CAIRO: Seventy-five percent of Egyptians do not believe that the United States is serious about establishing democratic systems in the Middle East, according to a study by Gallup, a leading US research organization.
This year s results saw a 12 percent increase from 2005 s poll, where only 63 percent were skeptical about the US policy in the Middle East.
“Egyptians opinions about the US efforts toward democratization are significantly more negative in 2008 than they were in 2005, says Gallup.
According to the study, “Egyptians perception that US policy in the region is disingenuous is not unique among citizens in the Middle East and North Africa area. Citizens in 34 other countries in the region also gave the same answers. The highest percentage was in Tunisia with 87 percent not believing that the US is serious. High percentages also echoed the same sentiment in the Palestinian territories and Iran at 83 and 80 percent respectively.
The results of the study are based on face-to-face interviews with 999 people aged 15 and older, with the maximum margin of sampling error being plus or minus three percentage points.
Gallup’s study also notes that the negative attitudes of Egyptians continue to persist, even though the country receives a high level of assistance funding from American agencies. Since 2004, Congress has also proposed predicating foreign aid to Egypt on progress in democratization, but other aid funding targeted market-based economic development, good governance, and education programs.
Nonetheless, when asked if the US is serious about improving the economic lot in this region, 71 percent of Egyptians disagreed and only a scanty 17 agreed.
Another interesting find showed that 75 percent of Egyptians did not believe that the US would allow people in the region to fashion their own political future as they saw fit without direct US influence, with only four percent agreeing.
Diaa Rashwan, political analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, commented on the results saying, “Before looking at Egyptians views, we should ask the American public how serious they think their government is about establishing democratic systems in the region; and I’m certain that the results will be very similar to those found in Egypt.
“There have been numerous occasions in the Middle East where the US could have stepped in and done something if their objective was really to spread democracy, however they chose to step aside and do nothing about ‘their cause’ in the Middle East and this was very clear to all citizens around the world.
Gallup’s final analysis of the results is that “despite receiving $2 billion each year in US development assistance, Egyptians attitudes on various aspects of US foreign policy and leadership have only grown more negative since 2005 . Egyptians remain skeptical that the United States is serious about encouraging democracy or improving the economic lot in their region.
One reason those surveyed cite as a possible factor for their attitudes is the US government’s alliance with Israel and its stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
