- LONDON (Reuters) - Most Europeans
believe America itself is partly to blame for the devastating attacks on
New York and Washington last September 11.
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- According to a new poll, which questioned more than 9,000
Europeans and Americans about how they look at the world one year after
the attacks, 55 percent of Europeans think U.S. foreign policy contributed
to the tragic events.
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- The highest percentage of those who thought Washington
should blame itself for the attacks was in France, at 63 percent, while
the lowest was in Italy, at 51 percent.
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- Now, however, a large majority of Europeans -- 59 percent
-- think America's overseas conduct since the attacks which killed some
3,000 people is aimed mostly at protecting itself, rather than enforcing
its own will around the globe.
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- The survey also found that while Europeans are more critical
than Americans of President Bush's handling of foreign policy, the two
continents' views on the wider world as a whole are quite close.
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- "Despite reports of a rift between U.S. and European
governments, our survey finds more similarities than differences in how
the American and European publics view the larger world," said Craig
Kennedy, president of German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF),
which undertook the survey in conjunction with the Chicago Council on Foreign
Relations (CCFR).
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- The findings showed that on Iraq, where the Bush administration
has made repeated calls for "regime change" and is arguing its
case for a military strike against President Saddam Hussein, both Europeans
and Americans support a U.S.-led invasion -- but only with international
approval and support.
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- Only 20 percent of Americans think the U.S. should go
it alone, while 65 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Europeans favor
intervention with U.N. approval and allies' support.
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- "When presented with various scenarios for a U.S.
attack on Iraq, Europeans' support for their country's participation is
most heavily influenced by the presence or absence of a U.N. mandate,"
said the survey, which was released in Europe on Wednesday.
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- AMERICANS BEGIN TO LOOK OUTWARDS
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- Interest in international news, which had been declining
steadily in the United States to near record lows in the 1990s, has now
jumped to its highest levels ever recorded since the CCFR began surveying
foreign policy attitudes in 1974.
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- Sixty-two percent of Americans say they are "very
interested" in news about U.S. relations with other countries, the
same percentage as those interested in national news.
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- International terrorism tops the list of threats identified
both by Europe -- where people in France, Germany, Britain, Italy, the
Netherlands and Poland were questioned -- and the United States.
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- The threat of Iraq developing weapons of mass destruction
comes next, with 86 percent of Americans and 58 percent of Europeans naming
that as of great concern.
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- In the U.S, 67 percent those surveyed named military
conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors as a threat, while Islamic
fundamentalism was listed by 61 percent.
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- Looking at the balance of power between the two continents,
the survey found Europeans ready and willing to take on a more prominent
role, eager to match America's status as a superpower.
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- "When asked if the United States should remain the
only superpower or the EU should become a military and economic superpower
like the United States, 65 percent of European respondents opt for the
latter," the survey said.
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- Highest support for this idea was among the French at
91 percent and the Italians at 76 percent, and a majority of those who
supported it also said they would back increased defense spending by their
own governments if it were needed to get to superpower status.
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- "Of those desiring the European Union to become
a superpower, nine out of 10 indicate they support this as a way for Europe
to better cooperate with the United States, not compete with it,"
the survey said.
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