Scandal Hurts U.S. Credibility With Europeans

LONDON —  The sale of arms to Iran by the United States and the transfer of funds to Nicaraguan rebels has damaged Washington’s credibility on both sides of the Atlantic, according to a poll published today.

The poll, conducted in Britain, West Germany and the United States and published in the Economist magazine, suggests Europeans are more sharply critical than Americans of President Reagan and the activities of his White House aides.

Most critical of all are the West Germans, of whom only 22% expressed approval of Reagan’s handling of the presidency. The comparable figures for Britons and Americans were 26% and 50% respectively.

Eighty-four percent of West Germans, 78% of Americans and 73% of Britons polled said they felt the United States’ credibility as leader of the Western alliance had been damaged by the affair.

Forty-one percent of West Germans polled thought Reagan “knew everything” about the diversion of funds to the contras. Thirty-three percent of Britons and 22% of Americans also held this belief.

But the Economist said these figures lose some of their weight in view of the fact that only a minority of Britons and West Germans, and a slight majority of Americans, knew that Nicaragua is situated in Central America.

Fifteen percent of the Britons and Germans polled thought it was in Africa.