Recent research raises the intriguing possibility that Americans’ views about U.S. foreign policy can be influenced not just by the president and members of Congress – the elites from whom the public typically takes its cues – but also by the leaders of other nations and the United Nations. That [...] Read more »
As Foreign Tensions Escalate, Obama Sees a Drop
During the 2012 election, one of the perceived advantages President Obama held over Mitt Romney was the president’s seemingly firm grasp of foreign policy issues. During the summer months of the campaign, fully 47% of voters felt President Obama was better equipped to handle foreign affairs issues compared to 32% [...] Read more »
Many Israelis and Palestinians Want Bigger Role for Obama in Resolving Conflict
Israelis and Palestinians differ widely in their outlook for a peaceful resolution of their longstanding conflict and in their views about the United States. But both want U.S. President Barack Obama to play a larger role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate. [cont.] Pew Read more »
Support for Using US Troops to Defend South Korea Hits All-time High
If Kim Jong-un was trying to get our attention, he’s certainly succeeded. An April 12-15 Chicago Council survey (fielded before the Boston Marathon attacks) suggests that the provocative threats from Pyongyang have had some effect on American attitudes. The number of Americans who support defending South Korea from an attack [...] Read more »
Why ‘Isolationist’ Obscures More than It Reveals
Yesterday’s New York Times included a brief summary of recent Times/CBS poll results on American foreign policy. The article, by Megan Thee-Brenan, lit up the Twittersphere not because of its substantive conclusions but rather because of its lede, which began, “Americans are exhibiting an isolationist streak, with majorities across party [...] Read more »
Widespread Middle East Fears that Syrian Violence Will Spread
As concern mounts about the Syrian government’s possible use of chemical weapons against its own people, publics in the Middle East – especially the Lebanese – are extremely worried about violence spreading to neighboring countries. Nonetheless, a new survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted before news emerged of alleged [...] Read more »
Americans against U.S. intervention in Syria, N. Korea
Most Americans continue to say that the U.S. does not have a responsibility to intervene in Syria and think that North Korea is a threat that can be contained for now, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll. [cont.] Fred Backus, CBS News Read more »
Modest Support for Military Force if Syria Used Chemical Weapons
By a 45% to 31% margin, more Americans favor than oppose the U.S. and its allies taking military action against Syria, if it is confirmed that Syria used chemical weapons against anti-government groups. Public interest in the Syrian conflict remains low, and nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) have no [...] Read more »
The Iraq Sanctions Myth
… The claim that sanctions killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children originated in a 1995 letter to The Lancet which, in turn, was based on a Baghdad survey done by Sarah Zaidi and colleagues. After other researchers identified anomalies in the survey data, Zaidi, to her great credit, re-investigated [...] Read more »
Voters Say Take North Korea Seriously
American voters have divided views about whether North Korea has missiles that could hit the United States, yet most think threats from the country’s leader Kim Jong Un should be taken seriously, according to a new Fox News poll. Some 48 percent of voters think North Korea has the ability [...] Read more »