They told Glenn Reynolds that if he voted for McCain, the Arab World would just hate us even more…and they were right!
I have a theory as to what’s going on here, but first the facts:
James Zogby, the anti-Israel pollster who released these findings today, blames the drop in support for Obama in the Arab world on Obama’s failure to put the amount of pressure on Israel the Arab world wanted and expected. But according to the poll, the Arab world doesn’t seem to be happy with any of America’s foreign policy positions. Respondents rated Obama’s policies as the least popular, when compared with other leaders, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Killing Osama bin Laden also contributed to the Arab world’s negative views of Obama. In all six countries surveyed – Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia – the majority of respondents said killing bin Laden made them “less favorable toward the U.S.” Notably, in Egypt, only 2 percent said the al Qaeda leader’s death made them view America more positively.
Here’s the theory: They hate some of the things we do for the obvious reasons (they hate the Jooos, they hate our way of life, etc etc), but they have also lost respect/fear of the United States. Say what you want about Bush, but from an opponent’s point of view you had to respect him as a credible threat. He proved twice that he wasn’t afraid to use force. He was also better at drawing a brighter line between what might cause him to strike and what wouldn’t. Obama, on the other hand, is just erratic. The only way to really make sense of some of his actions is to assume that he’s pursuing some hidden agenda, which calls his honesty into question (I know, for most readers here and myself his honesty is history, but we’re talking about how others who don’t track his every word view him). His apologies for all that’s bad America didn’t win him the accolades he sought, it all just won him a kind of contempt. Here’s a little evidence for that:
Most surprisingly, Obama’s approval ratings are even lower than President Bush’s before he left office in 2008.
I don’t find it very surprising, to be honest. Obama has made a doormat of himself and our country.
What the Arab Muslim world hates more than any particular president is the American strategy of U.S. dictated democracy ‘nation building’ in their Arab world.
The U.S. has never taken kindly to other nations and forms of government threatening our own…has it?
Likewise, on the collective image front, what nation has military bases, personnel and war equipment staged all around the world in other countries?
Seems we’re not nearly about [defending] our soverign borders and brokering peace these days as much as we are about threatening or forcing an American political and social ideology upon certain regions and nations of the world with differing ideologies.
I guess all that bowing didn’t make them trust Obama. They probably figured he’s such a narcissist, he’s only looking at his own image in their shoeshines anyway.
Oh PAH-LEASE, T.T…..”what nation has military bases, personnel and war equipment staged all around the world in other countries?” Do your HOMEWORK, how many of these nations asked us IN and WHY? Because they wanted the military might to help them, stop with the cheesy “nation-building name calling”….Personally, I think it is time to bring them ALL home, put them on our borders and protect OUR country, for a CHANGE. Then watch all those nations BEG us to come back.
Vern….Why don’t you try doing your own homework and see how many countries invited the U.S. bases into their homelands outside of WWII NATO and SEATO accords?
You have a problem with the terms “nation building” do you? Maybe you should do some more home work and visit inside the DOD, State and a boat load of think tanks. See if you can find them using the same term!
http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/carson.pdf
http://www.rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/spring2005/nation.html
Since I don’t know how old you are I’ stop with only two legitimate sources for you to read other wise I can provide enough sources to keep you busy for a long time.
TT, who gives a rat’s behind what they think or if they like us or not. Obama’s strategy and its failure is proof of what so many have been saying so long. It doesnt matter what you do, all around the world they hate us. Their hatred has many excuses, but the real root of it is envy.
If you want people to hate you, be successful. If you want them to hate you more, give them something for free.
Suthenboy…Can you be a bit more precise when relating to the ‘Obama strategy’ versus the Bush strategy? If all you’re referencing is the Obama gestures, theres nothing new there as all forms of dialogue stragegy and dialogue channels are exercised by all administrations and State.
["Their hatred has many excuses, but the real root of it is envy."]
Says who? You? Seems we had some dislike for the old USSR for a few decades with still some lingering dislike. In fact, we have a rather long history of disliking other nations governments and social structures. Is that because we had envy? If, on the other hand, you’re making reference to parts of the general population being in envy of American freedoms then it is up to those people to perpetuate change from within. The Arab Muslims above all, know how to wage war without the benefit of vast Army, Navy and Air Force technologies.
We simply have no mroal or constitutional authority to intervene into other nations business for the purposes of nation buliding to some presumed global conformity.
T.T. Thomas
Yes why don’t you. As a matter of fact, apart from Afghanistan and Iraq, US has bases in 4 Middle Eastern countries – Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and (a very small base in) Saudi Arabia.
Why do they hate US in Egypt and Jordan, and why oh why Pakistani hating US want US to give them military equipment and help their army with money?
Ella…Not sure what your point is!
However, there are sixty-six (66) U.S. military installations around the world not counting current war zones or any Arab Muslim nations. That emulates a very precise image when no other ‘super power’ nation of the world has such foreign military presence.
May I again suggest reading the below references.
http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/carson.pdf
http://www.rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/spring2005/nation.html
As for your reference to military installations in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain you might want to explore a bit more and see who called who and for what purpose those bases come into existence. I’m assuming you think that the U.S. was invited by those nations for their own purposes of security. First, it is America and American funds that built all the forward bases in Soutwest Asia. Second, “The primary reason for the installations was to contribute to the National Security Strategy that calls for the rapid deployment and forward presence.” With a litte legitimate research you to can find the basis for the U.S. military installations you referenced.
Having been schooled in a madrasa as a child ( Oh my god, I never dreamed I would ever say that about an american president) and having spent much of his young life abroad, I am not sure if it is a mystery to Obama why he cant win popular support in the arab world. I am not conflating Indonesia with Saudi Arabia, I just mean he doesnt have the special kind of naiveity that comes from spending your entire life within these United States.
Liberals in general do.
They imagine that all people are just people like us. They think all people believe in fairness and goodness just like we do. They imagine that other cultures think of their country just like we think of ours, of their countrymen the way we do. They pretend that other people, like we do, separate their secular and political lives from their religious ones for practical or moral reasons. Unfortunately none of these are true.
In the world of the Arabs and Turkmen, Islam is utterly true. For them Islam is a religion, a social contract and a political system all rolled into one. Its proscriptions and edicts are to be followed to the letter.
Tribe means more than country. Women are merely property and persons not of ones native tribe are generally thought of as less than human. I love the line from Little Big Man where Crabb’s Grandfather (?) tells him that the Cheyenne are the only real human beings. I have found that in much of the world this attitude is prevelant.
The Muslim world has a seething, white-hot hatred for us. If we are nice to them, they will hate us more. If we arent nice to them, they will hate us more. If we isolate ourselves from them, they will hate us more. If we meddle in their affairs they will hate us more. Given half a chance they will murder us all.
Obama has earned the disdain that the muslim world has for him. The only sensible course of action for any American President is to just muscle through, do what needs to be done for the good of the U.S. and not give a tinker’s damn what anyone thinks of us. I am not going to hold my breath waiting for this buffoon to do that. There is a greater chance that a fish can learn to ride a bicycle.
I have a theory why some people in the Middle East proper (i.e Gulf States, KSA, Egypt and so on)might dislike (or feel contempt for) the current US president. It starts with “R” and ends with “ism” and has roots in Middle Eastern history — people with darker skin where thought of as something worse than whiter skinned people and majority of blacks (present day Sudan, black Africa) were slaves.
In theory all Muslims were/are equal but theory and practice differ.
You are exactly right Ella. I didnt include race in my rant above, but it is a major factor in africa and the middle east. Next to tribe, race is a most important consideration.
For all the btching and whining about racism here in the US, it pales in comparison to the racism in most of the world.
Islam is not a religion – it is a perverse ideology.
Soft power. Bowing and scraping does not a foreign policy make. Joe Nye, are you happy now? See how your theory works in the real world? There’s only one kind of power. Instead of that Rhodes Scholarship, if you’d served in the Marines, you might have known better. And so would your D student (not literally in your classroom, but derivatively, through his genius advisers in the White House.)
Soft power is worse than an oxymoron. It’s un-American. And boy, are they cheering in Teheran at everything this President says, does and is. Soft. Like Charmin”—squeezably soft.
And the sand eaters fall toward the East and pray – then they bounce up and send the twins inside – time to change into ceremonial rags!
Nice looking children Mustafa and Assam – fourteen year old twins from the loins of Mucosa Hindis – school teacher in the village of Phesho.
For twins you prepare identical outfits – two body stockings with twelve large flapped pockets – six in front and six in the back.
For each pocket you insert one half pound of Semtex taping it to the back wall of the pocket – leaving room in the front of the Semtex for one cup of roofing nails plus one half cup of medium sized ball bearings ..(Note – nails and bearings obtained from wreckage and dismantled machinery are fine – rust and greases only aid in the planned out come.)
Wires attached – ignition plunger checked – every thing taped and sealed – batteries connected – a hug from mom – and it looks like we are a go!
These are the kind of people that our unworldly leader thinks he can deal with – does he really think that his Socialist – Progressive – Communist – Liberal – traits can win the hearts of people who want to kill – enslave or convert us ?
Does he really think that by his Union connections funneling untold amounts of money into the so called ’Arab Spring’ he can Unionize the North of Africa and ward off the Caliphate.
The man is not a bright man – he is a very bitter colored man who is only effective when working with ‘Acorns’!
Hey, cut out the racist crap—
Obama isn’t colored. He’s also not black or African-American. HE’S A WHITE GUY FROM CHICAGO, who just happened to have a black dad.
Man, can’t you recognize him by his actions—? A ‘Colored’ man would never have gotten to where he has, except by faking it! A real African-American wouldn’t have had to fake it. And probably done a better job, too!
But, I’m just a Cracker—what do I know?
Cracker – You did figure it out – ‘colored and faking it’ in the same sentence – keep thinking and stay safe!