WASHINGTON, D.C. - If world leaders followed the tenor of global opinion, the United States would be high-tailing it out of Iraq, Iran would cease nuclear proliferation and China would keep its military growth in check, according to a 47-nation survey on global opinions released Wednesday by the Pew Global Attitudes Project .
The study, headlined "," illustrates a global lack of trust and confidence in dominant nations and their leaders.
Over all, favorable opinions of the U.S. fell globally, as did opinions on China, while the survey showed mixed feelings about Russia.
In Canada, favorable opinions of the U.S. have been on a steady decline since 2000, falling to 55 per cent this year. Middle Eastern opinion of the US remains overwhelmingly negative, with Turkey topping the list with just 9 per cent of interviewees citing a favorable opinion of the States.
Andrew Kohut, President of the Pew Research Center and Director of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, cautions that "this is not a matter of anti-Americanism taking over the globe." Anti-American sentiments might have deepened overall, but they haven't widened, with Africa and even Latin America showing a mostly positive opinion of Uncle Sam.
The U.S. draws so much of the world's ire in part because of its "war on terror." Support has dropped worldwide, with only 37 per cent of Canadians surveyed supporting it. Back in 2002, that number sat at 68 per cent.
Opposition to the U.S. and NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is also growing. 62 per cent of Canadians surveyed favour removing troops from Iraq, while 49 per cent favour removing troops from Afghanistan.
Former Secretary of State and co-chair of the Pew Global Attitudes Project Madeline Albright grimly sums up the survey as moving away from a sense of optimism and can-do that prevailed historically, towards a sense of nihilism.
