Bush, U.S. unpopular in global poll

LONDON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- A BBC poll of nearly 22,000 people in 21 countries found 58 percent say U.S. President George Bush's re-election has made the world more dangerous.

By percentage, none of the countries polled supported contributing their troops to Iraq, and 47 percent of the 21,953 people questioned now see U.S. influence in the world as largely negative, and view its citizens negatively as well.

"This is quite a grim picture," said Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes, which carried out the poll with GlobeScan. "Negative feelings about Bush are high and are generalizing to the American people who re-elected him."

Only a majority of respondents in India, Poland and the Philippines said they believe the world was now safer.

Most negative feelings were found in Western European, Latin American and Muslim countries, and include traditional U.S. allies such as Germany, France, Britain and Italy as well as neighbors Canada and Mexico.

PIPA interviewed between 500 and 1,800 people in each of the 21 countries, plus 1,000 Americans, in face-to-face or telephone interviews between Nov. 15 and Jan. 5. The margin of error is between 2.5 and 4 points, depending on the country.