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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (1321)	12/25/2001 11:06:56 AM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

Survey: Sharp decline in American public support for Arab states By Nitzan Horowitz, Ha'aretz Correspondent The percentage of Americans who favorably view Arab countries has dropped sharply in the wake of the September terror attacks according to a comprehensive survey on attitudes toward the Middle East and the Israeli-Arab conflict. The Zogby International survey indicates a sharp drop in the favorable rating given to Arab states considered to be moderate and with ties to the United States. Egypt and Saudi Arabia registered the lowest marks since the company began taking the survey. Only 24 percent of respondents responded favorably to Saudi Arabia as compared to 58 percent with a negative response. Conversely, Israel registered a particularly high level of support among Americans, in a picture almost completely opposite of that in regard to Arab countries: 59 percent of the respondents held a positive opinion of Israel as compared to 28 percent with a negative opinion. The Palestinian Authority received particularly low marks in the survey with only 10 percent of Americans expressing a positive outlook as compared to 72 percent with a negative response. Arab organizations in Washington called the survey's findings "shocking" and said that it reflects a dramatic change in the American public's attitude toward the Arab world. A look at Zogby surveys in regard to the Middle East since the beginning of the peace process shows that the U.S. perception toward Israel has hardly changed: in 1993, 61 percent expressed support for Israel, as compared to 59 percent today. In October, following the terror attacks, Israel won a favorable rating of 68 percent, however the number has since returned to its more traditional figure around 60 percent. But Israel's unfavorable rating has increased from 14 percent in October to 28 percent today. According to the survey, the American public's attitude toward Arabs has changed considerably in the wake of the September terror attacks. In 1993, 64 percent of the respondents expressed support for Egypt - the Arab country which traditionally has the most favorable rating among Americans - but only 38 percent express support for Egypt today. The large drop occurred in the months of October and November. Although Saudi Arabia has never had wide American support, at the beginning of the year it had 56% support as opposed to 24 percent today.