U.S. Standing Sinks In Mideast

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Times
December 15, 2006
Pg. 3
Distinction between policy, people disappears
By Eric Pfeiffer, Washington Times
Attitudes about the United States have deteriorated sharply in the Middle East in the past two years, a survey of five countries in the region shows.
U.S. policy, such as support for Israel, has long been criticized in the Middle East, but a majority of those polled now hold negative views of the American people as well.
"What these numbers say to me is that people are dramatically affected by our policies," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, for whom the survey was conducted. "Our people and our products are at risk in the region."
The survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon. Without exception, a strong majority expressed unfavorable opinions of the United States. The lowest level was in Jordan, where only 5 percent said they had a favorable view of the United States in general. In 2002, Jordanian favorability of the U.S. was the second highest in the region, at 34 percent.
Survey respondents tend to distinguish between U.S. policy and the American people, but that distinction appears to have eroded in the past four years. Mr. Zogby said he first noticed a distinct shift in 2004. In the 2006 survey, only a plurality of Lebanese polled expressed a favorable view of the American people, with 44 percent approving and 18 percent expressing unfavorable views.
The American people are viewed least favorably in Saudi Arabia, where 18 percent said they had a favorable opinion and 34 percent expressed an unfavorable opinion. At the same time, 50 percent of Saudis say they like American products, compared with 24 percent who do not.
"Our policy [In Iraq] drags everything," Mr. Zogby said. "The negatives have become very pronounced."
Middle Eastern poll respondents cited the Iraq war and perceived U.S. support for Israel over the Palestinians as their biggest concerns. "One is the immediate wound while the other is the defining wound," Mr. Zogby said.
The Iraq Study Group, which recently submitted a list of 79 policy recommendations to President Bush, says the Israeli-Arab conflict is tied directly to the escalating violence in Iraq. The group has recommended that the White House emphasize a broader Middle East peace process as part of its effort to improve the situation in Iraq.
"You can accomplish good things in Iraq but you need regional support," Mr. Zogby said. "They would be wise to look at what the commission has proposed."
The one aspect of U.S. society to receive a net positive rating from all five Middle Eastern countries was the American education system.
 
Ah the wonderful mess of it all.....

They like our products hate our government that in turn is what aides us in our way of making said products, by our civilization and society...They love our education system, that right their should tell you something....

The thing is most of these countries (especially Saudi Arabia) teach hate in of the west and especially the US in their school systems...So this doesn't really surprise me all that much...Then again maybe the numbers have been massaged in to looking a certain way that in turn fits someones agenda....

Aaaaaaaaaaaah so much to believe so many things to believe in where does one start and one stop....
 
Donkey, I feel that your view is very much over simplified and one eyed, somewhat typical of the American people per se.

It is not so much that the rest of the world likes your products. For example, here in Australia we have had many great industries and services, they were not large, but they were more than adequate for our needs. The US being a rich country has used its money to either buy or take over these industries, products and services, leaving the Australian people with no alternative other than to buy them from US companies. In some instances they have been just bought up and shut down then replaced with the US made alternative.

To the US based companies, this is just good business, and so it is .... for the US. What you don't seem to realise is that this breeds a certain amount of resentment. It is not just Australia of course, in fact we are probably one of a few who still have an economy able to stand this pressure. But there are many countries where this seriously impacts on their way of life.

Yes, I know that the US expends billions supporting developing countries, but this is not necessarily all benevolence and goodwill, there is always some expectation of a return of some kind, be it economic or political.

The US is not the only country to do this, Australia does it to a degree that our economy can withstand , virtually every developed country is the same.

What the American people don't seem to grasp very well, is that the people in these countries (the tax payers, not the politicians) are a wakeup to what this is doing to their country and lifestyle, and they resent it.

A hard businessman will always turn a profit, but he will have no friends outside his own kind.

My explanation is perhaps also over simplified, but there is not the room here, nor is it the place, to try and explain National economic policy and it's causes and effects.

I am not anti US, in fact I admire many of the qualities of the American people, and I in no way exclude Australia from trying (on a much smaller scale) to play the same game. Neither do I profess to know the answers, but i do have my eyes open enough to see what is happening.
 
You really think it was oversimplified ;)

Even more oversimplified.... DO you wear Blue Jeans?
 
No! but what's that got to do with it?


"Everyone loves a winner" Well..... not really, especially if you are the loser, and even more so if the same person wins all the time.

America is a great country and there is no doubt that it is the world's economic powerhouse. How many friends do you think the world's richest man has, I mean real friends, that like him as a person? Unfortunately America finds itself in the same position. 100 years ago it was Britain and before that someone else. In another 100 years it may be the Chinese, who knows.
 
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