Thursday, March 31, 2005

I'm gonna look into this and report back as soon as I can

Las Vegas SUN



March 28, 2005
To Australians, U.S. World Policy a Threat
By MERAIAH FOLEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Most Australians consider U.S. foreign policy to be as threatening as Islamic fundamentalism, according to a survey released Monday.
More than two-thirds of respondents, 68 percent, said Australia takes 'too much notice' of the United States when setting its foreign policy agenda, and 57 percent judged U.S. foreign policy to be as much of a threat as Islamic fundamentalism.
The Lowy Institute for International Policy surveyed 1,000 randomly selected Australians on their foreign policy views. The survey's margin of error was 3.1 percentage points.
The Sydney-based think-tank also found a majority of Australians ranked the United States near the bottom of their list of favored allied.
Asked to rate their 'positive feelings' about a list of 15 key countries or regions, Australians put the United States at 11th place, ahead of only Indonesia, the Middle East, Iran and Iraq.
Australia's participation in the war in Iraq divided respondents, with 46 percent favoring postwar involvement, saying it was in Australia's best interests to support democracy. But 51 percent said Australia never should have been in Iraq in the first place.
Australia sent 2,000 troops to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and currently maintains about 900 troops in the Middle East with 300 in Iraq.
The think-tank's executive director, Allan Gyngell, said the findings reveal an 'antipathy toward the United States' and its foreign policy.
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