Few Americans expect much progress on Middle East peace during President Barack Obama’s trip to Israel and the West Bank next week, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. Just 27 percent of voters think that Obama’s visit to the Middle East – his first as president — will help restart […] Read more »
Germany Ties U.S. Again in Leadership Approval Ratings
The U.S. and Germany tied for the highest leadership approval ratings for the second straight year in 2012, with a median of 41% worldwide approving of each country’s leadership. The approval ratings of all major powers declined in 2012, and for the sixth straight year, Russia had the lowest ratings […] Read more »
Iraq War: 190,000 lives, $2.2 trillion
More than 190,000 people have been killed in the 10 years since the war in Iraq began. The war will cost the U.S. $2.2 trillion, including substantial costs for veterans care through 2053, far exceeding the initial government estimate of $50 to $60 billion, according to a new report by […] Read more »
How the Iraq war hurt Republicans
Beyond the thousands of casualties incurred, the millions of troops and civilians deployed, and the trillions of dollars committed, the most enduring legacy of the Iraq war will be the political movements it triggered in this country: It shattered Republicans’ monopoly on national security and eroded service members’ allegiance to […] Read more »
Americans Least Favorable Toward Iran
Nearly nine in 10 Americans have an unfavorable view of Iran, making it the worst rated country out of 22 surveyed. Seven other countries — Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Pakistan, and North Korea — also receive unfavorable ratings of 70% or more. Eighty percent or more of […] Read more »
Beyond Reading the Tea Leaves: Using Data to Understand Partisanship and Foreign Policy
… A number of scholars including Shapiro and Bloch-Elkon, Trubowitz and Mellow, and Bafumi and Parent have warned that, in the two decades since the end of the Cold War, partisanship in foreign policy has been on the rise. According to this narrative, US foreign policy since the end of […] Read more »