The poll was conducted in the United States and fifteen other countries this spring with a

survey size of nearly 17,000 respondents. What was being surveyed, was the attitude of

people toward the United States. The results are not particularly flattering.

Indeed, only 26% of Americans thought other nations had a positive attitude toward the US

and from the results obtained in other countries, that appears to be a supportable view. The

survey showed that in other countries, including its closest neighbour Canada, the US is

broadly disliked around the world. Significantly, eleven of the countries surveyed, which

included its Iraq war buddy Britain, rated the communist dictatorship in China higher than

the beacon of liberty and freedom.

The poll showed the ‘ugly American’ is considered by outsiders to be “rude, greedy and

violent.” ‘Rude’ is, course, a matter of perception; but it is hard to argue with the other

two adjectives.

Since 2001, the mindless question ‘why do they hate us?’ has become a mantra for unthinking

Americans who can’t, or won’t, consider the world outside their own navels. George Bush is

fond of saying that ‘they hate our freedoms.’ Well, Mr. President, even if you are silly

enough to believe that, it isn’t your freedoms they hate. It’s your bullying and, most of

all, your war machine.

Here’s a recent example of what it is that makes people hate the United States.

Since the proposal in 1997 of the so-called Ottawa Treaty (Convention on the Prohibition

of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their

Destruction ), 153 nations have agreed to ban the use of landmines. As of July 11, 2005,

eight of those nations have not yet ratified the agreement through their legislatures but

they are adhering to it anyway. The signatories to the treaty agreed they would not use,

develop, manufacture, stockpile or trade in anti-personnel landmines and would destroy any

existing stocks within four years of signing the treaty.

Of the nations who have not signed the agreement, the largest are India, China, Russia, and

the United States. In the case of the Americans, they refused to sign because the treaty

contained no ‘Korean exception’: they wanted to retain the unconstrained right to mine the

‘demilitarized zone (DMZ)’ between North and South Korea. They claim the more than one

million mines they have seeded along the DMZ help maintain the fragile peace by deterring a

North Korean attack. What deters this mythical attack is not landmines: it is F-16s, and

Patriot missiles, and a much more sophisticated panoply of weaponry than North Korea could

ever hope to muster, even if they really do have nuclear capability.

In fact, since there is mechanical equipment that can be used to clear minefields, and even

tanks can be adapted to clear them, their effectiveness as deterrents to enemy troop

movements is highly questionable. But what landmines do provide is one of the most deadly

legacies of the 20th century. These anti-personnel bombs continue to have tragic, usually

unintended consequences, many years after the battle is over and even after the entire war

has ended. As time passes, the location of landmines is often forgotten, even by those who

planted them, and they continue to be functional for many decades, causing further damage,

injury and death, usually to unsuspecting civilians.

Given the abilities and tightly-honed killing skills of modern war makers, it is very

difficult to see landmines as anything other than a cruel attempt to leave a lasting memory

of conflict for years to come. There are sure to be military-types and fans of large scale

killing who will argue that landmines have superb value as ‘area denial munitions’, but the

brutality of the residue from these weapons is appalling and inexcusable. There are millions

of limbless or orphaned children around the world thanks to these leftovers from old

conflicts.

Even more inexcusable is that, after a lapse of some eight years, the United States is

getting back into the business of manufacturing landmines. According to New York-based Human

Rights Watch (HRW), the Pentagon has asked for $1.3 billion to develop and produce a new

landmine, called the Intelligent Munitions System. Although a decision on the request is

thought to be unlikely before 2008, it is understood that a new remote-controlled landmine

system, called Matrix, began deployment in Iraq in May 2005.

Apparently, this all comes about because of a policy of the Bush administration to abandon

any consideration of signing on to the Ottawa Treaty, even if amended. According to Steve

Goose, director of HRW’s arms division: ''We are beginning to see the bitter fruit of the

new Bush administration landmine policy. The US appears well on the way to resuming

production of antipersonnel mines. Renewed export and renewed use of these inhumane weapons

may not be far behind. Any future production, trade, or use of antipersonnel mines would put

the United States squarely at odds with the emerging international consensus against the

weapon, and would draw strong criticism from its closest allies.''

Right.

Mr. President, this is but one simple example of why people hate the United States. It is

your callous disregard for the lives of others, your willingness to let your young men and

women play soldier around the world, and your unremitting brutality. We all recognize that

there are those who would like to bring harm to the US, who relish the idea of killing

Americans. But in the pecking order of brutality, the United States has scaled the peaks

that other brutal people can only wistfully lust after.

The citizens of the United States must take responsibility for this. A nation which prides

itself on being constructed ‘of, by and for the people’ is entitled to all the praise for

the enormous good that it does around the world; but it also bears full responsibility for

the evil it perpetrates.

The American people have no right to abdicate responsibility for the brutality that they

market world-wide: if their government truly is ‘of, by and for’ them, then they are

directly responsible. And if it is no longer ‘of, by and for’ them, it is about time they

got their heads of the clouds and overthrew the clowns who have usurped their nation.

Until such time as the American people show themselves to be trustworthy and safe to be

near, they will have to expect that the rest of the world will view them negatively, at

best, or try to kill them, at worst. There are many in the United States who are agitating

for a revolt against the power bloc that runs the US: it’s about time they did more than

just agitate.