Respondents in 22 of 23 countries surveyed think U.S. action has failed to weaken terrorist groups, according to a BBC World Service poll.
According to the poll, only 22 percent of 23,937 respondents said al Qaeda has been weakened. Roughly 30 percent believe the ‘war on terror’ has had no effect, while the same percentage of respondents think U.S. efforts have made al Qaeda stronger.
Roughly half of those surveyed believe neither side is winning the conflict, while 61 percent feel negatively toward al Qaeda.
France and Mexico had the highest number of participants who believe U.S.led action has empowered terrorists. Italy, Australia and the UK followed, at around 40 percent.
Only Kenya, Nigeria and Turkey held widespread views that U.S. policy has been effective.
A quarter of Nigerians — the highest number of people in any country polled– held positive views of al Qaeda, compared to 42 percent negative.
Pakistani respondents were most likely to say al Qaeda is winning its conflict with the United States.
Pollster Doug Miller said, “The fact that so many people in Egypt and Pakistan have mixed or even positive views of al Qaeda is yet another indicator that the U.S. war on terror is not winning hearts and minds.”
–Lauren Riggs/Newsdesk.org
Sources:
“U.S. ‘war on terror’ has not weakened al-Qaeda, says global poll”
BBC Press Office, September 29, 2008
“U.S. War on al Qaeda Widely Viewed as a Bust”
Inter Press Service News Agency September 28, 2008
War on terror. my goodness they are doing such a great job at killing themselves let alone us. the economies of all the so called well off countries is a jihad of its own. We will all be losers. The rich will go one to bleed us all dry.
I am a retired Photojournalist who has worked as a freelancer for most News and Media Publications out of the UK and the US. My friends and I have been anticipating this “crisis” for the last 2. I guess we have been vindicated!
The “War on Terror” is a farce. There are too many unanswered questions that the US Government has conveniently left unanswered. They find it much easier to say that the people posing the questions are “Conspiracy Theory Nuts” than to tell the truth.
Unfortunately the majority of the world has bought in to the US scam promulgated by the US Government and forwarded by the US Media Dept, FOX, CNN….. etc.
As much as I put down the US public for being uninformed, the rest of the world is unfortunately just as ignorant.
I can not understand why the rest of the world does not stand up to the US and ask questions like “Where were the weapons of mass destruction go” and “where did all the money being talked about in this Financial Crisis disappear to?”.
Anyone that believes that this Financial crisis “just happened” is terribly naive. All one has to do is look to see who has benefited from the crisis to figure things out. Where did all these profits go and where did $Trillions just “evaporate” to?
Does it not seem ironic that the two recent major world crises were based in the US? The 911 “attack”, Farce! The Economic Crisis, Farce! US spending has been totally out of control.
The US is so much in debt that the only way for it to survive is to level the playing field and bring the rest of the world down as it takes its own screaming nose dive. While you are at it, take a look at the FAILED Fractional Reserve Banking System that the world Governments are pumping Trillions of $$$$$ of taxpayers money in to. It failed due to greed and it’s Shareholders took a World of profit from the system. Now it is getting more money pumped in to it!!! Sigh!
What more is there to say?