US Actions After 9/11 Have Not Made World A Safer Place, Say Europeans

Americans were less skeptical about the actions their government has taken to enhance global security: 54% of American respondents said the US is fighting terrorism successfully, 39% disagreed, and 7% were undecided.

The poll was conducted by French opinion and marketing research company Ifop on behalf of Sputnik International News Agency and Radio.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, the United States took measures to strengthen domestic and international security. In particular, Congress passed the Patriot Act which expanded the FBI’s authority to collect information about people and companies in the United States and beyond.

The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were also part of the American effort to combat global terrorism.

When asked if the US counterterrorism measures taken after 9/11 made the world a safer place; only 20% of Germans, 24% of French people, and 30% of Italians said “Yes”.

Six percent of respondents in Germany, 11% in France, and 7% in Italy said they were undecided. The poll was conducted by the oldest French opinion and marketing research company, Ifop, from June 28th to July 4th 2016 in Germany, France, and Italy, and from August 26th to 30th in the United States.

Ifop interviewed 4,015 people over the age of 18 years in Germany (1,000 respondents), France (1,004), Italy (1,002) and the United States (1,009), and the samples were representative of each country’s population in terms of gender, age, and geography.

The project organizes regular surveys in the United States and Europe on the most sensitive social and political issues. Sputnik is a news agency and radio network with multimedia news hubs in dozens of countries. Sputnik broadcasts through its websites in over 30 languages, as well as on analogue and digital radio, mobile apps, and social media.