French approval of U.S. foreign policy increased from 11% during the waning days of the George W. Bush administration to 88% for Obama's handling so far. In Germany, there was an 80 percentage point increase to 92%.
Masoud Shafaee is an attorney and freelance Middle East analyst based in Washington, D.C. He holds a Juris Doctor from American University's Washington College of Law and a master's degree in international affairs from the School of International Service. He was born in Tehran and hails from California.