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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (10201)	12/9/2002 4:41:46 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

<<...wondering how much of $2B goes into drug cartel, graft...>> jw: this country WASTES so much money...no wonder why we have mounting defecits...And The NeoCons advising Bush want to embark on an invasion of Iraq that could cost well over $100 Billion --> will we be any safer after we really antagonize the Arab world...? Common sense is rarely common practice in Washington. -s2

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (10201)	12/9/2002 5:45:47 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

Looking at how the world looks at us BY LYNN SWEET WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF The Chicago Sun-Times December 9, 2002 In the next few months, the Bush administration will be announcing steps it will take to encourage democracy in Muslim countries. Look for the White House to ask Congress for more money to pay for educational, economic and political reform projects. This will be played out as the United States is either at war with Iraq or poised to pull the trigger, and as the image of the United States is taking a beating in some Muslim nations as President Bush pursues war against terrorism with his gunsight locked on Saddam Hussein. On Saturday, Iraq issued its report to the United Nations in which Saddam was supposed to disclose what weapons of mass destruction--chemical, biological, nuclear--plus missiles he has in his arsenal. The report will take time to analyze. The United States will be reading the document with an eye toward finding a "material breach" of the UN resolution banning Iraq's possession of these weapons to provide a justification to launch a military strike against Iraq. Against this backdrop, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is warning that discontent with the United States is growing--even among friendly nations. Albright is the chair of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which last week released a poll of international attitudes toward the United States gleaned from surveys of 38,000 people in 44 nations. "I don't believe that we are isolationists, but I believe we are being isolated by the others," Albright said during a briefing with reporters. "Because they see us as out of step. ... "We need to be explaining much better what our policy is about and not have it seen so much as if it is only U.S. national interest. We think we are taking other countries' national interests in consideration as we make policy. They don't see that at all. Which means we are not explaining ourselves properly," she said. The polling methodology varied in each country, and the respondents were in many nations "disproportionately urban," or, in the case of Egypt, just from Cairo. Nonetheless, the trends are noteworthy for what the United States will face as it steps closer to war against Iraq. There is a well of goodwill the United States can tap. The world is content with the notion that there is one superpower--the United States. There is high global esteem, Albright said, for U.S. technology, the nation's military, music, television and movies. But the United States engenders dislike when it is seen as a bully and ignoring international treaties, such as the Kyoto accords on global warming. "We have to understand the need for the United States to be a part of the world rather than just telling everyone what to do," she said. The governments of Turkey and Pakistan are helpful to the United States, but the assistance is breeding internal resistance. Fifty-five percent of the Turks surveyed have an unfavorable opinion of the United States, and the unfavorable reaches 69 percent in Pakistan. Under pressure from the United States, the new Islamic government in Turkey decided to allow the United States to base troops in Turkey in an Iraqi war--but only if the UN votes to authorize an Iraqi strike. And that is from a NATO ally. Cooperation with Pakistan has been vital to the United States in its pursuit of Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida operatives in Afghanistan. There is a disconnect between how the United States sees itself and how the nation is viewed by others. Asked if "U.S. foreign policy considers others," 75 percent in the United States said yes, and 20 percent said no. Respondents in Canada had the reverse view: 25 percent said yes, and 73 percent said no. *War with Iraq is seen by high percentages of European allies as really a grab to control Iraqi oil. In a supplemental survey taken last month, that's the conclusion of 44 percent of the respondents in Great Britain, 75 percent in France, 54 percent in Germany, and 76 percent in Russia. A closing thought: Compare that to only 22 percent in the United States who see the fight as about oil. suntimes.com