The Washington-based Pew Research Center, which has been polling Turks on their views of the US since 2002, found that only 19 percent currently have a positive view of America.
The poll also reveals that Turk’s negative view of America is nothing new and dates back to when polling began, shortly after the 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks on the United States. Anti-Americanism spiked after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, when 83 percent of Turks recorded an unfavourable view.
Jacob Poushter of Pew’s Global Attitudes Project noted that Turks also held a negative opinion of many other countries, with Israel top of the list at 86 percent of “don’t likes” and Iran not far behind at 75 percent. The US rated a similar score to Russia.
“On balance, around two-thirds or more Turks express unfavorable views of the European Union, China, Brazil, Russia, Iran and Israel,” Poushter wrote on Pew’s website. “Turks even dislike Saudi Arabia (53percent unfavorable and, notably, the highest favorability percentage – 26 percent - among all countries we asked about).” Turks also disliked the NATO defence alliance – 70 percent.
“In fact, it is hard to find any country or organization the Turkish people really like, except, of course, Turkey itself.” Poushter concluded. “According to our spring 2012 poll, 78 percent of Turks said they had a favorable view of their country.”
These apparently consistent findings might explain why President Recep Tayyip Erdogan feels he has little to lose in terms of Turkish public opinion by remonstrating with the West over policy towards Syria, the Kurds and Islamic State.
In Paris this week, he accused the West of double standards in trying to save Kobane from an ISIS siege, while allowing jihadists to advance unchecked in other parts of Syria.
As the Pew research shows, anti-Americanism is nothing new in Turkey.
In the mid-2000s, Valley of the Wolves, a rabidly anti-American action movie released at the height of the US war in Iraq, was a box office sensation in Turkey.
As one reviewer wrote at the time: “The action pits good Turks against very bad Americans, in a mix of fact and fiction with a deeply nationalistic flavour.”
Kurds might ruefully suggest that in Turkish popular film and TV, the really villainous roles are reserved for stereotyped Kurdish characters.
.webp&w=3840&q=75)
