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Majority of Arab American voters support continuing US military presence in Mideast: Poll

Special Majority of Arab American voters support continuing US military presence in Mideast: Poll
Four percent of Arab Americans support US military action against sanctions Iran. (AFP/File)
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Updated 23 October 2024

Majority of Arab American voters support continuing US military presence in Mideast: Poll

Majority of Arab American voters support continuing US military presence in Mideast: Poll

LONDON: A majority of Arab-American voters support a continuing US military presence in the Middle East, but when it comes to dealing with Iran, 41 percent would prefer to see fewer sanctions and more diplomacy and incentives, according to a survey conducted for Arab News by YouGov.

However, 32 percent support a more aggressive stance, believing the US should not only be applying maximum diplomatic pressure but should also increase sanctions against Iran.

Eleven percent believe the new US administration should maintain the current pressure on Tehran. Only 4 percent support the use of military force against Iran by the US.

The poll’s finding of an appetite for diplomacy over sanctions surprised Joseph Haboush, a former non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and Washington correspondent for Al Arabiya English.




A majority of Arab-American voters support a continuing US military presence in the Middle East. (AFP)

“From the conversations that I’ve had over the years in the Arab-American community, I thought it would be more prevalent for Arab Americans to take a more hawkish approach toward Iranian proxies and other groups, but the poll shows that that isn’t 100 accurate,” he told the Arab News-sponsored “Ray Hanania Radio Show.”

Nevertheless, 52 percent believe the US should either maintain its military presence in the Middle East (25 percent) or increase it (27 percent). Thirty-eight percent think the US should reduce its military footprint in the region.

“That’s another interesting element,” said Haboush. “They want the US to work its diplomatic channels, but at the same time they don’t want the US to leave from a military point of view.

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“I think the belief is that once the military presence is gone, the overall interest is gone, and then … they’re left to look to other powers that may not be as influential as they’d like.”

It would “be great for policymakers here in Washington to have a look at this poll because it’s reflective of how much people in the region want US involvement and think that it’s productive.

“At the same time, the policies we’ve seen toward Gaza and now in Lebanon are putting a dent in the US image abroad. But despite that, folks still want to see some sort of US involvement.

“The reality of the matter, for better or worse, is that the US is the only side that’s going to be able to bring these wars to an end, or at least put some sort of pressure on the Israelis.”




Only 4 percent support the use of military force against Iran by the US. (AFP)


Caroline Rose, director of the Project on Post-Withdrawals Security Landscapes at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, D.C., said: “It’s clear that Arab Americans clearly recall the costs of sudden withdrawal in the region and value America’s deterrence with malign terrorist organizations, militias and other forces that undermine security.

“After the US pulled out of Iraq in 2011, the emergence of the Islamic State (Daesh) compelled it to redeploy its forces in 2017.

Read our full coverage here:US Elections 2024: What Arab Americans want

“The Trump administration’s sudden announcement of withdrawal from northeast Syria ushered in new security risks for local actors on the ground, such as Syria’s Kurdish communities, as it invited a Turkish offensive and encroachment from the Syrian regime and Iran-aligned militant groups.

“The Trump administration’s incremental draw-down effort in 2020, reducing 5,000 US personnel in Iraq to 2,500 in the wake of escalation with Iran over the killing of IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) Gen. (Qassem) Soleimani, ultimately didn’t incite the level of regional chaos that the Syria withdrawal announcement did in October 2019.




“The Trump administration’s sudden announcement of withdrawal from northeast Syria ushered in new security risks for local actors on the ground,” said Caroline Rose. (AFP)

“However, it did set the groundwork for a more long-term strategy for withdrawal in Iraq that could very well create further space for Iran and Iran-sponsored groups to exploit in the country.

“The elephant in the room additionally affecting Arab-American hesitancy for seeing the US military presence in the Middle East withdrawn, of course, is the memory of a botched Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021 that fully displayed the potential consequences of an immediate evacuation of US forces.”


Uganda’s authoritarian president, in power since 1986, is running for reelection

Updated 10 sec ago

Uganda’s authoritarian president, in power since 1986, is running for reelection

Uganda’s authoritarian president, in power since 1986, is running for reelection
KAMPALA: Uganda’s authoritarian leader, who has been in power since 1986, was confirmed on Tuesday as a candidate in January’s presidential vote and urged supporters to back his vision for the future.
Electoral officials formally declared President Yoweri Museveni a candidate at an event just outside of Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after more than 2 million supporters signed on to back his bid, according to his party.
Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement controls the national assembly, which is widely seen as weak and subservient to the presidency. In 2017 lawmakers removed a constitutional age limit on the presidency, leaving room for Museveni, now 81, to run for as long as he wishes.
Museveni told supporters after he was officially nominated that his goal is “to convince the people of Uganda of what has been achieved in the past and what we are planning to do now.”
Attracting more foreign investors into the east African country is a priority, he said.
Hundreds were gathering at ceremonial grounds in Kampala to celebrate the nomination later on Tuesday.
Museveni first took power by force and remained unelected until 1996. Elections since 2001 have been marred by allegations of rigging and interference by the military, now led by Museveni’s son.
Museveni’s main political opponent, Bobi Wine, is a popular entertainer whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. He is scheduled to be nominated later this week.
In the 2021 election, Wine secured 35 percent of the vote, while Museveni, with 58 percent, posted his worst-ever result, establishing Wine as the president’s most potent challenger in decades. Wine alleged his victory was stolen through widespread ballot stuffing and other malpractices.
Electoral authorities denied the allegations.
The January vote is expected to reprise the contest between the two. Museveni dismisses his opponent as an agent of foreign interests and has questioned his patriotism.
Yet Wine has a large following among working-class people in urban areas, and his party has the most seats of any opposition party in the national assembly.
Museveni has been campaigning in recent days in Kampala as he tries to bolster his chances among people likely to support Wine, urban residents often without a reliable source of income who hope for a change of government.
Uganda has the second-youngest population in the world, with more than three quarters of its people below the age of 35, according to the UN children’s agency. It is one of at least four African nations that have agreed to receive migrants deported from the United States.

US deports 11 migrants to Ghana despite safety concerns, lawyer says

US deports 11 migrants to Ghana despite safety concerns, lawyer says
Updated 13 min 48 sec ago

US deports 11 migrants to Ghana despite safety concerns, lawyer says

US deports 11 migrants to Ghana despite safety concerns, lawyer says
  • The Trump administration’s deportation program has faced widespread criticism from human rights experts

ACCRA: Eleven West African nationals deported by the US to Ghana were sent to their home countries over the weekend despite safety concerns, their lawyer told a court in Ghana on Tuesday.
The US had deported a total of 14 West African immigrants to Ghana under controversial circumstances. Although Ghanaian authorities earlier said they have all been sent home, the deportees and their lawyers later told The Associated Press that 11 of them were still at a military facility in Ghana.
The 11 deportees sued the Ghanaian government last week, seeking their release. Eight of them had told the local court that they had legal protections from being deported to their home countries “due to the risk of torture, persecution or inhumane treatment.”
“We have to inform the court that the persons whose human rights we are seeking to enforce were all deported over the weekend,” their lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawo, told the court Tuesday at a virtual hearing, adding that the suit had become irrelevant.
“This is precisely the injury we were trying to prevent,” he said of the safety concerns of the deportees.
The Trump administration’s deportation program has faced widespread criticism from human rights experts who cite international protections for asylum-seekers and question whether immigrants will be appropriately screened before being deported.
The administration has been seeking ways to deter immigrants from entering the US illegally and remove those who already have done so, especially those accused of crimes and including those who cannot easily be deported to their home countries.
Faced with court decisions that migrants can’t be sent back to their home countries, the Trump administration has increasingly been trying to send them to third countries under agreements with those governments.
Ghana has joined Eswatini, Rwanda and South Sudan as African countries that have received migrants from third countries who were deported from the US


Asylum seeker jailed for sex assault on teen that sparked UK protests

Asylum seeker jailed for sex assault on teen that sparked UK protests
Updated 15 min 37 sec ago

Asylum seeker jailed for sex assault on teen that sparked UK protests

Asylum seeker jailed for sex assault on teen that sparked UK protests
  • Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court earlier this month of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman
  • Kebatu, who had arrived in Britain on a small boat and only moved to the Bell Hotel about a week before the incident, had denied all the accusations

LONDON: An Ethiopian asylum seeker, whose arrest in July sparked angry protests outside the hotel near London where he and other migrants were being housed, was jailed for 12 months on Tuesday for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman.
The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 30km north of the British capital, became a touchpaper for a string of country-wide demonstrations amid rising tensions over immigration.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu was convicted at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court earlier this month of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, attempting to sexually assault the girl, inciting her to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment.
Kebatu had acknowledged that he was aware of the unrest his offending had caused and that other law-abiding asylum seekers had been impacted by it as it drew a response from the public not just in Epping but across the country, Judge Christopher Williams told him.
“It resulted in mass demonstrations and the fear that children in the United Kingdom are not safe,” the judge said.
Immigration has become the dominant political issue in Britain, eclipsing concerns over a faltering economy, as the country faces both a record number of asylum claims and arrivals by migrants in small boats across the Channel.
Kebatu, who had arrived in Britain on a small boat and only moved to the Bell Hotel about a week before the incident, had denied all the accusations, saying he was “not a wild animal.”
Just over 32,000 migrants are housed in hotels across the country, according to figures up to the end of June. The government plans to stop the practice by the next election, due in 2029.


Indonesia, EU sign long-awaited trade deal

Indonesia, EU sign long-awaited trade deal
Updated 27 min 21 sec ago

Indonesia, EU sign long-awaited trade deal

Indonesia, EU sign long-awaited trade deal
  • Indonesia has been in talks with the EU since 2016, but negotiations for a trade deal initially saw little progress
  • The EU is Indonesia’s fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $30.1 billion last year

DENPASAR, Indonesia: Indonesia and the European Union finalized negotiations on a trade agreement Tuesday after nearly a decade of talks, a senior minister said.
The Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is the third deal Brussels has signed with Southeast Asian countries, after Singapore and Vietnam.
The pact was signed by EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and Indonesian Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto in Bali and will open investment in strategic sectors such as electric vehicles, electronics, and pharmaceuticals.
“By finalizing this agreement, the EU and Indonesia are sending a powerful message to the world that we stand united in our commitment to open rules-based and mutually beneficial international trade,” Sefcovic said after the signing.
“In all, EU exporters will save some €600 million ($708 million) a year in duties paid on their goods entering the Indonesian market, and European products will be more affordable and available to Indonesian consumers,” EU President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
Indonesia has been in talks with the EU since 2016, but negotiations for a trade deal initially saw little progress.
Issues such as palm oil and deforestation posed stumbling blocks, but US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff policy “created the urgency” to expedite an agreement, said Deni Friawan, researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The trade deal also included a protocol on palm oil, the EU said in a statement, without providing details.
“This is a ten-year journey that has resulted in a milestone that reflects our commitment and the commitment of stakeholders to an open, fair, and sustainable economic assistance,” Airlangga told a news conference.
The agreement is expected to be implemented by 2027, Airlangga added.
Around 80 percent of Indonesian exports to the EU will be tariff-free after the deal comes into force, Airlangga said in June.
Access opens
It is expected to benefit the country’s top shipments to the bloc including palm oil, footwear, textiles and fisheries, he added.
The EU is Indonesia’s fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $30.1 billion last year.
The agreement would further open up EU access to the Indonesian market of around 280 million people, Deni said.
Ties had been frayed by issues including a proposed import ban by Brussels on products linked to deforestation that has angered Indonesia, a major palm oil exporter.
Under the EU deforestation regulation, exports of a vast range of goods – including soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber – are prohibited if produced on land deforested after December 2020.
The EU on Tuesday proposed postponing the regulation’s implementation by another year after a backlash.
However, activists are concerned the trade agreement will lead to more deforestation driven by increased demand for Indonesian palm oil.
“The remaining natural forests in palm oil concessions will potentially be cleared in the near future (and) converted into plantations,” said Syahrul Fitra of Greenpeace Indonesia.


WHO says evidence ‘inconsistent’ of link between autism and paracetemol use in pregnancy

WHO says evidence ‘inconsistent’ of link between autism and paracetemol use in pregnancy
Updated 23 September 2025

WHO says evidence ‘inconsistent’ of link between autism and paracetemol use in pregnancy

WHO says evidence ‘inconsistent’ of link between autism and paracetemol use in pregnancy
  • US President Trump linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol by women when pregnant

GENEVA: A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that evidence of a link between the use of paracetemol during pregnancy and autism remained inconsistent and that the value of life-saving vaccines should not be questioned.
US President Donald Trump on Monday linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol by women when pregnant, elevating claims not backed by scientific evidence to the forefront of US health policy.
“The evidence remains inconsistent,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing when asked about a possible link between paracetemol use in pregnancy and autism.
“We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned,” he added.