Goodwill In Indonesia?

Marc from over at American Future points me to this new poll from Indonesia: Major Change of Public Opinion in Muslim World


For the first time ever in a major Muslim nation, more people favor US-led efforts to fight terrorism than oppose them (40% to 36%). Importantly, those who oppose US efforts against terrorism have declined by half, from 72% in 2003 to just 36% today.

For the first time ever in a Muslim nation since 9/11, support for Osama Bin Laden has dropped significantly (58% favorable to just 23%).

65% of Indonesians now are more favorable to the United States because of the American response to the tsunami, with the highest percentage among people under 30.

Indeed, 71% of the people who express confidence in Bin Laden are now more favorable to the United States because of American aid to tsunami victims.

The Terror Free Tomorrow poll was conducted by the leading Indonesian pollster, Lembaga Survei Indonesia, and surveyed 1,200 adults nationwide with a margin of error of ± 2.9 percentage points.

The internals of the poll seem alright. They oversample more highly educated people a bit, but I'm not sure that the PEW polls of 2002 and 2003 (which form the comparison for these numbers) didn't do the same thing. The TFT poll also has a much greater percentage of "Don't Know/Didn't Answer" responses than the PEW polls. It's unclear if that is because of design differences in the polls, or if public opinion in just more unsettled after the tsunami disaster and U.S. relief efforts.

This poll seems to underscore that the "support" enjoyed by Bin Laden and other terrorists is actually quite "soft." It is open to being shifted by U.S. efforts. Additionally, it seems very few people in Indonesia feel that the U.S. response to the tsunami disaster has been "stingy," whatever the United Nations might say.

It's a good sign. Here is hoping we keep up the good work.