Important Study Details World Opinion Towards U.S.
Is Bush good for America or has his obsession
with Saddam Hussein cost Americans too much?
According to a recent Pew Research Center
study led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, "the postwar poll
paints a mostly negative picture of the image of America, its people and
policies."
The tables shown at right highlight the belief that attitudes towards
America will not change as long as George W. Bush is President. Remarkably,
there are now visible efforts to boycott American products in several
countries. (see
also the V.O. survey on Arab anger)
Truth and the Media
There is much chatter in Washington that the image of the war in America was
vastly different from that image overseas, and that perhaps Americans were
given an edited view of what actually occurred.
Clearly, the game of American politics is
played with a heavy hand. Few Americans are aware of the impact the
government has had on the media, including almost everything we see on TV
news reports about the war in Iraq. Can you recall any major network that
did not support the war? Given the FCC's recent ruling allowing for further
consolidation of the media, its only going to get worse.
We've all seen the picture of
Iraqis celebrating at the fall of Saddam's statute, but have you seen the
wide angle shot?
What was heralded as "hundreds of civilians"
spontaneously flooding the streets in sheer joy, was in fact a small
gathering, no more than a few dozen Iraqi men.
A Historical Trend
While the current relationship
between the government and the media may be suspect to some, it is important
to point out a historical precedent.
According to Professor
of Political Science Peter Baofu, "the Soviet troops did the same in
Afghanistan before, with Soviet evening news at home showing pictures of
local Afghans celebrating and welcoming the so-called Soviet liberators. And
the Nazis did the same in conquered territories of Europe, with the Nazi
mass media showing pictures of local people welcoming and celebrating the
Nazi 'liberation' of them from their own oppressed rulers."
(read
more)
History, even in the
media, will repeat itself, as countries aim to bring home news of victory in
matters that are far more complicated than their leaders might like to admit.
As we continue to
press on with the war on terror it is important to have the cooperation of
law enforcement agencies around the world. As this study shows, many
countries may be less willing to bend over backwards to support us.
Attacking a country without international support is proving to be a far
more costly endeavor than anyone could have imagined.
