How Worried Should We Be About This?

[Guest TheMikeSC]

WASHINGTON –– Residents of Islamic countries harbor deep resentment toward the United States and believe the military action in Afghanistan is not morally justified, Gallup polls conducted in nine countries find.

 

The polls were taken in nine predominantly Muslim countries – Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in December and January.

 

People in those countries had widespread doubts that Arabs were involved in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The percentage that believed Arabs were not involved ranged from 89 percent in Kuwait, which was liberated by U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf war a decade ago, to 43 percent in Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States.

 

Six in 10 in Turkey felt the U.S. military action was unjustified, while nine in 10 in Indonesia felt that way.

 

Respondents had divergent feelings about the United States generally. Residents of Turkey were slightly more inclined to have a favorable view of the United States than unfavorable, and they were about evenly split on that question in Lebanon. About a quarter or less had a favorable view of the United States in the other seven countries.

 

President Bush is almost as unpopular in those countries as he is popular in his own country. One-fifth or less of the populations in most of those countries liked Bush, while the number who disliked him was as high as two-thirds in Lebanon and Morocco.

 

Gallup interviewed 9,924 adults in the countries. The error margins for the nine separate polls ranged from plus or minus 2 percentage points in Pakistan to plus or minus 4 percentage points in Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. >>

 

How worried about these results should we be?

 

I'll say that Kuwait has proven itself to be the least grateful group of people on Earth. Not listed in this report (but listed in others), is that a whopping 36% of Kuwaitis feel it is OK to kill American civilians---keep in mind that if not for America, there would be no Kuwait.

 

So, obviously, the Arabs hate us. They don't like us and no matter how much aid we give them (which is considerable), they never will.

 

At what point should we write off alliances with the Middle East as impossible and just ignore them?

                  -=Mike

 

..Who will wretch if anybody ever says that Saudi Arabia is an ally

[Guest theWCWRaider]

I agree on the Kuait thing. and Saudi Arabia was the next target of Iraq let us not forget.

 

Unfortunately, none of this is a surprise to me, because I know someone that is an American citizen that was teaching over in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, and he told me on many occations that the people don't really care for us.

 

However, I had a sociology professor who says that people in the Middle East actually like us, but the governments don't, and the government is what controls the media.

S

o, I don't know for sure if these opinions are necessarily the attitudes of the people, based on the power that these governments have over there lives.

 

I really don't know what else to say about that.

I guess only time will tell.

[Guest Brooding Genius]

So, regarding Arab-American relations:

 

Likes

 

Our money

 

Dislikes

 

Everything else about us

 

Doesn't that sound like your local convenience store clerk?

 

(Please, everyone, joke responsibly.  Leave the racial stereotyping to the professionals.)

[Guest Tony149]

I think a problem has to do with the Goverment control media, but they hate us. Nothing can be done, that can make them like us. The U.S will always be hated on for whatever reason. The only thing the U.S. should do is protect us...the American people from any threats.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

I agree on the Kuait thing. and Saudi Arabia was the next target of Iraq let us not forget.>>

 

And the Saudis might be even worse than Kuwait, as the Wahhabi Muslims that the government supports are virulently anti-US and have considerable influence over the Muslim community worldwide (including hee).

 

<<Unfortunately, none of this is a surprise to me, because I know someone that is an American citizen that was teaching over in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, and he told me on many occations that the people don't really care for us.

 

However, I had a sociology professor who says that people in the Middle East actually like us, but the governments don't, and the government is what controls the media.

S

o, I don't know for sure if these opinions are necessarily the attitudes of the people, based on the power that these governments have over there lives.

 

I really don't know what else to say about that.

I guess only time will tell. >>

 

The problem is that for most of these people (if not ALL of them), the goverment is their only source of info, so the government's irrational hatred of us (it's not like we don't financially support a lot of thes countries) eventually becomes the die-hard beliefs of these people.

 

I'm shocked, but I am becoming a big advocate of alternative energy. Not for environmental reasons but because I dislike us having to rely on a group of not-terribly-balanced governments.

                         -=Mike

[Guest RetroRob215]

The U.S will always be hated on for whatever reason.

Tony is right.  The reasons why they hate us is because the Muslim religion does not believe in modern technology.  They are a more than a century behind the US when it comes to technology and rights of citizens.  I'm almost positive that 90% of the people who were polled were known to be Muslims, but there are religions other than Islam in the Middle East.  It doesn't really bother me that we are hated because these countries depend on the US for financial aid, therefore I highly doubt they would have the balls to attack us.

[Guest Jokir]

Hmmm...why do they dislike americans...could it be because of people like retrorob who say things like that when they have no IDEA what they are talking about?

 

<<The reasons why they hate us is because the Muslim religion does not believe in modern technology.  They are a more than a century behind the US when it comes to technology and rights of citizens.>>

 

Umm care to point out where in their holy book it says 'Thou shalt not use modern technology'?? Middle eastern countries are developing or third world countries. Of COURSE they aren't as up to date as developed countries. It has NOTHING to do with the religion. As for human rights, your right there, but that has more to do with the government in power than the religion. ANY religion or philisophical belief can be twisted to remove the rights of people, not just Muslim religions (it's plural there's more than one).

 

 

As for why Middle Eastern countries tend to dislike Americans. It probably has to do with the fact that you always stick your noses in their business and act as if your way is always the best way. Maybe they don't WANT a McDonalds in Lybia.

 

So let me clarify how I think:

Disliking America especially American foreign policy: OK

Attacking innocent American people: Not OK

Escalating and attacking innocent Afghani people: also NOT OK.

Attacking fuckhead terrorist cells: WAY OK

 

thank you

[Guest DrTom]

There was a good article on the WSJ's opinion page yesterday about the hatred Arab countries have for America.  It's a bit long, but it's well thought-out and amply researched.  I don't have the exact link right now, but go to The WSJ Opinion Page and it will be easy enough to find.

 

Given those prevailing attitudes, relations with the Middle East are dicey at best.  My feeling is, if they hate us so much, we should stop giving them our money and aid.  Let them twist in the wind for a while and see if their attitudes change.  If not, oh well.  We're better off using diplomatic channels on countries that will actually be receptive to them.

[Guest Vyce]

It has NOTHING to do with the religion.

 

No, it has EVERYTHING to do with religion.  Many Muslims....I'd go so far as to say that most Muslims....view the West, specifically America, as decadent, and thus worthy of their contempt.  We do all sorts of crazy things over here like promote racial equality (as best we can) and a BIG no-no - women's liberation (as opposed to wrapping them in sheets and beating them whenever we want to).  We embrace our sexuality, we're capitalist (and thus enjoy our money), and we actually question our religious beliefs instead of follow them blindly (well, some of us do anyway).  Basically, we live our lives far differently than they do.  That's one of the reasons they hate us.

 

I think another is just the fact that we are one of the most powerful and prosperous nations in the world, where as most of them (the common people, mind you) don't have a pot to piss in.  Our quality of life can be very high, there's is usually very low.  In other words, it's jealousy on their end.  I can understand and sympathize with this.

 

But I don't think anyone has mentioned probably the BIGGEST reason why they hate us - Jews.  Because that's what it ALL comes down to, anti-Semitism.  We, as a nation, are allies with Israel, and 9 out of 10 Arab countries HATE that, and the othe 1/10th isn't too pleased about it either.  (That's part of why Israel will never reconcile with Palestine, but that's another subject altogether.)