Bush as Dangerous as Bin Laden: British Survey
Many people from the third world countries — where Muslims are in majority or not such as India– think that America under Bush and/or Republican in particular are very dangerous to the world peace as far as US foreign policy goes. But none of those the so-called third world people think that they are not alone. Therefore when the people from nations closely related with US policy like Britain think similarly as it’s obvious from the poll conducted recently and released on Friday, it comes as a real surprise.
As reported by the Guardian, UK, 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 on Friday that reveals just how far the country’s reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.
“Luckily” for Bush he falls short of Bin Laden in terms of causing danger to the world peace:
He is outranked by Osama bin Laden in all four countries, but runs the close in the eyes of British voters: 87 per cent think the Al-Qaeda is a great or moderate danger to peace, compared with 75 per cent who think this of Mr. Bush.
Yet, as the world only super-power, he should be “proud” of outranked Kim Jong-il of North Korea and other world leaders dubbed by him as the axis of evils and terrorists:
Mr. Bush is seen in Britain as a more dangerous man than the President of Iran (62 per cent think he is a danger), the North Korean leader (69 per cent) and the leader of Hizbollah, Hassan Nasrallah (65 per cent).
Accurately, America as a whole is also put to blame, for choosing him democratically as their leader:
In Britain, 69 per cent of those questioned say they believe U.S. policy has made the world less safe since 2001, with only 7 per cent thinking action in Iraq and Afghanistan has increased global security.
As we can see from the table, it’s not only British who think so, other US allies like Canada and and even Israel–the carte blanche recipient of US nod on anything– worried:
The finding is mirrored in America’s immediate northern and southern neighbours, Canada and Mexico, with 62 per cent of Canadians and 57 per cent of Mexicans saying the world has become more dangerous because of U.S. policy.
Even in Israel, which has long looked to America to guarantee national security, support for the U.S. 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 per cent to 25 per cent.
I’m a bit surprised with the finding. As a blogger who sometimes blogwalks to other world blogs, I can’t see the same feeling and thinking in some of British bloggers. Well, at least not as expressed by their expats…