Hearts and Minds

They have opinions, too......

"In Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the two countries where the U.S. has focused its democracy message, the effort appeared to backfire," according to Zogby. "Of the four percent in Egypt and nine percent in Saudi Arabia who said that 'President Bush's promotion of democracy and reform' was the most important factor determining their attitudes toward the U.S., over 80 percent said this effort worsened their view of the U.S." .....

Two out of every three respondents in Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco said their overall opinion of the U.S. was unfavourable. In the UAE, the ratio was three out of every four, while in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, 85 percent and 89 percent of respondents, respectively, expressed negative views.....

Views of China were far more favourable, particularly in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco, where majorities expressed positive views of Beijing. India was also viewed significantly more favourably than the United States. Even Russia received more favourable ratings, except in Morocco and the UAE.

Asked what were the most important factors in determining their attitudes towards the U.S., the most common answer given by respondents in every country except UAE was the war in Iraq, followed by "American treatment of Arabs and Muslims".