THEY LOVE US NOT. A recent poll for the BBC World Service covering opinions in 27 countries has the United States taking the bronze medal as the third most negatively viewed country among the same 27 countries. Only Iran and Israel are viewed more negatively, on average. These findings partly follow the expected fault lines between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. Still, the only places where the good ol' U.S. of A. gets a majority of positive ratings are in Africa (Nigeria and Kenya) and in the Philippines. And naturally at home, although even here the percentage believing that the U.S. has a positive influence on the rest of the world (57%) is declining from previous poll levels. What does this mean? A neoconservative might argue that such beauty contests are meaningless and just a distraction from the ruthless way forward for the American empire. But a career diplomat might worry about the future difficulties these views presage in anything that requires international cooperation. In any case, it's pretty clear that what makes a country viewed negatively is warmongering.
-- J. Goodrich
