Mark Seeley's March 1 editorial notebook in the DTH presented a curious interpretation of a recent Gallup Poll conducted in Islamic countries. The headline promised an explanation of "Why They Hate Us," but the column offered neither evidence of hate nor plausible explanation of public opinion in the Muslim world. Although a majority of poll respondents believed that U.S. bombing of Afghanistan is wrong, this is not "hate," it is opposition.
He explains why such unfathomable opposition exists: the U.S. is envied because of wealth, freedom, and power. Devoid of any historical or political context, this is the sort of simplistic understanding that produces no real solutions to the scourge of terrorism.
Although these results, according to Seeley, may be "astonishing to a country that promotes human rights and democratically elected governments," what may be more astonishing to many Americans is that the US has frequently done just the opposite in the Muslim world. We have armed and supported a monarchy in Saudi Arabia that crushes political dissent, and we have kept troops stationed in that Muslim holy land despite promises to remove them after the Gulf War against former recipient of US weapons Saddam Hussein, a war that culminated in the restoration of Kuwait, a country where 1 in 7 can vote, and the establishment of sanctions that have resulted in the deaths of over 500,000 Iraqi civilians. Our continued military support and over $8 billion in aid per year to Israel despite numerous and ongoing UN condemnations of human rights abuses and illegal occupation and colonization of territory, and a short-sighted foreign policy focused upon support of Arab autocracies that produce more oil that political self-determination all lead to an understandable mistrust of the United States. Only a coherent understanding of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world can lead to lasting solutions.
David Roberts
Chapel Hill
