Gallup has released the results of a global study that measure, among other things, regional views of military violence against civilians.
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Americans and Canadians Are Most Likely to Say Military Attacks on Civilians Are Sometimes Justified
While the majority of world citizens agree that military attacks targeting civilians are never justified, a decade after 9/11, there is a wide range in the level of support for this view. A clear majority in Asia and MENA [Middle East and North Africa] find military attacks against civilians unacceptable. This is not surprising considering the acute conflicts raging in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East.
In contrast, regionally, residents of the U.S. and Canada are most likely to say that military attacks against civilians are sometimes justified. Americans are the most likely population in the world (49%) to believe military attacks targeting civilians is sometimes justified, followed by residents of Haiti and Israel (43%).
Europeans here break with their counterparts in the U.S. and Canada. The continent that fought two world wars and at one time used military conquest to colonize much of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, now has citizens whose sentiments regarding military attacks on civilians tracks closer to those of their former colonies, than that of their modern ally.
Source: Views of Violence
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This poll also contains information on religious tolerance and how religious affiliation affects views on violence (the poll concludes that it doesn't). The parts I quoted here have to do with military attacks on civilians, but "individual" attacks on civilians were separated and the results were different.
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Americans and Canadians Are Most Likely to Say Military Attacks on Civilians Are Sometimes Justified
While the majority of world citizens agree that military attacks targeting civilians are never justified, a decade after 9/11, there is a wide range in the level of support for this view. A clear majority in Asia and MENA [Middle East and North Africa] find military attacks against civilians unacceptable. This is not surprising considering the acute conflicts raging in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and other parts of the Middle East.
In contrast, regionally, residents of the U.S. and Canada are most likely to say that military attacks against civilians are sometimes justified. Americans are the most likely population in the world (49%) to believe military attacks targeting civilians is sometimes justified, followed by residents of Haiti and Israel (43%).
Europeans here break with their counterparts in the U.S. and Canada. The continent that fought two world wars and at one time used military conquest to colonize much of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, now has citizens whose sentiments regarding military attacks on civilians tracks closer to those of their former colonies, than that of their modern ally.
Source: Views of Violence
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This poll also contains information on religious tolerance and how religious affiliation affects views on violence (the poll concludes that it doesn't). The parts I quoted here have to do with military attacks on civilians, but "individual" attacks on civilians were separated and the results were different.