In a single month, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved three military plans, newly formulated for the country's continuing war on terrorism. Four years after the campaign was launched, the policy has become deeply indoctrinated as a main pillar of American foreign policy.
Click here for Results of the Survey (pdf)
This is a war that has been waged against many "enemies", across various international borders, and involving dozens of countries. The parameters defining this war have become so fluid that scores of people have been identified as culprits in aiding or carrying out terrorist acts. With Rumsfeld's approval of the most wide-ranging anti-terrorism plan yet, the war retains its prominence as the pledge to continue fighting it is renewed.
As with all wars, there are winners and losers. In this particular one, the US is standing at the losing end according to a majority of respondents (71 per cent) in a recently held YouGov/Gulf News poll.
When it came to the Middle East, a majority (77 per cent) expressed their concern over the spreading of terrorism in the region. This level of concern perhaps explains why 62 per cent of respondents believe that it is highly likely that terrorist incidents would be spreading in the region. Interestingly though, almost a third of western respondents were not very concerned about the matter.
Furthermore, the heavy US military presence in and around the region did not help alleviate respondents' fears. In fact, such a presence made 51 per cent of respondents feel less secure while only 12 per cent felt the opposite. A third said the presence did not make any difference.
The two main and most obvious theatres of action in the US-led war against terrorism are Afghanistan and Iraq. In their evaluation of the overall picture of the American involvement, a majority of respondents agreed it was wrong for the US to enter both Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.
But this opposition was stronger in the case of Iraq where across the spectrum of nationalities responding, almost two thirds expressed such sentiments. This was not paralleled with the same intensity in the case of Afghanistan. While 52 per cent of respondents believed it was wrong to enter Afghanistan, a massive 76 per cent said it was wrong to enter Iraq.
This stark difference is also seen when looking at the percentage of respondents who agreed it was right for the US to enter both countries. While 35 per cent said it was a right decision for Afghanistan, only 17 per cent said so in the case of Iraq.
This trend of opposing the US presence in Iraq seems to have played an influencing factor with other answers as well. When asked if the US is succeeding in Iraq, an overwhelming 72 per cent of respondents disagreed.
Fast track exit
But the failure would not lead to a fast track exit from Iraq. Almost half of the respondents believed US troops would stay in Iraq anywhere between 1-5 years. Only 16 per cent believed troops would remain for more than 10 years.
And what would be the factor determining the exit? A total of 43 per cent said troops should leave only when Iraqi security forces can control the situation in the country, while 40 per cent said they should depart when asked to by the Iraqi government. Arab nationals were the only group that said that the troops should leave now (45 per cent).
Not surprisingly, the volatility of the situation in Iraq has made it rank first in the Middle East as being a target for terrorist activities. Saudi Arabia came second, followed by Israel, Egypt and Lebanon. With the exception of Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf nations fared well. Respondents rated Oman as being the safest from terrorist activities, while 32 per cent believed the UAE would become a target.
Miles away, a fragile state of affairs is also seen in another battlefield Afghanistan but not on a similar level.
A total of 43 per cent of respondents believed the Taliban will not become a force again in the country but the possibility of becoming so remains. Only 20 per cent agreed they are a force. Half of the respondents said the US is not in control of the security situation there.
The control is perceived as being practised somewhere else. A staggering 78 per cent of respondents said that the US exerted control over the decisions taken by Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. A closer look reveals that of Arab nationals, 57 per cent believed the US had total control over the president's decisions, while 51 per cent of westerners believed the control was extended to some and not all his decisions.
Further, regardless of the continuing activities of Al Qaida in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, a majority of respondents said most people of the Middle East did not support the organisation. Only 21 per cent believed they did have a following.
There was a consensus among respondents (53 per cent) that the terrorist organisation's operations were more about politics rather than religion and hence the group is not perceived as being a defender of Islam. In fact, 67 per cent of respondents said their operations would definitely not lead to a better life in the region.
The real objective of Al Qaida said 61 per cent of respondents, is mainly to removes all western influence. Another 53 per cent said its goal was to take political control of the region, while 44 per cent said it was to set up a unified Islamic region under their control.
The poll surveyed a total of 700 people over the month of April.
