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Don't Blame George Bush for Anti-Americanism
National Post | Frontpagemagazine ^ | June 17, 2008 | David Frum

Posted on 06/17/2008 5:00:39 AM PDT by SJackson

In Saudi Arabia, the government refused to allow the question to be asked at all.

Pro-American feeling does not necessarily translate into pro-American action.

People across Western Europe mourned the 9/11 attack. But a Gallup poll conducted the week after 9/11 found that only 29% of the French, 21% of Italians, 18% of the British, 17% of Germans and 12% of Spaniards supported military action against countries that harboured terrorists. Iraq is not the reason that NATO has trouble persuading European governments to send troops to fight in Afghanistan.

Anti-American feeling is often an artefact of propaganda.

Anti-Americanism becomes stronger as the media become less free. Russian anti-Americanism began its measurable rise in the polls in the late 1990s, coinciding with the reassertion of state control over the Russian media and the imposition of a strong nationalist message.

Behind all these particular problems, there is a larger defect, maybe best explained by an analogy.

Suppose we were studying anti-black hatred. Would we begin by trying to figure out what blacks had done to justify hatred--and then offer suggestions about how they might alter their behaviour so as to give less offense? Yet that is how the conversation about anti-Americanism often proceeds.

Critics of the Bush administration cite various grievances against American policy as the cause of anti-Americanism. But this is a naive understanding of how the human mind works.

An example from U.S. politics may explain. During the prosperous 1990s, Democrats consistently gave a more favourable assessment of the U.S. economy than Republicans. Sometimes the gap spread as wide as 10 percentage points. Partisanship determined perspective, not the other way around.


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: antiamerican; antiamericanism; blame; bush; commies; davidfrum; presidentbush

1 posted on 06/17/2008 5:00:40 AM PDT by SJackson
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To: SJackson

“But a Gallup poll conducted the week after 9/11 found that only 29% of the French, 21% of Italians, 18% of the British, 17% of Germans and 12% of Spaniards supported military action against countries that harboured terrorists.”

Amazing...the nations at the core of WW2 have learned nothing.


2 posted on 06/17/2008 5:03:38 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: SJackson
Anti-USA feelings are 100% the fault of the anti-USA liberal left. They are the ones who go abroad and trash our country. They are the ones who control the major media outlets and make movies, write songs, publish “news” and create other media that make our country look bad. No conservative has had any hand in any of this.
3 posted on 06/17/2008 5:43:01 AM PDT by pnh102 (Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
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To: SJackson

During Clinton administration our soldiers travelling in europe was advised to say they were Canadian.

Bush’s fault no doubt. /s/


4 posted on 06/17/2008 6:20:27 AM PDT by Carley
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To: Slapshot68; All

Just in case no one heard me last time,....Spain is Osama’s bit$h”


5 posted on 06/17/2008 7:05:32 AM PDT by redstateconfidential (If you are the smartest person in the room,you are hanging out with the wrong people.)
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To: SJackson

“But a Gallup poll conducted the week after 9/11 found that only 29% of the French, 21% of Italians, 18% of the British, 17% of Germans and 12% of Spaniards supported military action against countries that harboured terrorists.”

I’d like to find a link to that study. Given the fact all of the aforementioned countries sent troops to Afghanistan, where the 9/11 terrorist masterminds were hiding, and since there were no protests about that - contrary to sending troops to Iraq - I’m wondering if the article has the Gallup question straight.


6 posted on 06/17/2008 9:44:50 AM PDT by Atlantic Friend
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To: Atlantic Friend
I’d like to find a link to that study. Given the fact all of the aforementioned countries sent troops to Afghanistan, where the 9/11 terrorist masterminds were hiding, and since there were no protests about that - contrary to sending troops to Iraq - I’m wondering if the article has the Gallup question straight.

You could probably find it on the Gallup site. I'd be skeptical too. Given the fact the governments of Italy, Germany, France and the UK seem to be moving to the right, I wonder about the "growth" of rampant anti-Americanism alltogether. It's all how you ask the question.

7 posted on 06/17/2008 10:50:59 AM PDT by SJackson (It is impossible to build a peace process based on blood, Natan Sharansky)
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To: Carley
During Clinton administration our soldiers travelling in europe was advised to say they were Canadian....Bush’s fault no doubt. /s/

They'd blame that on the legace of the Reagan administration. The Bush administration is responsible for the next 20 years.

8 posted on 06/17/2008 11:00:01 AM PDT by SJackson (It is impossible to build a peace process based on blood, Natan Sharansky)
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To: SJackson

Actually, it was the time of the MONICA BOMBS

A time of Wag The Dog by our esteemed slickster.


9 posted on 06/17/2008 5:44:05 PM PDT by Carley
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