NATO SURVEY RESULTS

The survey was conducted among the students of the 3rd and 4th courses
(grades 10 – 11). It was anonymous, but some students gave their names,
and we’d really appreciate their special opinions to be published later. Every
group was polled. The total of 161 students answered the questions.
Sometimes they chose more than one possible answer, so the percentage
sometimes exceeds 100 per cent.

A person cannot make a solid decision unless the matter is studied and
clarified. One of the main goals of the survey was to find out how well our
senior students know facts about the famous NATO.

Abbreviation “NATO” stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and
91% of the students know that. However, about 8% gave funny answers,
and 3 persons admitted their ignorance.

What does NATO do? It did not appear to be a difficult question. 86%
answered it, actually, in an officially correct way: “safeguards the freedom
and security of its members by political and military means”. However, 5%
are quite convinced that NATO ensures the US corporations’ control over the
world’s market, 2% are sure it wages war against all the progressive people
in the world. Only 3% could not answer it. At the same time there were
comments from 5.5% of the polled. They were the following (the repeated
comments are omitted):

• Supports the aggressive policy of the USA.

• Is conquering the world.

• Carries out acts of terror.

• Destroys peace in the world.

• Maintains peace in the world. (Quite the opposite, isn’t it?)

The NATO member countries remain, unfortunately, virtually unknown by the

majority of our students. Only 10% of the polled know them precisely, 76%
can name them more or less correctly, but 18% do not have a slightest idea
what they were asked about. For some unknown reasons many of the polled
did not attribute Turkey (such a prominent member since 1952!) to the
NATO. Norway comes the second neglected. A lot of guys do not realize,
probably, that such popular and frequently visited holiday destinations as
Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania and
Spain – are all NATO members!
The procedure of joining the NATO is viewed differently by our students. The
first question in this area was about the redundant factors.
53% think that mighty armed forces are not needed to join the NATO (and
that’s correct!) 9% just failed to answer.
The rest answers were wrong. To join the NATO a country needs support from
EACH member of the organization (16% disagreed). Democracy and
responsible leadership (lack of visible corruption) are the musts for joining
(8% and 18% do not see them as such).
The second question was about the factors that can prevent a country to
become a NATO member. 43% gave the right answer: “a territorial dispute
with another country”. However popular were options like “poverty” (30%),
“lack of military-industrial complex” (20%) or “borders with NATO enemies”
(6%) – they were all incorrect. Only 2% failed to answer.

NATO military operations seem to create a real mess in the minds of our
students. Or is mass-media disorienting them? NATO forces are seen where
there are none, and not observed where they are!

Although 43% of the students are not sure about Afghanistan, only 38%
know about permanent UN-mandated NATO’s presence in the country, where
the troops do their best to fight Taliban terrorists, maintain peace and
support the democratically elected leadership. 19% are sure there are no
NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Iraq is thought to be occupied by NATO forces by 58% (!) of the polled…

Amazing. There are no NATO troops, and there have never been any (only
8% know that). 34% said they didn’t know. You do now: there is a small
NATO-member countries’ POLICE mission (not military), which trains the Iraqi
law-enforcement officers.

Ukraine’s plans as to joining the NATO are unknown for mere 2% of the
polled. 74% know exactly that the country can join the NATO only after an
all-national poll. However, 15% think that Ukraine will join the NATO very
soon, and 11% believe that it will never happen.

The consequences of Ukraine’s possible joining the NATO is seen in a wide

range of opinions. Only 2% failed to answer the question. The majority of
65% believe that Ukraine will feel safer as a NATO member. At the same
time, 30% expect that the NATO military bases on the Ukrainian soil will be
targeted by NATO’s enemies. (Does anybody know that such thing as “NATO
base” does not exist?) 8.5% are afraid that Ukraine will lose its sovereignty,
and 4% predict the death of Ukrainian industry. 5.5% think that Ukraine will
betray its ideals. (It was interesting to find out that contemporary Ukraine
has some.) As many as 8.5% gave their comments:
• Economy will die. • Everybody will live better.
 • Ukraine will receive powerful
international support.
• Russia will aim its missiles at
us, and will sell us gas at
European prices.
• We will die!
• The Crimea will remain
Ukrainian.
• Russia will be fooled.

• Ukraine will completely • There will be threat of a

submit itself under the US military conflict with Russia.
influence.
• We’ll become Europe, at last!
• Russia will go mad!
• The level of the national
security will drop.

Ukrainian political forces are evaluated by our students quite adequately.

Only 5% don’t know anything about the parties’ attitude to the NATO issues.
According to our students the leading anti-NATO forces in Ukraine are the
Party of Regions (74%), the Progressive Socialist Party (64%), and the
Communist Party (57%). For some unknown reasons the pro-NATO “NU-NS”
was mentioned as an anti-NATO force by 5.5%, the BYuT by 6.2% and
Lytvin’s Block by 16%.

Our students’ parents share their political attitudes with 53% of their kids.
The older the children are the more serious issues are discussed in the
families.

There is enough information about the NATO for 20% of our students, 28%
are not interested in things like that, but 52% need more. (Here you are, get
more!)

To sum up, the survey showed that the issue of Ukraine’s plans as to joining
the NATO will probably be supported by our future voters. Only 10.5%
consider the NATO to be our enemy, 51% don’t care, but 38.5% see the
NATO as Ukraine’s friend.

The results were

summarized by O.Zabolotnyi.