GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Secretary of State Colin Powell leaves Friday for his first major trip abroad since assuming his new role as America's chief diplomat. Powell will meet with leaders of several Middle Eastern nations, as well as the Palestinian Authority. He will also mark Monday's tenth anniversary of the liberation of Kuwait by American and allied troops during the Persian Gulf War.
Powell's efforts to maintain and enhance American influence in the Middle East reflect a strong perception on the part of the public that this is an appropriate role for the United States. A recent Gallup poll on foreign affairs found a wide majority of Americans in favor of the United States maintaining its position as a major player in helping to deal with critical international issues. The poll, conducted February 1-4, 2001, showed nearly three out of four Americans surveyed (73%) believe the U.S. should take a leading or major role in solving international problems, while only 25% thought the U.S. should take a minor role or no role at all.
At the same time, three-quarters of Americans have either a great deal or a fair amount of confidence in the federal government in Washington when it comes to handling international problems, a number that is up from 1997 and 1998.
During his trip, Powell will meet with leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Typically, Americans have viewed Israel much more favorably than the Palestinians. The latest numbers from Gallup's early February Foreign Affairs Poll show Israel with a 63% favorable rating from the American public. The Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, only enjoys a 22% favorable rating. It should be noted that both are well below the highly favorable ratings awarded to political allies and economic partners such as Canada (90%), Australia and Great Britain (85%), Italy (78%), France (77%), and Germany (75%).
Powell will also meet with the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait during his trip. Of these nations, Egypt has a favorable rating among Americans very similar to Israel's – 65%. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has a lower 47% favorable rating. (Gallup has not asked the American public to rate Jordan and Kuwait recently.)
Among the topics sure to be on Powell's agenda are the United Nations sanctions against Iraq in place since the end of the Persian Gulf War. Iraq has the lowest favorable ratings of all countries evaluated in the recent Gallup poll – at 9%, slightly behind other countries with which the United States has had diplomatic problems in recent years, Libya, with only an 11% favorable rating, and Iran, with a 12% favorable rating.
Colin Powell himself remains one of the most positively evaluated figures on the American political scene. He received an extraordinary 83% favorable rating from the U.S. public in December.
Americans also believe that the U.S. in general looks good in the eyes of the world today – with 75% saying the world sees the U.S. favorably, while just 24% say that the world sees the U.S. unfavorably.
Survey Methods
Current results from the Gallup Poll are based on telephone interviews with -- 1,003 -- national adults, aged 18+, conducted February 1-4, 2001. For results based on the total sample of National Adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
Next, I'd like your overall opinion of some foreign countries. First, is your overall opinion of [RANDOM ORDER]very favorable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable? (How about … )
BASED ON -- 494 -- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A; ±5 PCT. PTS.
|
2001 Feb 1-4 |
Very favorable |
Mostly favorable |
Mostly unfavorable |
Very unfavorable |
No |
Total favorable |
Total unfavorable |
|
Canada |
51 |
39 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
90 |
7 |
|
Australia |
43 |
42 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
85 |
8 |
|
Great Britain |
41 |
44 |
6 |
3 |
6 |
85 |
9 |
|
Italy |
24 |
54 |
8 |
4 |
10 |
78 |
12 |
|
France |
22 |
55 |
12 |
5 |
6 |
77 |
17 |
|
Germany |
20 |
55 |
9 |
7 |
9 |
75 |
16 |
|
Israel |
18 |
45 |
20 |
12 |
5 |
63 |
32 |
|
Japan |
17 |
56 |
14 |
7 |
6 |
73 |
21 |
|
Mexico |
17 |
50 |
17 |
9 |
7 |
67 |
26 |
|
Brazil |
13 |
56 |
12 |
5 |
14 |
69 |
17 |
|
The Philippines |
12 |
51 |
19 |
6 |
12 |
63 |
25 |
|
Egypt |
11 |
54 |
19 |
4 |
12 |
65 |
23 |
|
South Africa |
11 |
46 |
24 |
9 |
10 |
57 |
33 |
|
Taiwan |
11 |
52 |
14 |
8 |
15 |
63 |
22 |
|
India |
8 |
50 |
24 |
6 |
12 |
58 |
30 |
|
Colombia |
7 |
23 |
38 |
21 |
11 |
30 |
59 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
7 |
40 |
28 |
18 |
7 |
47 |
46 |
|
Vietnam |
7 |
39 |
30 |
14 |
10 |
46 |
44 |
|
Russia |
6 |
46 |
27 |
15 |
6 |
52 |
42 |
|
China |
5 |
40 |
31 |
17 |
7 |
45 |
48 |
|
Cuba |
4 |
23 |
41 |
27 |
5 |
27 |
68 |
|
The Palestine Authority |
4 |
18 |
39 |
24 |
15 |
22 |
63 |
|
North Korea |
3 |
28 |
37 |
22 |
10 |
31 |
59 |
|
Iran |
2 |
10 |
45 |
38 |
5 |
12 |
83 |
|
Iraq |
2 |
7 |
34 |
51 |
6 |
9 |
85 |
|
Libya |
2 |
9 |
40 |
35 |
14 |
11 |
75 |
