short reads | May 2, 2013

Middle Eastern and Western publics wary on Syrian intervention

Growing evidence that the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad may have used chemical weapons against its own people has led to calls for the Obama administration to intervene in the Syrian civil war. In August 2012, President Barack Obama said: “We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on […]

report | May 2, 2013

Little International Support for Arming Syria Rebels

Growing evidence that the Syrian government may have used chemical weapons against its own people has led to demands for the U.S. to intervene in the Syrian civil war. As American pundits and politicians call for intervention, however merited or unjustified those appeals may be on humanitarian grounds, such pleas have yet to rally majority support for such action in America, Europe or the Middle East.

report | May 1, 2013

Widespread Middle East Fears that Syrian Violence Will Spread

Survey Report 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 use of chemical […]

report | Apr 30, 2013

The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society

A new survey report looks at attitudes among Muslims in 39 countries on a wide range of topics, from science to sharia, polygamy to popular culture. The survey finds that overwhelming percentages of Muslims in many countries want Islamic law to be the official law of their land, but there is also widespread support for democracy and religious freedom.

report | Apr 29, 2013

Modest Support for Military Force if Syria Used Chemical Weapons

Overview 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 opinion about the use […]

feature | Mar 20, 2013

Israel and the U.S. are Home to More Than Four-Fifths of the World’s Jews

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the Middle East from March 20-23. He will spend much of the time in Israel, home to 41% of the world’s Jews. Another 41% of the world’s Jewish population lives in the United States, according to Pew Research Center estimates.

report | Mar 19, 2013

Obama’s Israel Challenge

Criticized by some for being insufficiently pro-Israel during his first term, and dogged by relatively low ratings in Israel, President Obama travels there this week to deliver a major address in Jerusalem. The Obama administration can only hope this speech is more warmly received among Israelis than his last high-profile address in the region at Cairo University in June 2009.

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