I found this poll interesting because it illustrates the changed and volatile world in which we currently live. For most of my life, the greatest enemy of the United States was the Soviet Union. That would undoubtably have been the opinion of a clear majority of Americans. But the Soviet Union doesn't even exist anymore -- and as the chart above shows, there is no majority opinion on who the greatest enemy is anymore.Right now, China is viewed as the greatest enemy by the largest percentage -- but that is the view of only 20% of Americans (or one out of every five), and North Korea and Iran trail by just a few points. And the chart below shows just how volatile the opinions are on this issue. It is anybody's guess as to which country will be viewed as the greatest enemy next years (or even a few months from now).
It is also interesting that 2% say the United States is its own greatest enemy. Considering some of the damaging decisions our national politicians have made, they may be right.
These latest results are from a new Gallup Poll, taken between February 6th and 9th of a nationwide sample of 1,023 adults (with a margin of error of about 4 points).
