WASHINGTON — A new global poll has found a vast improvement in views of the U.S. since the election of President Barack Obama. But the poll, taken by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, also found broad opposition to one of Obama’s key policies – sending more troops to Afghanistan – and a less favorable view of the U.S. among Israelis compared with previous surveys. In 21 of the 24 countries surveyed, an average of 71 percent of respondents had at least some confidence in the U.S. president’s handling of world affairs, the Pew report found. In 2008, when President George W. Bush was in the White House, the figure in those same countries was only 17 percent. ‘The image of the United States has improved markedly in most parts of the world, reflecting global confidence in Barack Obama,’ the center said in its annual Global Attitudes Report. Several specific administration policies drew near-universal acclaim, including Obama’s pledge to close the detention facility for terrorism suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the U.S. timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Sending more troops to Afghanistan was the only policy tested that was opposed by majorities in […]