Sapling-boy, here are some poll numbers that I find a wee bit more important. Stick this in your pipe and smoke it, bigot. US Image Abroad Worse Since War
rezdawg: Are you having trouble understanding the poll? That is the second time you have quoted the wrong paragraph in relation to a question. The section highlighting the 20 point increase on another question - the one that "The majority position (WMD issue not important) is growing" addresses - is the relevant section to that question, not the one on how people think things are going in Iraq. You need to read the poll a little closer. On that issue, the majority *is* growing. The poll is quite clear about that. RM Tex: First off - I told you, that's warmongering sapling to you. Get it right. You may add bigot on there if it makes you feel better, no skin off my back. Second - these are the only parts I found relevant in your article on the Pew poll: Eighty-three percent of U.S. residents said they have "a lot" or "some" confidence in Blair to do the right things on international issues while 78 percent said the same about Bush. Only one country, Israel, picked Bush first as a world leader they trust. and At the same time, the intensely negative pre-war view of the United States eased in some countries, particularly in Western Europe. In Britain, 70 percent viewed the United States favorably - more than the 43 percent measured in March, but less than the 83 percent in 1999/2000, Kohut said. Patterns were similar in Germany, France and Italy. and "Something that I'd never thought I'd see and something that is of great concern to me is that people now fear American power," said former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who chairs the Pew Global Attitudes Project. So the Islamic countries hate us a little more than they already hated us before. Big f*ing deal. Nothing we do will actually make them like us more - unless we can give them democracy, freedom, and prosperity. And they can only get that by... Being invaded - the prospect is bothering them? Good. It should bother them. As far as people fearing American power - good also. If everyone feared us three years ago 9/11 might not have happened. It is better to be loved, but if you can't get that - and we can't in most parts of the world, no matter what we do - then being feared is the next best thing. And Americans - those I care about most - are warming up to my side of things, as the Gallup poll shows, and I'm quite sure that you just can't stand that. That makes me happy, and I like being happy. Even the Euros are starting to come back to us, as your article illustrates (thanks for posting it, BTW). Although it doesn't surprise me in the least that you find what foreigners think more important than what Americans think. Not surprising in the least. Sorry, but I still care far more about what Americans think than what Indonesians or Morroccans think. I will not apologize for that, either. But did I thank you for posting that article? Thanks.
Treeman. Fear and hate are very connected. If you think that is good that the world fears US don’t be surprised if 9/11 happens again. This can become an never ending circle.
We will try to eliminate hate by bringing them freedom and prosperity - I thought I mentioned that? But short of that, nothing we do will make them like us. In the interim they must be made to fear us, because they already hate us. They hated us before 9/11, and they hate us now. The trick is to make them fear us enough that they will think twice before fu*king with us again. Before 9/11 they hated us but did not fear us, so they had no reservations about attacking us. Now that they know that they are screwing with a pissed-off giant who is very much awake and scrutinizing them carefully... Well, they may hate us, but their fear will help to keep them safely away. This does not count the religious whackos. They hate us, always will, and do not fear death. They will always attack us no matter what. Them, we just flat out exterminate.
The problem Treeman, is that whether you believe Al Queida had support from Iraq or not, attacking Iraq will not break up the network. Besides, they get most of their money from Saudis, and it there are already signs of the Taliban regrouping in Afghanistan. But even if we attacked every country that we thought supported terrorist, the network will still exist until we root out every single one of them.
Okay, My post may have reflected a defeatist attitude so I thought you may have been serious. I just think we need to refocus on terrorism.
More Fuel for the Fire: Secret Defense Intelligence Agency Report Raises Questions over Iraqi Weapons
It goes back to when johnheath called my "side" a "small minority". 44% is anything but a small minority.
The "majority" position is the side that agrees with the war and is happy with the consequences. The minority position is the side that feels otherwise. The section of the poll that I highlighted 2 times shows that the minority position is increasing and the majority position is decreasing. It has nothing to do with if WMD are found or not.
very interesting part of the article... The Pentagon 's intelligence service reported last September that it had no reliable evidence that Iraq had chemical agents in weaponized form, officials said Friday. The time frame is notable because it coincided with Bush administration efforts to mount a public case for the urgency of disarming Iraq, by force if necessary. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others argued that Saddam Hussein possessed chemical, biological and other weapons and was hiding them.
As this unravels, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that the administration wasn't misled by intel...they just chose to ignore it if it didn't suit their purpose. This could be the biggest misuse of intel in foreign policy since the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964. And we all know what road that led us down...
RmTex, Man, talk about blowing it out of proportion. Vietnam compared to Iraq. You have got to be joking.... The administration lied, you think so? Or is it just partisan politics rearing it's ugly head. My guess is the latter. DD
Tell me where I posted that they lied. What I believe (and what I posted) is that I feel the government ignored intel if it did not serve their purpose, which was to attack Iraq and overthrow Saddam.
