Poll: Isolationism Soars among Americans

(AP)  Americans are turning away from the world, showing a tendency toward isolationism in foreign affairs that has risen to the highest level in four decades, a poll released Thursday found.

Almost half, 49 percent, told the polling organization that the United States should "mind its own business" internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own, the Pew Research Center survey found. That's up from 30 percent who said that in December 2002.

Results of the survey appear to conflict with President Barack Obama's activist foreign policy, including a newly announced buildup of 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to fight Taliban and al Qaeda extremists.

"Isolationist Sentiment Surges to Four-Decade High," the nonpartisan research center headlined its report on the poll about America's role in the world.

Only 32 percent of the poll respondents favored increasing U.S. troops in Afghanistan, while 40 percent favored decreasing them. And fewer than half, or 46 percent, of those polled said it was somewhat or very likely that Afghanistan would be able to withstand the radicals' threat.

Forty-one percent of those surveyed said the United States plays a less important and powerful role as a world leader than it did a decade ago, up from 25 percent who said that just before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the report said.

Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut said in an interview that the "very bad economy" appeared most responsible for the growth of isolationist sentiment. He said the public was also "displeased with the two wars we are waging, in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Improving human rights and living standards are all down," Kohut added Thursday at a news conference.

"It tells us the president is sailing into a stiff wind," said James M. Lindsay, director of studies at the private Council on Foreign Relations.

"Unless he can produce obvious successes in Afghanistan and generally, he will find himself challenged," Lindsay said.

Nearly half the public worried the president is not tough enough in defending interests of the U.S. generally, Lindsay said.

While isolationism and unilateralism reached four-decade highs among the public, the stature of China increased.

Among Americans polled, 44 percent said China was the world's leading economic power, compared with 27 percent who named the United States. In February 2008, 41 percent said the U.S. was the leading economic power, while 30 percent said China was.

A majority of Americans surveyed, or 53 percent, see China's emerging power as a threat to the United States.

The United States is seen by a comfortable majority, 63 percent, as the world's leading military power.

Concerning the Middle East, about half, or 51 percent, of respondents said they were more sympathetic toward Israel than to the Palestinians, who drew 12 percent. Fourteen percent supported neither side, while 19 percent offered no opinion.

The findings come from two surveys. The first poll, of 2,000 adults, was conducted by telephone Oct. 28 to Nov. 8 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. A subsequent poll of 1,003 people conducted from Nov. 12-15 had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

[wyodutch]

Big deal... so the government continues to engaged in open-ended wars that the citizenry oppose.
.
You think they government gives a hoot in hell what "We, The People" think... one way or another?
.
Herman Goering was at least honest enough to explain the relationship between The State and the little people when it came to matters of war and peace....
..
.
"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on
a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of
it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

[magicwolf1]

Additional input: During the American Revolution of 1776, American Revolutionaries had a flag depicting a snake coiled ready to strike, with the words: "Mind Your Business" emblazoned upon it. How appropriate.

[magicwolf1]

The inference being: You mind YOUR Business and we'll mind OURS, but woe to you if you try to mind OUR Business!

[magicwolf1]

"Mind Our Own Business" - That should be the new American motto! It's clear that past presidents and Congress have spent way too much time trying to mind the business of others, and America's business has gone begging and been left to the banking criminals, insurance criminals and toher like minded greedy corporate criminals.

[rightbehind]

Wow! That throws a wrench in the neocons plans for globalization. 18 more republican senate seats on the ballot in 2010. We need to send them all packing.

[rightbehind]

The world is a very dangerous place now because of the free market ideology. It encouraged and allowed technology vital to our national security to leave our borders. We had the edge until reaganimics took hold and they begin to export jobs and technology to third world countries.

[hologram5]

There are many well thought out posts here and I can see that there are many different views on this. My input is, in the 21st century, a nation should be judged by how much it can build, created, invent for the better of man. Unfortunately our idiotic military industrial complex, which is who is in charge atm, views a nation's greatness on how quickly it can destroy, tear down, belittle a fellow nation. Who the hell are we to tell other nations what they can and cannot do? If we kept our noses out of other nation's business and instead of spending money on destruction spend money on inventing things to make lives of people better, again, we wouldn't have to worry about being a target.

[hologram5]

Additional input, we do need to first pull the rank and decay from our own government here as well as fix our economy and feed our own homeless before we can do anything like that to other nations.

[Marcos989]

I am all for helping out in the world to make it a better place to the same relative degree that the rest of the 1st world does and NO more.
Until our house is in order I do not support the US leading foreign intervention.
Until every American has relatively modern access (to 1st world standards) to quality Child Protective Services with case workers that have a manageable case load, properly funded Court Systems, properly funded Police, affordable health care, excess prison beds, a Financial Services industry that is regulated properly and NTM JOBS to pay for all this ect.ect.ect
Let the others worry about Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, Somalia, Isreal, Syria, Veneuzeula ect.ect.
Cut off Isreal unless they abide by UN Resolutions-period.

No not really, just frustrated (except about Isreal), but it is getting to that point.
Iraq was a waste of man & material, not worth 1 Americans life.
Let these countries have their own Revolution if they want freedom the same as we did. Let them die now to appreciate freedom in the future.
Let the bloody Arabs, Pershians, Jews fix their own problems.
Get us off oil.

[maistir]

Americans' education is largely to blame. The study of foreign languages and cultures is not emphasized.

The present generation knows less about geography and history than any that came before it.

Knowledge of mathematics is poor, so that reasoning about the economy is often faulty.

There are brilliant young men and women who are exceptions, of course, but the general pattern is one of decreasing competence in confronting the world -- except in the realm of entertainment, the real opiate of the masses.

[maistir]

Americans' education is largely to blame. The study of foreign languages and cultures is not emphasized.

The present generation knows less about geography and history than any that came before it.

Knowlede of mathematics is poor, so that reasoning about the economy is often faulty.

There are brilliant young men and women who are exceptions, of course, but the general pattern is one of decreasing competence in confronting the world -- except in the realm of entertainment, the real opiate of the masses.

[aburr]

Isolationism is a loaded, phony descriptive term. We definitely need to mind our own businees, that is hardly isolated. If I dont go to my neghbors houses regularly and tell them what to do, does that make me an "isolated" person? Hardly! Let the world get along in its own way, were broke from paying for the defense of Europe and the rest of the world.