Arabs see no change in U.S. Middle East policy under Obama

Like every year, the Zogby Polling Institute carried out a survey of the Arab world’s perception of United States policy for the Middle East (see document attached below).

The 2010 results primarily indicate that:

– The Arabs who at first were captivated by Barack Obama and his Cairo speech are currently disaffected. While viewing the new administration as less islamophobic, they don’t perceive any changes in the policies relating to their region. Washington continues to lend indiscriminate support to Israel and to occupy Iraq.
– Arabs consider that the Shoah is used as a tool to generate sympathy for Israel to their own detriment. They are apprehensively aware of the profusion of television programmes and films on the subject.
– A majority of Arabs have been conditioned by the media into believing that Iran is pursuing a secret military nuclear programme. However, considering that an even greater majority is of the opinion that Tehran has the right to acquire a nuclear weapon and that this would help to harmonize the Middle East, it is possible that they were manifesting a wish rather than a formed conviction.
– France still ranks as the most respected super-power in the eyes of the Arabs.
– The three most popular political leaders in the Arab world are not Arab, but Turkish (Recep Erdogan), Venezuelan (Hugo Chávez) and Iranian (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). The three most cherished Arab leaders alive are the Lebanese Hassan Nasrallah, the Syrian Bashar el-Assad and Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates.