Washington, February 09: An anti-government protester poses in front of barbed wires as an Egyptian officer sits in the background, near Cairo’s Liberation Square.Despite Washington’s double-standard policy towards the ongoing anti-government protests in troubled Egypt, a new poll indicates that most Americans support protesters in the crisis-hit country.
The annual World Affairs poll conducted by Gallup last week, suggests that nearly two-thirds of US nationals feel sympathetic towards the Egyptian protesters.
Some 66 percent of those surveyed also said that they believed a change in Egypt’s politics would be good for the country.
A similar percentage (60 percent), meanwhile, said that the changes would also benefit the United States.
However, the Gallup poll found that around half of the Americans surveyed have a negative view of Egypt. A year earlier, only 29 percent of Americans viewed Egypt in a negative light.
This comes amid extensive news coverage of the revolution in the North African country.
Gallup released the results as political protesters remain in the streets of Egypt for the 16th consecutive day in an attempt to oust embattled President Hosni Mubarak.
Although Americans seem to clearly side with the protesters, US President Barak Obama and his administration have made sure to tread lightly on the issue.
Obama has steered clear of commenting directly on the country’s opinion of the Egyptian revolution, and has only said the United States supports democratic reform in the troubled country.
Political analysts maintain the US incumbent president is performing a delicate balancing act, trying to avoid abandoning Mubarak, while apparently supporting angry protesters.
For the past 30 years, Egypt has not only been a crucial US partner in the Middle East, but a linchpin in Washington’s strategy for a future Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.
——–Agencies