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| Opportunities & Exposures: Policy |
Slouching Toward Baghdad
Daniel Yankelovich
01/01/2006
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Dove Tails
Living with the daily threat of being hated by suicidal
terrorists has only fueled concern. In our survey, an overwhelming majority (87
percent) said showing more respect for needs of other countries would enhance
U.S. security, while almost two-thirds (64 percent) said the government should
put more emphasis on diplomatic and economic efforts and less on military
strategies to fight terrorism.
Barring major changes on the ground, I
believe the administration has less than one year before the public’s impatience
on Iraq will force a change in U.S. policy.
Public anxiety about the war in
Iraq is mounting for several reasons. People are beginning to feel that we are
trapped there, and may not be able to win. A majority of the public is deeply
distressed about both the continuing casualties and our failure to meet
objectives.
A confounding aspect about tipping points is that strong public
sentiment does not always indicate what specific course of action the public
wants the country to follow. It simply means that impatience is mounting and
that change is becoming imperative.
The first reading of our index shows
that the U.S. public is truly struggling with our role in the world. More people
believe that there are “too many things worrying and disappointing” them about
relations with the rest of the world (49 percent) than believe that the U.S. is
“generally doing the right things” (40 percent).
Americans are eager to
improve our relations with the Muslim world, and believe we have relied too
heavily on military force. The current level of discomfort with our foreign
policy is so high that future readings of the Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy
Index may well show mounting demand for change in our international
strategies.
 | Social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich is chairman of Public
Agenda, a nonpartisan research and citizen engagement organization. |
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