Gallup survey: US public perception of Pakistan sinks further

US public perceptions of Pakistan and Afghanistan sinks to new lows.

WASHINGTON: US public perceptions of Pakistan and Afghanistan have sunk to new lows as the campaign against terrorism and extremism approaches its 10th year, a poll said on Friday.

Some 14 per cent of Americans have a favourable view of Afghanistan and 82 per cent hold a negative view, the Gallup poll said. For Pakistan, 18 per cent saw the country favourably and 76 per cent viewed it unfavourably.

The views were the most negative since Gallup began asking the question. Opinion about the two nations peaked in 2005, when upwards of 40 per cent of Americans saw both Afghanistan and Pakistan in a positive light.

The United States has had uneasy partnerships with the two countries, with US officials increasingly questioning the reliability of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and elements of the Pakistani establishment.

Separate polls have shown low US support for the war in Afghanistan, as well as strongly unfavourable views of the United States in Pakistan.

The Gallup poll, which surveyed 1,015 American adults, also found that US opinion of South Korea has reached a new high, with 65 per cent seeing the Asian ally favourably.

US relations with South Korea have improved markedly since conservative President Lee Myung-Bak took office in 2008. The United States and South Korea have finalised a free-trade deal first negotiated by earlier administrations.

The most popular Asian nation among the US public remained Japan, with 80 per cent of Americans holding a favourable view, in line with findings in recent years.

Americans had higher opinions only of Canada, which 92 per cent saw favourably, along with Britain and Germany.

Despite a year of friction with China on trade and other issues, US perceptions rose slightly, with 47 per cent of Americans seeing the rising Asian power favourably, compared with 42 per cent a year earlier.

The worst-viewed nations were North Korea and Iran, with only 11 per cent of Americans seeing each country in a favourable light.

The poll had a margin of error of four percentage points.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2011.