Americans are cautiously optimistic that the upheaval in Egypt will increase the chances for an enduring peace in the Middle East, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, though there is also concern about the potential consequences of the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Those surveyed give President Obama high marks for his handling of the unfolding situation. By more than 2-to-1, 66%-28%, they credit him with doing a good or very good job.
"It offers an opportunity as well as a challenge," Obama said at a news conference Tuesday. "I think the opportunity is that, when you have the kinds of young people who were in Tahrir Square, feeling that they have hope and they have opportunity, then they're less likely to channel all their frustrations into anti-Israeli sentiment or anti-Western sentiment, because they see the prospect of building their own country. ...
"The challenge is that ... democracy is messy."
Americans take a similar optimistic-but-wary view of the path ahead. In the poll:
?By 37%-22%, they predict events in Egypt will increase rather than decrease the chances for enduring peace in the Middle East; 28% say it won't make a difference.
?By 28%-21%, they say it will help rather than hurt U.S. efforts to fight terrorism; 41% say it won't make a difference.
?By 47%-44%, they say it will result in democracy taking hold in other countries in the region.
The phone poll of 1,004 adults Monday has a margin of error of +/?4 percentage points.
Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies warns it's too soon to make judgments about future repercussions.
"It's far too premature for Americans to know anything about what is happening in Egypt," he says. "What we need to know is how this transitional regime will behave. ... Then we have the question of, once this government is elected, who will win and what will it do next?"
Source: http://feeds.abcnews.com/click.phdo?i=e1a5b6e71a86b70ff02e6e5d5a6d6cab
Queen Elizabeth II King Abdullah Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Omar al-Bashir Gloria Arroyo
No comments:
Post a Comment