(Newser)
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You know President Obama’s plan to reach out and win hearts and minds in the Middle East? It’s not going well. In a stunning new Pew Poll spotted by Glenn Greenwald of Salon, only 10% of residents in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates said they had a positive view of Obama, and less than that had a positive view of the US—putting the numbers at sub-Bush levels.
“What’s striking is that none of these is among the growing list of countries we’re occupying and bombing,” Greenwald marvels. Yet residents there rated the US less favorably than even Iran, and deemed “US interference in the Arab world” the top threat to regional peace. As democracy rises, “consider the type of leaders that will be elected in light of this pervasive anti-American hostility,” Greenwald points out. Public opinion didn’t matter when the US propped up dictators, but “now that scheme is collapsing.” Click here for Greenwald's whole piece.
