http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec06/turkey_11-27.htmlMARGARET WARNER: It's the war in Iraq, right on Turkey's doorstep, that has transformed America's image here. A country that for 50 years stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. in NATO, a country whose people once prized their friendship with America, is now roiling with doubts about whether that relationship works for them any longer.
ERDINC ASYALIOGLU, Fisherman (through translator): We've always loved America. It's a country we want to visit and a place we want to live. But when Bush was elected, his invasion of Iraq, and Iraq going out of control, it affected us in a very bad way.
NUR VERGIN, Political Scientist: I have never witnessed such a thing in this country
...NUR VERGIN: Because America is seen as an imperialistic power which attacked, after all, a Muslim society, a neighboring Muslim society, so there is much empathy, there is much sympathy, and, of course, anti-Americanism.
"Violent Americans"
MARGARET WARNER: Popular culture abounds with evidence of that anti-Americanism. Turkish bookstores carry American novelist Stephen King, but novels portraying a menacing view of the United States ride the bestseller lists. The blockbuster is a pulp fiction thriller, "Metal Storm," and its three sequels, depicting a U.S. invasion of Turkey from bases in Iraq and a retaliatory nuclear strike on Washington by a Turkish secret agent.
And then there is "Valley of the Wolves," a wildly popular film and television series based on a real-life event that took place in the northern Iraq town of Sulaymaniyah in July 2003. [continued]
Even in Bosnia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia?
J77 said:Moving West from Turkey, I think if you asked people in any city in Europe their thoughts on the US, you'd either get a response of anger or just general disregard.
If somebody turns on the AC during a crowded wedding reception, there will be at least a few people who disapprove. The same concept applies to a crowded planet.LURCH said:I think it is generally accepted here in the U.S. that we are just plane dispised. It was true long before Bush came into office, it will be true long after he's gone. Seems like no matter what action our country takes, it's generally agreed to be the wrong action, and we are "interfeering". Except of course for those occassions on which we take no action, and are condemned for our failure to act.
That just seems to be the way the world is today.
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2217603nIraqi Exiles Flee To Jordan
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have left the chaos in their own country and relocated to Jordan. As Katie Couric reports, their plight hasn't been easy for anyone.
Incessant violence across much of Iraq's central and southern regions is forcing thousands of people to leave their homes every month, presenting the international community with a looming humanitarian crisis even larger than the upheaval aid agencies had planned for during the 2003 war.
UNHCR estimates there are at least 1.6 million Iraqis displaced internally, and up to 1.8 million in neighbouring states, particularly Syria and Jordan. Many were displaced prior to 2003, but an increasing number are fleeing now. Egypt hosts an estimated Iraqi population of more than 150,000, and in the first half of 2006 Iraqis had become the leading nationality seeking asylum in Europe.
Between 2003 and 2005, more than 253,000 Iraqis did return home, including from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries. Now, however, the returns have stopped and many more people are fleeing, including large numbers of skilled professionals crucial to Iraq's recovery.
In addition to those outside the country, between January and mid-November 2006 an estimated 425,000 Iraqis fled their homes for other areas inside Iraq, most of them following sectarian violence sparked by the bombing of an important Shia mosque in February 2006. At mid-year, internal displacement was estimated to be continuing at a rate of some 50,000 a month.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday that he and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki agreed in high-stakes talks that Iraq should not be partitioned into separate, semiautonomous zones.
"The prime minister made clear that splitting his country into parts, as some have suggested, is not what the Iraqi people want, and that any partition of Iraq would only lead to an increase in sectarian violence," Bush said after nearly two and a half hours of talks aimed at stabilizing Iraq. "I agree."
Al-Maliki left the door open for countries like Iran and Syria to play a part in Iraq's struggle for peace.
Analysis: The U.S. President may have had noble aims, but his administration's policies have helped push the region toward catastrophe
President Bush travels to Jordan this week amid a consensus among U.S. allies in the Middle East that the region is monumentally worse off now than it was when he took office six years ago. In Iraq, there seems little prospect of achieving anything that could be construed as a U.S. victory — and as a result, it is unlikely to send the promised tidal wave of freedom crashing across the Arab world. Instead, Iraq has effectively disintegrated into a Sunni-Shi'ite civil war that threatens to spread instability throughout the region.
Elsewhere, Israelis and Palestinians have descended into one of the most intractable cycles of conflict in their long struggle. In Lebanon, the national unity agreement that ended almost two decades of civil war in 1990 appears to be unraveling, as sectarian factions are again edging toward another bloodbath. Meanwhile, Arab autocrats remain entrenched, Arab democrats are feeling abandoned, and Iran's Islamic revolution is enjoying a second wind. For all the grand ambition of President Bush's interventions in the Middle East, a veteran Western diplomat recently offered TIME the following glum assessment: "The region is in as serious a mess as I have ever seen it. There is an unprecedented number of interconnected conflicts and threats."
The fact that Bush is holding talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not in Baghdad, but in the comparatively tranquil Jordanian capital of Amman, has not gone unnoticed."One hundred and fifty thousand U.S. soldiers cannot secure protection for their president," mocked a Jordanian columnist, who called the choice of venue "an open admission of gross failure for Washington and its allies' project in Iraq."
The overall impact of the Bush administration on the U.S. image abroad is one of controversy and polarizing opinions. On one hand, the U.S. was seen as a strong global leader during the early years of the administration, especially after the 9/11 attacks. However, the decision to invade Iraq and the subsequent handling of the war led to a decline in the U.S.'s reputation and damaged its image in the eyes of many countries.
The Iraq War had a significant negative impact on the U.S. image abroad. The decision to invade Iraq without solid evidence of weapons of mass destruction and the subsequent handling of the war led to widespread criticism and mistrust of the U.S. by other countries. The war also caused a rise in anti-American sentiment and damaged relationships with key allies.
Yes, the Bush administration's foreign policies did have a lasting impact on the U.S. image abroad. The controversial decisions and actions during the administration's tenure, including the Iraq War and the use of torture in interrogations, damaged the U.S.'s reputation and trust among other countries. The effects of these policies are still felt today.
The Bush administration's approach to international relations was characterized by a more aggressive and unilateral stance compared to previous administrations. The administration's emphasis on pre-emptive strikes and its disregard for international treaties and agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol, led to strained relationships with other countries and a decline in the U.S.'s global standing.
It is difficult to determine whether the U.S. image abroad has improved since the end of the Bush administration. While the Obama administration took steps to repair relationships with other countries and restore the U.S.'s reputation, the effects of the previous administration's policies are still felt. Additionally, the current political climate and policies of the Trump administration have also had an impact on the U.S. image abroad.