World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, is reporting that Israel made two attacks on Iranian positions in Iraq on 19 July. Although Israel has made hundreds of similar strikes in Syria, this is the first time (that we know of) that Israel has attacked positions in Iraq since the days of Saddam Hussein. Israel used the US-made F-35 fighter planes in the attacks. The attacks represent a significant change in tactics that suggest that Israel is willing to escalate its activities against Iran. The Iraqis will undoubtedly protest and it will be interesting to see if the US supports Iraq or Israel in this matter. I suspect that the Trump Administration will support Israel, but do so will jeopardize the US troops currently stationed in Iraq.

The Pew Research Center has conducted a poll on the partisan divide in the US over threats to US security. There are some remarkably discrepant views about national security within the US population, suggesting that forging a common foreign policy would be difficult for any government. The biggest discrepancy is perhaps the most worrisome: climate change. Only 27% of Republicans regard climate change as a major threat whereas 84% of Democrats consider it to be a major threat. The most surprising result, however, is about how well respected the US is by other countries in the world.

“A majority of Americans have long held the view that the United States is “less respected by other countries than in the past,” including 57% who currently say this. But the share of Republicans who say this is now lower than it has been in Pew Research Center surveys dating back to 2004.

“At the same time, the share of Democrats who say the U.S. is less respected remains near a record high. As a result, the 53 percentage point partisan gap in the share saying the U.S. is less respected than in the past is wider than at any point in the last 15 years.

“Overall, 57% of adults overall say that, compared with the past, the U.S. is less respected by other countries these days, while 20% say it is more respected and a similar share (21%) say it is about as respected as it has been in the past.”

I would suggest that members of the Republican Party start reading some international newspapers.