Popular attitudes toward US souring across West Asia: Survey

According to an opinion poll conducted among more than 8,000 respondents in 16 countries across the region, as many as 76% of those polled said that their attitude toward the United States had become “more negative”. This translates into a loss of confidence in the United States across a wide swath of people in the Arab world, the pollsters surmised.

The anti-American sentiment has manifested itself in consumer boycotts of US brands, such as Starbucks and McDonald’s, by Arab youth. Many of them have abandoned plans to earn degrees at US universities or build careers at US companies.

The FT cited a Western diplomat serving in the Middle East as saying that the current outburst of anger toward the West and the United States in particular is much worse than in 2003 when the US and its “coalition of the willing” invaded Iraq to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

According to Dana El Kurd of the Arab Center Washington, the West’s war has dealt a serious blow to Western values and the democracy-related discourse across the region.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the Gaza-based fighters unexpectedly attacked nearby settlements on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Dozens of captives were subsequently released during a weeklong ceasefire in November.

Since then, nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 72,000 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire, insisting on its goal to completely “eliminate” Hamas in Gaza.

President Joe Biden has been facing mounting pressure to stop providing Israel with bombs, missiles and ammunition since the regime launched its military offensive against the besieged enclave in early October.

Five months into the war in Gaza, the Biden administration has repeatedly bypassed Congress to greenlight an emergency weapons sale to Israel.