Analysis by Steven Kull
Reprinted from the Harvard International Review

Sitting in a focus group, a young Jordanian bewailed America's relationship with his region: "Since 1948, we have tried peace, but everything turned out to be a lie. Looking to the future, we don't see anything except more wars, problems and efforts to control our leadership." While in recent years, views of the United States have been quite negative around the world, they have been particularly virulent in the Middle East. Majorities in some countries have even expressed support for attacks on US troops and for key aspects of al Qaeda's anti-US agenda, including driving the United States out of the region.
Thus, there is particular interest in the question of whether a new Obama administration might elicit a more positive response from publics in this part of the world.
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US Approach to Muslim World Given Poor Grades by Many Nations

A WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 21 nations around the world finds widespread opposition to the United States having naval forces based in the Persian Gulf. Most also believe that most people in the Persian Gulf region oppose such bases.
In general, America's approach to the Middle East and the Muslim world gets poor grades around the world. The United States is widely viewed as disrespectful of the Muslim world. Its support for democracy in the Muslim world is seen as limited to cases where the government is cooperative with the US. More publics than not believe that the US is not really seeking the creation of a viable Palestinian state.
(US Navy photo)
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