is now at 8 percent.

The number of Lebanese who support Obama (35 percent) is less than the number of those who support suicide bombing (39 percent).

"Among Muslim publics -- except in Indonesia where Obama lived for several years as a child -- the modest levels of confidence and approval observed in 2009 have slipped markedly," the report reads. "And while views of Obama are still more positive than were attitudes toward President Bush among most Muslim publics, significant percentages continue to worry that the U.S. could become a military threat to their country."

Even among the Indonesians, who have a personal connection to Obama, his approval dropped from 70 percent to 65 percent, perhaps because he twice canceled planned presidential visits there.

The greatest disapproval from all 22 nations surveyed was came on Obama's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A majority of respondents also disapproved of his handling of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Obama continues to enjoy high levels of support in Western Europe and East Asia. Ratings of Obama are also overwhelmingly positive in Japan (76 percent), South Korea (75 percent), and India (73 percent). In China, 52 percent of respondents expressed "at least some confidence" in him.

In the United States, his numbers on foreign policy have slipped. Last year, 74 percent of Americans surveyed expressed "at least some confidence" in Obama's ability to handle world affairs. This year, that's down to 65 percent. The survey's writers attribute the drop to a shift among Republicans, whose support for Obama's foreign policies dropped from 49 percent to 32 percent.

But even among Democrats, the number of respondents who expressed "a lot of confidence" in Obama's stewardship of international affairs fell from 74 percent to 56 percent in one year.

So which country's residents are happiest with their leaders right now? China.

"China is clearly the most self-satisfied country in the survey," the report stated. "Nine-in-ten Chinese are happy with the direction of their country (87%), feel good about the current state of their economy (91%) and are optimistic about China's economic future (87%). Moreover, about three-in-four Chinese (76%) think the U.S. takes into account Chinese interests when it makes foreign policy." 

 

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4:37 PM ET

June 19, 2010

The agony of democracy

A different perspective of the global picture

Bottom line: The agony of democracy

*Were to president Obama is leading?
-- Are we witness a modern Chamberlin?

Did the EU leaders lost their energy to defend democracy and values?

The picture composed by:
• The struggle between the defending democracy and liberal human rights countries and various types of dictatorship ideologies or governments
• Competition for resources
• People losing social rights
--The opponents are testing the USA leadership and the confused west as never before:
• North Koreas mussels
• Islamism is on offensive in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and promotes Jidad by individuals worldwide
• Iran Nuk program continues as well the expansion over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza
• Chaves partner with Iran, growing influence in Sought and Central America. Turkey is undergoing a Islamic evolution, partnering with Iran Islamist theocratic regime
------------
The global policy is shaped by forces driven by the combinations of ideology, economy, pragmatism, demography and history.
The perspective view should cover several decades.
The west competition with the Soviet Union is over.
This was the main global competition masking others considered minor.
For the last 2 decades, the "minor ones" are on the stage.
1: The Iranian theocratic rulers are considering themselves as the "power of the future" They desire to replace the western civilization- including the end of democracy and western life style. Their policy and public declarations are supporting the desire. 3 decades ago, the slogans on Iran street calling "death to the USA satin", where considered gimmicks by the west.
2; To support the west Europe aging population, the gates have been open to massive immigration. Changing Europe demography, opening up the question of Europe identity and challenging the traditional Europeans values .
After the imperialism era and 2 world wars Europe lost the energy, struggle will and is interested only on short time economic benefits
3: The capitalism of the greed's cause major economic sate back to USA and EU.
4: The globalization of the economy raised up China status to a major power. People from the west loosed jobs and social rights and are a potential future unrest.

 

John Hudson reports on national security and foreign policy from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, the White House to Embassy Row, for The Cable.

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