Two polls conducted in the Middle East by US polling company.
“The country-by-country figures for opposition to US policies range from 75% to 98% but are mostly in the upper eighties and nineties. In contrast to that, Arabs had mostly favourable views of US technology, democracy, people, films, products and education.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1269523,00.html
That is an interesting article. I had a couple of thoughts. First, based on my biased view, I don’t think that necessarily it is a bad thing that Arabs don’t like our policies but not to say that all our choices are correct either. I think of it similar to kids, they don’t always understand your reasoning or like it but it you are acting in best interest even if they don’t agree. Say what you want about our policy but all of those countries would be even further behind in their development if not for the Western world, our technology and culture and dependence on oil. I for one wish someone would invent a way around that stuff and that part of the world be much less of a focal point and they could go back to the tribal days
It is common in that part of the world to openly hate Jews and Americans and it is common conversation to talk about the destruction of both. Those cultures teach everyone to hate us and all that we stand for and unless we can break that cycle it will continue to be a great divide between the two cultures. It is also interesting that the leaders they cite as the one they would most admired included OBL, Saddam, and “Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Lebanese Shia organisation, Hizbullah, who came second in Saudi Arabia and matched Chirac’s 9% in Jordan.”
Here is the quesiton, how do we (the Western world) coexist peacefully with a culture that hates you and all you stand for and wants to eliminate you and your way of life? I am, sadly, not sure it can be done.
In contrast to that, Arabs had mostly favourable views of US technology, democracy, people, films, products and education."
Wow, they really really like us, and yet they produce and harbor murdering thugs bent on our destruction.
The poll is laughable.
Two polls conducted in the Middle East by US polling company.
“The country-by-country figures for opposition to US policies range from 75% to 98% but are mostly in the upper eighties and nineties. In contrast to that, Arabs had mostly favourable views of US technology, democracy, people, films, products and education.” <<<
Oh yeah, right. Or should I say, Left!
"you just can’t believe everything you see and here now can you? now if you excuse me I must be on my way…"
Jimi Hendrix - I think from Axis Bold as Love
Well, 2-25% of a lot of Arabs = a lot of potential terrorists.
What % of the U.S. is in favor of ARAB policies?
By Arab policies, I mean the crap they are teaching in schools…to hate the west. And all of that terrorism sponsorship. Maybe they should re-think THEIR policies.
Last time I checked, we aren’t teaching our kids in schools to hate Arabs…quite the opposite.
There’s nothing wrong with the poll.
It is estimated that OBL has about 15-20,000 under his loose command. Now, there are 25 million Saudis alone, so even if ALL of OBLs “troops” were Saudis, that’s still only 0.0008% of the population.
“how do we (the Western world) coexist peacefully with a culture that hates you and all you stand for and wants to eliminate you and your way of life?”
OBL is a hard-liner, and is never going to come around to our way of thinking. However, what we can do is act in a less provocative manner when dealing with the Middle East and hopefully remove some of the items OBL can use as recruitment propaganda.
Sort out Palestine - Israel for one, as that is the single biggest issue for Arabs. If we could resolve that in an even-handed manner, not the current pro-Israel stance, it would help a lot.
What I though was interesting was that Egypt & Jordan, two of the most pro-US countries in the region, had massive drops in support for US policy, possibly indicative of the fine line their leaders are walking by trying to support the US against the wishes of their population.
There’s nothing wrong with the poll. I maintain that the poll is laughable. It may be technically accurate, but it’s still laughable. Let’s, for the sake of arguement, say that 99% of Arabs love America, American culture, and the American people. At the same time, they despise America’s foreign policy. They are so angry about America’s foreign policy that they find it laudable to murder thousands of American’s, and when those murders are carried out, the 99% cheer and dance in the streets.
We find it laudible to kill thousands of Arabs fighting what we call “terrorism”.
Please tell me you’re not equating the US military with terrorists.
There’s a big, BIG difference between killing thousands of people in a direct and deliberate act, and killing non-combatants unintentionally. Not only that, there’s an even bigger difference in the reaction to the two circumstances- the Arab world celebrated 9/11. We haven’t celebrated the deaths of non-combatants, as far as I know.
That’s horseshit and you know it. Some people danced in the streets, Palestinians if I remember correctly, but to use that example to contend that ALL Arabs were delighted at the attacks is ludicrous, and so far below the normal standards you bring to a discussion that it’s not funny.
“All 9/11 terrorists were Arabs, therefore all Arabs are terrorists” is not a valid deduction. “Some Arabs danced in the streets, therefore all Arabs were overjoyed” is even less so.
“Here is the quesiton (sic), how do we (the Western world) coexist peacefully with a culture that hates you and all you stand for and wants to eliminate you and your way of life?”
It’s a patently false and oft-repeated shibboleth that they hate us, hate our freedoms, hate our democracy, and thus want to kill us and destroy our way of life.
Here is a quote from “Anonymous,” the CIA officer who authored the recent book Imperial Hubris:
Osama Bin Laden has identified six specific U.S. policies that appeal to the anger of Muslims:
Bin Laden is a formidable enemy because he has recognized what are deemed by many Muslims, even those who don’t support his martial activities, as threats to Islam.
---------end quote---------
It’s not a case of mobilizing people because they don’t like seeing Demi Moore shaking her fake titties and liposuctioned booty on the big screen, or they’re indignant that one can gain 25 pounds in a month from eating at the home of the Big Mac; rather, they perceive a threat to their religion and culture posed by our (collectively speaking) conglomerates, governments, policies, and actions. To believe that they hate us for our freedoms and our highly flawed democracy is supremely arrogant.
One has only to watch the news reports to see instances of celebrating the deaths of westerners. Remember the folks who were shot, burned, dragged through the streets and bodies hung from the bridge? There was quite a bit of celebrating. I have seen numerous other occasions where burned out vehicles are shown surrounded by cheering, celebrating Iraqis. Problably not 99%, though. I think that was just hyperbole.
Emm, last I checked Iraq was a war zone. It’s hardly surprising they’d cheer the deaths of those who they regard as their occcupiers.
And lest we attempt to claim the moral high ground, think of those laughing and smiling US troops in all the Abu Ghraib photos.
You do raise a valid point on the Abu Graid issue. I do not attempt to justify the actions of those soldiers. However, what has been done to non-combatants, such as the men I previously described, is indefensible. I can not imagine how anyone could cheer at, stomp on the remains of, or dangle from bridges charred remains of human bodies. I would like to believe that even you would not do this, even during war.
“I would like to believe that even you would not do this, even during war.”
Even me? What’s that supposed to mean? No, I would not do this.
BTW, it has been previously established that they were in fact private contractors working for either the US military or CIA. As a result, I wouldn’t consider them to be “non-combatants”. Regardless of their status, the post-death actions were contemptible.
Sorry, WebSwim, poor choice of words. I was just referring to your previous post.
That’s horseshit and you know it. Some people danced in the streets, Palestinians if I remember correctly, but to use that example to contend that ALL Arabs were delighted at the attacks is ludicrous, and so far below the normal standards you bring to a discussion that it’s not funny.
I don’t claim to have a firm grasp on the mindset of the Arab street (and neither does anyone else here that I know of). But here’s my guess: reactions to 9/11 typically ranged from happiness to “well, they had it coming” or the various conspiracy theories that the CIA or Mossad was responsible. I’d wager that only a minority were truly saddened.
That’s horseshit and you know it. Some people danced in the streets, Palestinians if I remember correctly, but to use that example to contend that ALL Arabs were delighted at the attacks is ludicrous
Really? OK, granted, not every Arab was literally dancing in the streets, but my impression is that the attacks on 9/11 were widely supported in the Arab world. My impression is that Osama is widely popular in the Arab world. My impression is that very, very few Arabs would be upset if America were to suffer through many more similar attacks. Is your impression different?
And here’s what I know for a fact: The Arab world has been virtually silent when it comes to condemning Islamist terrorism. If they love America so much, why do you think that is?
For the Arabs to say “We don’t hate America, or Americans, or American culture, we just oppose its foreign policy,” is disengenuous, at best. It reminds me of someone who says “I’m not racist, some of my best friends are black.”
Bin Laden is a formidable enemy because he has recognized what are deemed by many Muslims, even those who don’t support his martial activities, as threats to Islam.
“Bin Laden’s” Islam. He’s much more radical than the Koran teaches. Many Islamics are appalled by him, oh by the way.