US stance 'making terrorism more likely'
By Edward Alden in Washington
Published: September 9 2003 20:49 | Last Updated: September 9 2003 20:49
Most Americans think that the US administration's aggressive military pursuit of the war on terrorism has made further terrorist attacks more rather than less likely, according to polls released before Thursday's second anniversary of the September 11 2001 attacks.
Sixty-four per cent of respondents said that the US military presence in the Middle East increased the likelihood of terrorism, 77 per cent thought that there were widespread negative feelings towards the US in the Islamic world that enhanced terrorist recruiting, and 54 per cent thought that the US had been too assertive in its foreign policies.
In addition, 81 per cent thought a key lesson of September 11 was that the US needed to work more closely with other countries to fight terrorism, up from 61 per cent in a similar poll more than a year ago.
The findings were part of a comprehensive survey of US foreign policy attitudes released on Tuesday by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa) at the University of Maryland.
An ABC News opinion poll this week showed similarly rising scepticism over the wisdom of the war in Iraq. Forty-eight per cent of Americans now thought that the Iraq war had increased the risk of terrorism against the US, while 40 per cent thought it had decreased the threat.
Those findings were far more pessimistic than a similar poll in April after the US military victory, when only 29 per cent thought the Iraq war would make terrorist attacks more likely.
The findings come as President George W. Bush's administration was trying to persuade Congress and the American people to back a long-term effort to transform Iraq, including $87bn (£51bn, ?77bn) in new spending for next year alone. The surveys reveal a deep ambivalence in the US about that project.
In the Pipa poll, taken between August 26 and September 3, respondents were split equally on whether the US should undertake a new "Marshall Plan" to transform the Middle East as it did in Europe after the second world war. But 50 per cent thought that Mr Bush was not prepared to commit resources on that scale, while only 39 per cent thought he would.
The survey also revealed a deep concern among Americans about how the US was perceived in Muslim countries. Fifty-seven per cent thought, for instance, that while Muslim countries are opposed to al-Qaeda's terrorism, they shared many of its hostile feelings towards the US. Large majorities also thought the US should make greater efforts to improve its relations with the Muslim world.
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