While George Bush has been President, Bush's disastrous foreign policy initiatives have been rubber-stamped by the Republican controlled Senate (and of course this particular committee). During that time, world opinion of America has plummeted according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project. http://pewglobal.org...
Take a look at what the citizens of our European allies think of us. Favorable opinions of the U.S. during the last six years have dropped as follows: Great Britain, 83% to 56%; France, 62% to 39%; Germany, 78% to 37%; Spain, 50% to 23%. Our critical NATO ally, Turkey, has experienced a drop in favorability towards the U.S. from 54% to 12%. Japan has dropped from 77% to 63%. It is no wonder we have such trouble persuading other countries to follow our lead. Like the staggering monetary debt the Bush administration has saddled our children with, they will have to face a world that grew increasingly hostile during the Bush years.
According to the Pew project, +óGé¼+ô[t]he war in Iraq is a continuing drag on opinions of the United States, not only in predominantly Muslim countries but in Europe and Asia as well. And despite growing concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the U.S. presence in Iraq is cited at least as often as Iran - and in many countries much more often - as a danger to world peace.+óGé¼-¥
Think about what might happen if we were to get into a war with North Korea. Remember, thousands of Americans died protecting South Korea 50 years ago. But what does the younger generation think of the U.S.? Would they stand with us if there was a war? According to a recent Reuters story, in South Korea two-thirds of people under 30 said in a recent poll that if there were war between North Korea and the United States, they would side with North Korea. http://news.yahoo.co... +óGé¼+ôDistaste for America runs so deep that, for example, at the recent World Cup in Germany the American team was the only one asked not to display its national flag on the team bus.+óGé¼-¥
William Buckley, one of the father+óGé¼Gäós of modern conservatism, said just the other day: "If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we've experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign." http://www.cbsnews.c... According to the Washington Times+óGé¼Gäó Insight Magazine: +óGé¼+ôConservative national security allies of President Bush are in revolt against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying that she is incompetent and has reversed the administration+óGé¼Gäós national security and foreign policy agenda.+óGé¼-¥ http://www.insightma...
Yet George Allen, a member of the Foreign Relations committee, does nothing but applaud, and sugarcoat crises. On his visit to Baghdad, from a May 31, 2006 release posted on his Senate website:
+óGé¼+ôSince my last visit, I am seeing good progress. Progress is being made on the political front. Progress is being made on the security front. The Iraqis are standing up their military forces and more and more Iraqis are taking the lead in a variety of ways. I+óGé¼Gäód like to see more progress with the police force. They are behind and need to be improved. But this is a crucial time and I believe that by the end of this year, we are going to see far more of the security+óGé¼GÇ¥probably three-quarters more+óGé¼GÇ¥being led by Iraqis.+óGé¼-¥
And then there+óGé¼Gäós this current clunker on his website: +óGé¼+ôAlready, we+óGé¼Gäóve seen democratic elections in a newly free Afghanistan; and recently there have been hopeful signs of progress in Egypt, Lebanon and Libya.+óGé¼+ô News reports are filled with stories of a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. And as for Lebanon . . .
George Allen has spent his Senate term doing nothing but repeating what the administration says. We need a senator who will tell us facts, not lies, and who will have concrete suggestions on how to improve our foreign policy in this dangerous world.