Poll: The Threat to the West

If the American public is uncertain as to the best way forward in Afghanistan, there does seem to be a clear-eyed, and transatlantic, consensus that there is a threat:

A 14-nation survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, conducted Aug. 27 through Sept. 24, finds Americans expressing the greatest concerns about the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan: roughly three-in-four (76%) say that this would be a major threat to the well-being of the U.S.1

However, solid majorities throughout Western Europe also see this as a major threat to their nations, including 72% of Italians and at least six-in-ten in France (66%), Germany (65%), Spain (64%) and Britain (60%).

Concern is also shared about the potential danger from a Pakistan controlled by extremists. More than six-in-ten Italian (68%), French (67%), British (65%) and American (64%) respondents say this would be a major threat to their countries. Slightly smaller majorities hold this view in Spain (59%) and Germany (57%).

Eastern Europeans are generally less concerned than those in the West about these potential dangers.

(AP Photos)