27% Americans see Qatar as U.S. ally: Arab News/YouGov poll

CAIRO – 6 August 2017: A survey, conducted in July, showed that only 27 percent of U.S. citizens consider Qatar an ally to the United States.

The Arab News/YouGov poll has found that 31 percent of Americans consider Qatar “unfriendly” or an “enemy” to the their country.

Without a doubt, Qatar’s two-faced policies resulted 43 percent of U.S. citizens unsure about to to classify the U.S. relationship with Doha.

The poll’s aim was to shed the light on how Americans see the Qatari crisis, marking two months since ties were severed between Doha and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

The poll found that 71 percent of Americans are very much aware of the diplomatic row with good understanding of the reasons behind the crisis.

The survey also showed 67 percent identifying that Doha had been accused of supporting and financing terror groups and meddling with the internal affairs of other countries.

It also touched down on how U.S. citizens think of the U.S. military base, namely Al-Udeid air base, in Qatar. 49 percent of Americans say they are unsure if it is best for the base to remain there, while 20 percent confirmed that it “should” be moved somewhere else.

Stephan Shakespeare, CEO of YouGov, noted to Arab News that the American public “is not usually characterized by its high interest in foreign affairs, rather the opposite. However, this latest poll shows the current tensions between Qatar and its neighbors is gaining some significant attention.”

According to the Arab News/YouGov poll, more than six out of 10 Americans are aware of Al Jazeera TV network, which was called by the Anti-Terror Quartet of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain to be shut down. However, many of those who recognized the Doha-based network, have a negative perspective of it.

A majority of those with an opinion on the matter also believe the network gives a platform to terror groups linked to Osama bin Laden, with 44 percent agreeing with that statement.

Moreover, Qatar was associated with accusations of terror supporting and financing by 34 percent of U.S. citizens who took the poll.

The aim of the research was to explore America’s familiarity with and perception of Arab states, in particular which countries they consider to be an enemy or ally; It asked citizens about their degree of knowledge and understanding of the conflict between the four Arab countries.