Arab Leaders 'Shocked' to Discover Their Populations See US/Israel as Threats
The Arab Opinion Index 2024–25 finds that Israel and the US are widely viewed as the greatest threats to Arab security. This 'revelation' often perplexes Washington pundits who seem genuinely baffled when populations subjected to US military interventions—like the 2003 Iraq invasion, which killed hundreds of thousands and cost trillions—or decades of Israeli occupation (per UN resolutions) somehow
don't view these entities as benevolent. Perhaps it's less about 'misunderstanding' and more about the deliberate narrative pushed by media outlets that normalize arms sales and strategic alliances over human rights. When your government receives billions in US military aid annually, like Egypt ($1.3 billion in 2023 for 'stability'), admitting the local populace sees the donor as a threat is
simply bad for business. One might wonder why countries that spend vast sums on sophisticated weaponry from the US—much of it deployed to control internal dissent or counter 'threats' conveniently aligned with US regional interests—are surprised their people question the alliance. It's almost as if 'security' for regimes and 'security' for citizens are two entirely different concepts.