To bad this chart doesn’t go back a little further, you know ,to say, 2001.
P__A on
The education set is interesting. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to adopt cold hard pragmatism. Not a great inditement of ethics in the US. A ruthless authoratarian regime, that kidnaps and murders its opponents is an ally. The question is a bit ambiguous though, it says “Do you consider the countries listed below to be an ally or an enemy of the United States? [Saudi Arabia]”.
Factually given how the US government engages with SA, SA is an ally. But it shouldn’t be. So perhaps the more educated you are, the more likely to consider the factual standpoint, rather than what they as an individual would prefer?
Impressive-Tip-1689 on
Can someone explain to me why support for “Ally” increases with higher levels of education? My gut feeling is that the opposite would be true, since higher education should also lead to greater awareness of world politics.
InvestInHappiness on
The bars shouldn’t be arranged alphabetically. It’s not an issue for most groups but age and education would be better in order from lowest to highest.
jo_nigiri on
To me, the most telling is the difference between men and women’s answers
tomrichards8464 on
“Friend” and “ally” are not synonyms and should not be used interchangeably. Empirically, it’s hard to argue that Saudi Arabia’s not a US ally, which is what YouGov asked. “Friend” is altogether squishier and more subjective. See also Turkey, and conversely perhaps Switzerland or Ireland.
patricksaurus on
The terminal side of the bars don’t make a vertical because they don’t all add up to 100. This is egg-on-face territory.
Naifmon on
Saudi here,
How are we your enemy?!
Miserable_Corgi_764 on
How could you possibly view Saudi’s Arabia or Israel as a friend
CrashBandicoot2 on
When asking this, are you asking the survey takers how Americans feel about Saudi Arabia or just how they interpret the US government’s relationship to Saudi Arabia is? Because those are 2 different things
Mid_Atlantic_Lad on
“There are no permanent enemies or allies, only permanent interests.”
-Henry Kissinger
For all that man did, his observations were often spot on. This chart exemplifies that statement.
any_old_usernam on
Curious how the question was phrased, because I don’t view Saudi Arabia as a friend, but the US clearly does (albeit a tenuous one)
LaroonDynasty on
Honestly, until our test scores and education nationwide improve, idaf what random morons with one news source think. Polling the gullible is useless information. Also, where was this poll conducted? In Saudi Arabia?
igotnocandyforyou on
Readers of the book, Ghost Wars, 100% enemy. Pre 9-11, the CIA had eyes on Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan meeting with Saudi intelligence. The order to kill didn’t come because this was a revelation to those higher in the cia and, at the time, the US thought they needed KSA as an ally.
mr_ji on
For the love of Pete, fix your color gradients and have them match people’s answers by positivity.
![[OC] Americans view Saudi Arabia - Friend or Enemy](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ti1ayknpis2g1.png "[OC] Americans view Saudi Arabia – Friend or Enemy")
17 Comments
Data Source: [YouGov](https://today.yougov.com/topics/international/trackers/friend-enemy-saudi-arabia)
Bi Tool: [ChatBiReport.com](https://app.chatbireport.com/#/design/f3ed09bc-8034-4d3e-8924-03049c6d5cf6)
Not sure and enemy need swapping I think.
To bad this chart doesn’t go back a little further, you know ,to say, 2001.
The education set is interesting. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to adopt cold hard pragmatism. Not a great inditement of ethics in the US. A ruthless authoratarian regime, that kidnaps and murders its opponents is an ally. The question is a bit ambiguous though, it says “Do you consider the countries listed below to be an ally or an enemy of the United States? [Saudi Arabia]”.
Factually given how the US government engages with SA, SA is an ally. But it shouldn’t be. So perhaps the more educated you are, the more likely to consider the factual standpoint, rather than what they as an individual would prefer?
Can someone explain to me why support for “Ally” increases with higher levels of education? My gut feeling is that the opposite would be true, since higher education should also lead to greater awareness of world politics.
The bars shouldn’t be arranged alphabetically. It’s not an issue for most groups but age and education would be better in order from lowest to highest.
To me, the most telling is the difference between men and women’s answers
“Friend” and “ally” are not synonyms and should not be used interchangeably. Empirically, it’s hard to argue that Saudi Arabia’s not a US ally, which is what YouGov asked. “Friend” is altogether squishier and more subjective. See also Turkey, and conversely perhaps Switzerland or Ireland.
The terminal side of the bars don’t make a vertical because they don’t all add up to 100. This is egg-on-face territory.
Saudi here,
How are we your enemy?!
How could you possibly view Saudi’s Arabia or Israel as a friend
When asking this, are you asking the survey takers how Americans feel about Saudi Arabia or just how they interpret the US government’s relationship to Saudi Arabia is? Because those are 2 different things
“There are no permanent enemies or allies, only permanent interests.”
-Henry Kissinger
For all that man did, his observations were often spot on. This chart exemplifies that statement.
Curious how the question was phrased, because I don’t view Saudi Arabia as a friend, but the US clearly does (albeit a tenuous one)
Honestly, until our test scores and education nationwide improve, idaf what random morons with one news source think. Polling the gullible is useless information. Also, where was this poll conducted? In Saudi Arabia?
Readers of the book, Ghost Wars, 100% enemy. Pre 9-11, the CIA had eyes on Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan meeting with Saudi intelligence. The order to kill didn’t come because this was a revelation to those higher in the cia and, at the time, the US thought they needed KSA as an ally.
For the love of Pete, fix your color gradients and have them match people’s answers by positivity.
Friend/green left
Not sure/blue middle
Enemy/orange right