US Policy and Actions Towards the Middle East

By: Yiming Ye and Pulkit Sood

Objective

To find how informed students are on the Middle East To find the political viewpoint of students o Or whether or not they have one To gain a general understanding of the overall political climate To deliver accurate information regarding the situation in the Middle East To test whether or not American youths are concerned about the issues the United States is involved with

Questions
In this poll we asked questions concerning: US actions in the Middle East The War on Terror The Iraq Wars benefits or setbacks US policies (drone strikes) Outcomes of US policies and actions Death tolls and financial costs Syria conflict

Results
Q1: Do you agree with the use of drone strikes in nations such as Pakistan and Yemen Out of 25, 12 people, or 48%, stated that they disagreed with the use of drone strikes 16% were undecided The remaining 36% agreed with the use of drone strikes

Results
Q2:Should we be operating in nations we claim to be allies of? Should we respect their sovereignty? 44% contradictorily answered yes to both questions, stating that the US should operate in other countries and respect their sovereignty at the same time 4% undecided 40% believed we should respect the sovereignty of other nations and refrain from operating on their land 12% believed we should operate in other nations to preserve our national security and perhaps the security of the nations we are operating in

Results
Q3: Do you believe drones are helpful or effective? Why or why not? 46% stated that they believed drones were effective because they could provide reconnaissance, avoid the risk of sending ground troops and would bring us closer to future technologies 8% stated their effectiveness depended on their use Another 8% were undecided on the issue 16% stated that drones were helpful at times but they run the risk of causing political turmoil. 24% opposed drone strikes because they believed that they would cause more political issues rather than solve them.

Results
Q4: Does the US government have the power to eliminate terrorist organizations, or will those organizations always exist? 16% believe the US government does have the power to eliminate such organizations because of its massive military power that 16% stated that even though the US does have the power, that power isnt being fully used or properly used 64% believe that such organizations will always exist no matter what 8% believe that the US cannot eliminate these organizations without the UNs help 8% undecided 4% believe that the US should only eliminate organizations that are solely threats to the US and its people

Results
Q5: Do you think the Iraq War was justified or successful? Why or why not? 52% believed that the Iraq Was not justified or successful because of the economic and human losses and/or the reasons for going to war 16% believed the war was justified 32% were undecided

Results
Q6: Should we intervene in Syria? Will it have any positive effects? 8% believe that if the United States intervenes then there will be positive effects 76% believe we should not intervene for various reasons. Some have stated that there could be positive effects, but the costs will outweigh the benefits. Others think that intervention will escalate violence or allow the US to exert its control on the region and anger Russia 8% believed that the effects would be positive and negative 8% were undecided on the issue

Results
Q7: Should the Syrian government be trusted to remove its chemical weapons? 16% of said that we should trust the government to remove its weapons 68% said that we cannot trust the Syrian government 12% are undecided 4% are not concerned with the issue

Results
Q8: Have we made any improvements in the War in Afghanistan? Responses were even said yes another said no the remaining were undecided on the issue

Analysis of Opinionated Results

Overall:

Around 15% of those surveyed are either uninformed on or unconcerned with certain issues or all issues in the Middle East that concern the United States and its forces According to the answers to questions 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 8, approximately 47% expressed disagreement with some or all of US policies or actions The remaining 38%, according to rough calculations, agree with current US policies and actions and view them as effective

Results
Q1: How many civilians have died during the occupation of Iraq? 70% stated 500,000 20% stated 10,000 10% stated 100,000 The correct answer was approximately 500,000 civilian casualties, according to a very recent UN report.

Results
Q2: How much is the US military currently spending to operate? 75% stated $1 Trillion 15% stated $100 Billion 10% stated $1 Billion The correct answer was $1 Trillion

Results
Q3: How many lives have been lost in the Syrian conflict?4 70% said 100,000 30% said 10,000 The correct answer is 100,000.

Analysis of Factual Results

Assuming the choices were considered based on prior knowledge 1. More recent events are more thoroughly remembered a. May also be a cause of more political influence from maturity 2. The American public has a more thorough understanding of their military overall Assuming the choices were considered based on logical or baseless reasoning 1. You guys are very good at guessing a. Bravo...

Overall Analysis
Assuming all questions were answered intelligently and conservatively 1. A majority of the class express a level of concern on US foreign policy 2. Most of the public both disagree with US foreign policy but distrust foreign powers a. However, they still believe their sovereignty should be respected 3. The factual questions were mostly answered correctly a. Lets hope nobody just googled the answers Conclusion This powerpoint and its complementary poll reveal most of the student population have formulated a level of political opinion. Most students have knowledgeable basis to uphold their opinions.