BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Current Events America A Threat To World Peace!

This is part of an article from the UK Guardian Newspaper!

America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.
Carried out as US voters prepare to go to the polls next week in an election dominated by the war, the research also shows that British voters see George Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, or the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both countries were once cited by the US president as part of an "axis of evil", but it is Mr Bush who now alarms voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US.

The survey has been carried out by the Guardian in Britain and leading newspapers in Israel (Haaretz), Canada (La Presse and Toronto Star) and Mexico (Reforma), using professional local opinion polling in each country.
It exposes high levels of distrust. In Britain, 69% of those questioned say they believe US policy has made the world less safe since 2001, with only 7% thinking action in Iraq and Afghanistan has increased global security.

The finding is mirrored in America's immediate northern and southern neighbours, Canada and Mexico, with 62% of Canadians and 57% of Mexicans saying the world has become more dangerous because of US policy.

Even in Israel, which has long looked to America to guarantee national security, support for the US has slipped.

Only one in four Israeli voters say that Mr Bush has made the world safer, outweighed by the number who think he has added to the risk of international conflict, 36% to 25%. A further 30% say that at best he has made no difference.

Voters in three of the four countries surveyed also overwhelmingly reject the decision to invade Iraq, with only Israeli voters in favour, 59% to 34% against. Opinion against the war has hardened strongly since a similar survey before the US presidential election in 2004.

In Britain 71% of voters now say the invasion was unjustified, a view shared by 89% of Mexicans and 73% of Canadians. Canada is a Nato member whose troops are in action in Afghanistan. Neither do voters think America has helped advance democracy in developing countries, one of the justifications for deposing Saddam Hussein. Only 11% of Britons and 28% of Israelis think that has happened.

As a result, Mr Bush is ranked with some of his bitterest enemies as a cause of global anxiety. He is outranked by Osama bin Laden in all four countries, but runs the al-Qaida leader close in the eyes of UK voters: 87% think the al-Qaida leader is a great or moderate danger to peace, compared with 75% who think this of Mr Bush.

The US leader and close ally of Tony Blair is seen in Britain as a more dangerous man than the president of Iran (62% think he is a danger), the North Korean leader (69%) and the leader of Hizbullah, Hassan Nasrallah (65%).

Only 10% of British voters think that Mr Bush poses no danger at all. Israeli voters remain much more trusting of him, with 23% thinking he represents a serious danger and 61% thinking he does not.

Contrary to the usual expectation, older voters in Britain are slightly more hostile to the Iraq war than younger ones. Voters under 35 are also more trusting of Mr Bush, with hostility strongest among people aged 35-65.

� ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,010 adults by telephone from October 27-30. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Polling was by phone in Canada (sample 1,007), Israel (1,078) and Mexico (1,010)

If he were tried for War-Crimes.... well, I dread to think....

America is surely a threat to world peace under the present regime.

America is not a threat to world peace. America is dedicated to defending civilization from fanatical extremists who would destroy it. We do not have regimes in America. We have administrations which are elected by the people to 4 year terms. There will be another presidential election in 2008. It will be hard to replace George W. Bush. Bush has been and continues to be a champion of freedom. Bush and his administration have delivered al Qaeda one crushing blow after another since 9/11. The Bush administration has dogged terrorists all around the world, bringing them to justice. We must remember that all of the events of the last 5 years have sprung from the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City (in which nearly 3000 civilians were murdered) and the attack on the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Had it not been for Todd Beamer and the brave people on Flight 93, a 4th plane would have been flown into the U.S. Capitol Building. The good people of the world must unite to ensure that atrocities of this nature do not happen again.

I never thought I would see America sink to the depths it has because of GB. My father and uncle are WWII vets and they express their sadness that the country they fought for is being scorned by their previous allies. Let's hope that the repuglicans go down to ignominious defeat next week.

Is it such a bad thing to be scorned by France?

The Republicans will do much better next week than you hope.

I read in the thread about John Kerry's remarks that because of George Bush that now suddenly no one likes Americans in the world.

I was stationed in Athens, Greece in 1972 and in Southern Spain in 1982. I spent 2 years overseas each time and traveled while I was there. It suprises me to read recently that Americans had a high approval rating in Europe before GB took office and now everyone dislikes Americans. When I lived in Europe, no one liked Americans THEN and that's going back 30 years.

In Athens we couldn't wear uniforms as people tried to run over us and in Spain I had my car windows broken because I drove a Japanese car and only Americans had those there then. We always tried to blend in and not call attention to the fact that we were Americans. We were told if we were in a hostage situation, to get rid of our military ID or we'd probably be dead.

Why are people suddenly saying Americans were so well thought of prior to Iraq and because to GB all that good will has disappeared? Is their memory faulty? Is it wishful thinking? My experience is that nothing much has changed for the past 30 years.

Perhaps some people on this board who are not Americans could say if their opinion has changed in the past 3 years of if they just didn't give Americans much thought before that.

If the repuglicans win, it will be because they have already figured out how to rig the electronic voting machines, disenfrancise huge numbers of registered voters and if that fails, just plain buy the elections.

I can give general observation about how Indians think of America.

Indians love American public.
They have no trust in American Govt. since a long time. This is not new.
Most of the Indians have adream of touring the US once in their lifetime.
Hollywood is loved here.
American music is loved here.
American literature is loved here.
I would say that Indians love everything about America except the Govt. policies.

Jim, you and Bush MUST stop using 9/11 to justify the taking of still more lives. How much revenge is enough for you? And why are you taking it on the wrong people? We have now killed 221 innocents for every person who died, and these innocents were from a country that didn't have a thing to do with 9/11! No wonder we are hated.

Bush and his crowd are the fanatical extremists. Extemists always justify the abuse of their own people by citing some imaginary threat. And the events of Katrina were abuse of our own people, signing laws while signing other documents saying you won't really enforce them or will enforce them in a way not written into the law is abuse of our people, eliminating habeas corpus for whoever those in power chose to eliminate it is abuse of our own people.

Bush was never elected and the rest of the world knows it. The evidence is clear for anyone who examines the documents and the statistics. The chances that every voting anomaly would break Bush's way is so small as to amountto impossibility.

Al Queda is stronger and has more members than it has ever had. The military newpaper is about to call for Bush to dump Rumsfield. What does it take to pierce your delusion?

Let me say one more time. I was 30 blocks away from 9/11. I experienced it! And I am sick and tired of folks like you using it to justify still more cruelty and abuse of the owrld's people and of ours.

DJC, an American in Norwich, UK