Middle East & North Africa

By Nicole Speulda and Mary McIntosh

A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished. Opinion of the United States in France and Germany is at least as negative now as at the war’s conclusion, and British views are decidedly more critical. Perceptions of American unilateralism remain widespread in European and Muslim nations, and the war in Iraq has undermined America’s credibility abroad. Doubts about the motives behind the U.S.-led war on terrorism abound, and a growing percentage of Europeans want foreign policy and security arrangements independent from the United States. Across Europe, there is considerable support for the European Union to become as powerful as the United States.

Latino support for the war in Iraq and for President George W. Bush has surged since the capture of Saddam Hussein, but Latinos remain concerned about the condition of the U.S. economy and the long-term consequences of the war. In order to probe Latino views of the war, the economy, and the upcoming presidential race, the Pew Hispanic Center (PHC) conducted two national surveys of Latino adults. One took place in December 2003, just before Hussein's capture, and the other in early January 2004

10 a.m. – Noon Washington, D.C. Speakers Dr. Michael Lawrence, Associate Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church Kate Moynihan, Deputy Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa, Catholic Relief Services Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia; Chairman, Board of Directors, Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy Bruce Wilkinson, Senior […]

The Hispanic population is divided over the war with Iraq. Latinos born in the United States express strong support as well as optimism over its course thus far while the foreign born voice more cautious views and greater concern over the potential for terrorist attacks and economic losses, according to a Pew Hispanic Center poll of Latino adults taken April 3 to 6, 2003. This survey shows that support for the war is considerably higher among all Latinos as U.S. troops take the fight to Baghdad than in a similar survey taken in mid-February when the prospect of war was being debated at the United Nations.

Compiled by Religion News Service, March 19, 2003 African Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Adam J. Richardson, president of the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, said in a March 12 interview that he was troubled by the support of possible war by some in Christianity’s conservative wing. “I think that, from my […]

Remarks of Andrew Kohut to The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing

Support for U.S. military action against Iraq is weaker in the Hispanic population, particularly among the foreign born, than in the American population overall, according to a Pew Hispanic Center poll of Latino adults taken February 13 to 16, 2003. Several recent polls by news organizations show that 60 to 70 percent of the general public supports military action. In this survey 48 percent of Latinos said they support invading Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power and 43 percent are opposed. Among native-born Latinos support for a possible war is 52 percent, and among foreign-born Latinos support is 46 percent in the Pew Hispanic Center poll. Overall Latino views mirror those of the general public on whether Iraq poses an immediate threat to the United States although somewhat fewer Latinos see a long-term threat from Iraq compared to the findings of general population polls.

Summary of Findings A two-thirds majority of the public continues to express qualified support for the idea of using military force to end the rule of Saddam Hussein. But the Bush administration may face a major challenge in winning public support for the use of force if U.N. weapons inspections yield anything less than evidence […]

by Andrew Kohut for The New York Times