Iranians Overwhelmingly Support U.S. Presence in Iraq

There's some interesting data points buried down deep in the recent GlobeScan/BBC poll that didn't get much press attention. The bold-face headline was, World Public Says Iraq War Has Increased Global Terrorist Threat, but that's a no-brainer. The items that aren't so obvious or expected are:

- Strong majorities of Afghans and Germans believe the U.S. should stay in Iraq, regardless of what the Iraqis want.
- Pluralities of Canadians, Philippinos, Italians and Finns, think America should maintain its presence.

The most surprising figure was that 74% of Iranians think America should stay in Iraq as long as Iraqis want us there. Only 18% of Egyptians and 11% of Saudis thought America should stay, even if invited. Iraqis are split 53%-45% in support of a permissive U.S. presence.

Atrios quotes a dissenting view on the Afghans.

Open posted to Mudville.