CAIRO: The yearly Arab Attitudes Survey conducted by Zogby in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan reveals that 2011 was a bad year for President Obama and the United States in the Arab World. In all countries surveyed except Lebanon, approval ratings of the United States were lower than they were in 2008, the last year of President Bush's second term in office. Despite respondents in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan remembering that they felt hopeful that President Obama could change the trajectory of US policy in the Middle East in 2009, only 11 percent of respondents in all six countries feel that he has met the goals set out in his June 2009 speech at Cairo University. In terms of contributing to peace and stability in the Middle East, the United States is seen as worse than Iran in all countries except Saudi Arabia. US interference in the Arab world ranks second only to the continued occupation of Palestinian lands as the greatest obstacle to peace and stability in the region. Respondents in all countries view the roles of Turkey and Saudi Arabia as contributing to peace and stability. When asked whose policies do you most agree with, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan received the most votes, followed by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and President Sarkozy. Obama trailed behind Iranian President Ahmedinejad. According to the survey “Arabs see the Obama Administration's handling of most Middle East policy issues as having made no contribution to improving U.S.-Arab relations.” In fact, the lowest approval ratings by respondents were given to the two issues that the administration has spent the most time and energy, “the Palestinian issue” and “engagement with the Muslim world.” The killing of Osama bin Laden did nothing to improve views of the US in the Arab world. Only in the UAE do majority of respondents think that the Arab world is better off after the Arab Spring; a plurality of respondents in the rest of the countries surveyed believe that it's “too early to tell.” In Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, respondents say that they are doing worse today than they were 5 years ago. Respondents in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and the UAE feel that they are doing better. Interestingly enough, responses to the same question on the 2009 survey were more positive across the board. When asked how they think they will be doing five years down the line, 80% of Egyptians think they will be doing better. Moroccans, Saudis and Emiratis also express optimism for the future. BM
