2007年VOA标准英语-Poll Finds Americans Losing Confidence in Milit

By Stephanie Ho
Washington
03 April 2007

A new poll shows that declining American public support for the war in Iraq is leading to an increasingly negative public opinion of resorting to military force to settle global conflicts. The findings come in the fourth survey conducted jointly¹ by the non-profit organization Public Agenda and Foreign Affairs, one of America's most influential² publications on foreign policy. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.

Public Agenda's president, Ruth Wooden, said the latest survey results show what she described as a public "crisis of confidence" in the current direction of U.S. foreign policy.

She said the main finding was the so-called anxiety indicator³, which is a composite of answers to five different questions. "For example, 84 percent are worried about the way things are going for the United States in world affairs. Eighty-two percent say the world is becoming more dangerous for the United States, 73 percent say the United States is not doing a good job as a leader in creating a more peaceful, prosperous world, and 68 percent believe the rest of the world sees the United States negatively. Actually, one third, 34 percent, say very negatively. And 67 percent, two out of three, say that U.S. relations with the rest of world are on the wrong track," he said.

 

She called the current anxiety indicator "very high" at 137 points, out of a total possible 200 points.

An overwhelming number of the people polled linked the U.S. image around the world to global security. They urged the United States to improve its reputation by taking a more positive leadership role in issues like reducing global warming and controlling diseases.

Wooden says the survey specifically shows that Americans are strongly opposed to using military force around the world.

As an example of this, she said only eight percent of the respondents supported possible military action against Iran. At the same time, 70 percent of the respondents favor a U.S. withdrawal⁴ from Iraq within 12 months.

Meanwhile, the survey finds that three out of four Americans are increasingly concerned about nuclear proliferation. "When asked about foreign policy priorities that they believe should drive policy in the United States, the public put preventing the spread of nuclear weapons at the very top of the list," he said.

The managing editor of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Rose, called the results "striking" for the future of U.S. foreign policy. "This is fascinating to me, because again it represents a kind of loss of trust in its own executive branch, and it may well constrain⁵, not just the Bush administration, but also some future administrations for some time," he said.

The Public Agenda - Foreign Affairs poll was based on interviews conducted about one month ago with more than 1,000 adults around the country. The margin⁶ of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

1 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

4 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

5 constrain   

vt.限制，约束；克制，抑制

参考例句：

• She tried to constrain herself from a cough in class.上课时她竭力忍住不咳嗽。
• The study will examine the factors which constrain local economic growth.这项研究将考查抑制当地经济发展的因素。

6 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。