[quote]JeffR wrote:
Bigflamer:
Please allow me to post the most important paragraphs (remember democrats think in VERY SMALL soundbites. They need to be countered with VERY SMALL soundbites)
"Among Arab nations, we have no better friends than the United Arab Emirates. The government (which owns Dubai Ports World) sponsors a U.S. Air Force base, services U.S. Navy warships and is assisting in our efforts to shut down terrorist funding. (Dubai is the banking, and consequently the money laundering, center of the Gulf.)
Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE is a modern, tolerant country. The British Financial Times describes it as “the Singapore of the Gulf.” The UAE is what we wish every Arab country were like. But we will not make more friends in the Arab world if we treat the friends we have as if they were enemies."
Read it dems/pseudo-Republicans/people running for President.
Think about the message we are sending with all this hot air.
JeffR[/quote]
Listen up “comrade”. It’s WAY too late to win the hearts and minds of the Arabs. I think this port deal is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenerio.
Allowing this to go through WILL NOT CHANGE ARAB PUBLIC OPINION OF THE U.S. ONE IOTA.
If you cared at all about our relationship with Arabs, you would have voted for Kerry or Nader.
New Poll–Bush Support Among Arab Americans Tumbles
Pacific News Service, Aug 26, 2004
“I haven’t seen [support] this low from any one group in the United States,” says pollster Sergio Bendixen.
The poll shows Arab Americans now support Kerry by a three- to-one margin. Almost half (49 percent) of the 273 Arab American registered voters say they will vote for Kerry, 16 percent support Bush and 14 percent prefer Nader, who is Arab American. By contrast, in 2000 Arab American voters chose Bush over Democrat Al Gore by a margin of 46 percent to 38 percent, according to pollster James Zogby.
While your trying to polish the turd that is Iraq, Bush has gone in the opposite direction on one of THE most important issues to Arab opinion toward the US – and that is a more balanced approach to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Only recently has the Iraq war become a bigger source of anti-American resentment.
You guys continue to ignore the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as if it’s a side issue – or should I say a one-sided issue. Actually you do ignore it, unless it’s to call Palestine a terrorist state.
Arab opinion of America is getting WORSE, not better. This port deal might be a good idea but it’s at the wrong time, and it won’t mean diddly-squat toward changing Arab opinion of us.
Arab opinion of U.S. still low
Former ambassador: America’s standing is worse than ever four years after 9/11
2/18/05
The United States’ standing in Arab public opinion is always going to be low, according to Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Indyk said the image of the United States in the Arab street has plunged even lower in the past four “post-9/11” years, as President Bush has walked away from the Arab-Israeli conflict and simply “stood back” in a hands-off approach
“We are the hegemon and we are the superpower,” he said. “For that reason, we’ll always generate some level of antagonism.”
Indyk laid out some of the reasons behind Arab hatred toward the United States, saying that double standards or “Arab exceptionalism” in U.S. policy has compounded existing feelings of hatred, which stemmed from centuries of humiliation.
He discussed U.S. double standards such as promoting democracy and freedom while supporting authoritarian regimes, and a push to disarm Iraq while leaving Israel fully armed.
http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/media/paper244/news/2005/02/18/News/Arab-Opinion.Of.U.s.Still.Low-869780.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailyutahchronicle.com
Zogby Poll Reveals Poor Arab Opinion of U.S. Policies
The results suggested that in all six countries, public opinion towards the United States has worsened since the last poll taken in April 2002. The highest approval came from Lebanon where 20% polled view the United States favorably. The lowest was Egypt, where only 2% see the U.S. favorably.
At least 75% of respondents cited foreign policy as the basis of their attitudes. Those polled seemed especially disappointed with American policy in Iraq and in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
In each country except Saudi Arabia, a majority cited “American policy toward the Arab-Israeli dispute” as “very important” and in Saudi Arabia, 81% saw it as either “important” or “very important.”
http://www.cnionline.org/eyeondc/reports/zogby-poll.htm
Arab Opinion Hardens towards U.S Middle East Policy
In the UAE the ratio was three out of four whilst in Egypt and Saudi Arabia 85 percent and 89 percent of those surveyed viewed the U.S unfavourably. Lebanon was the only country where opinion towards the U.S had significantly improved.
http://www.dogmanet.org/0029jan06_global11.htm