 |
|
« Today's Break | Main | Worth Your Time » September 12, 2006
Wasted Sympathy?
Posted by Dorkafork Anne Applebaum has an essay in the Telegraph examining the notion that Bush "wasted sympathy" after 9/11. The dislike of America, the hatred for what it was believed to stand for - capitalism, globalisation, militarism, Zionism, Hollywood or McDonald's, depending on your point of view - was well entrenched. To put it differently, the scorn now widely felt in Britain and across Europe for America's "war on terrorism" actually preceded the "war on terrorism" itself. It was already there on September 12 and 13, right out in the open for everyone to see. Coincidentally, I was recently looking through some Pew Global Attitudes Survey Reports, and noticed one entitled "Bush Unpopular in Europe, Seen As Unilateralist." That report was published in August of 2001. Posted by Dorkafork at September 12, 2006 11:05 AM | TrackBack (0) Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsTake a look at this survey--even when one uses 2002 (well after Bush taking office, as well as 9/11) as the baseline, there have been huge drops in favorability ratings for the U.S. in Great Britain, France, and Germany (Russia tracked differently). I won't make a post hoc argument that the drop in ratings must necessarily be a result of Bush's policies (i.e. "squandering" goodwill); however, whatever the cause(s), there has definitely been a substantial shift in opinion regarding the U.S. over the past few years. Posted by: Hubris at September 13, 2006 09:55 AM I certainly don't want to try and argue that Bush's policies don't have an effect on world opinion, obviously the Iraq War is very unpopular. I thought it was striking that before 9/11 the word "unilateralist" was already being used, and that he was already pretty unpopular just a few months into his first term. Posted by: dorkafork at September 13, 2006 06:47 PM I remember counting the days after 9/11, it took 4 days for Le Monde to come out saying that the US was overreacting. Posted by: Leo at September 19, 2006 01:05 AM |
