Southeast Asia - Image of `ugly American` grows

Category: Asia, World Affairs Topics: Foreign Policy, Iraq Views: 3012
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BANGKOK - Nearly a week into the US-led invasion of Iraq, the political landscape across Asia is opening up to a fresh round of anti-US sentiment.

Typical of the new voices enraged by Washington is a hotel owner on one of Thailand's famous resort islands. Shortly after the invasion began on March 20, the resort owner went public to register his protest - by banning all American tourists from staying at his popular hotel.

In Vietnam, the state-run news agency delivered a rare political commentary this week, declaring that Washington's Waterloo would be the political debacle in Iraq instead of its anticipated military victory there.

"With a huge war machine, the US will gain victory in military terms. However, they cannot avoid political failure," the Vietnam News Agency said. "A regime established by violence will not exist for a long time." Furthermore, it asked: "Do the 26 million Iraqi population, 60 percent of whom have been depending on the Food for Oil Program, really pose a threat of terrorism for security in the US?"

In South Korea, the government has been forced to suspend a move to curry favor with the US government of President George W Bush - sending close to 700 non-combatant troops to lend support to the US-led invasion on Iraq.

Seoul's decision on Tuesday to halt its plans stemmed from the fear of a public backlash, given the rapid rise of anti-war sentiment already fueled by restiveness over Washington's policies toward North Korea and the death two South Korean teenagers accidentally run over by US troops last year. Recent newspaper surveys put the opposition to the US-led strike on Iraq as high as 80 percent, reflecting a key change in public attitudes in a country that hosts 37,000 US troops and has for decades been one of the strongest US allies in Asia.

For the Bush administration, all of these examples add up to give legitimacy to the image of the "ugly American" that undermines Washington's efforts at public diplomacy.

Likewise, the longer it takes the US-led troops to occupy Iraq, the stronger this image is likely to be in Asia's non-Muslim-majority countries - such as Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea - as well as in the predominantly Muslim nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In fact, this Friday - a week into the war - should serve as a key pointer to the perceptions that the continent's Muslim populations have of the United States, when Muslims gather by the thousands in mosques to perform their special afternoon prayers. If last week's Friday prayers - the first after bombs from the US-led forces began exploding in Iraq - were any indicator, Washington should expect its image to get even uglier.

"An imam [prayer leader] at Jakarta's Al-Azhar mosque told his congregation on Friday that a superpower [the US] is attacking a weak country. These people will not stop waging war against Islam," wrote Chaiwat Satha-Anand, director of the Bangkok-based Peace Information Center, in Tuesday's Bangkok Post newspaper.

After the first day of the US-led onslaught on Iraq, "the headline in the popular Malay-language Utusan Malaysia read: 'America fights Islam'," added Chaiwat in his commentary.

Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world - 170.3 million out of a population of 212 million people. Malaysia has 10.8 million Muslims out of 22.2 million people. For Chaiwat, the comments and headlines in the region's Muslim community "reflect a common perception among Muslims that 'we' are abused by a mighty empire engaging in a profoundly unjust and unauthorized war".

Washington, in fact, is not helping its case by applying pressure on governments in Asia to expel Iraqi diplomats since the invasion began. Thailand and the Philippines have been among those who have obliged, asking Iraqi diplomats to leave. Not so Malaysia or Indonesia. Indonesian Vice President Hamzah Haz said the government has rejected Washington's call to close the Iraqi Embassy in Jakarta.

"The [Indonesian] government cannot possibly close the Iraqi Embassy," he was quoted as having told Antara, Indonesia's state-run news agency. "We determine what we want to do."

The pressure applied by Washington on other governments to expel Iraqi diplomats based in their countries goes against the "third-country principle in diplomatic traditions", said an Asian diplomat, who requested anonymity.

This principle recognizes that diplomatic missions serve a bilateral function between two countries and that a third country should not undermine these relations for reasons of its own national interest, which in the case of the US government is its war on Iraq.

"This is an unhealthy practice, but the sin is not new," said the diplomat. "It has happened before, when the Arab governments pressured other countries to sever ties with Israel."

But little of that matters to the growing chorus of critics of Washington's military adventure - including, by Tuesday, the Southeast Asian section of the environmental lobby Greenpeace.

"The use of 'shock and awe' tactics is illegal under international law and will inevitably result in massive civilian casualties, damage to civilian infrastructure and an environmental disaster," Greenpeace Southeast Asia declared in a statement on the US-led forces' relentless bombing of Iraq.

"This is a war crime under the terms of the Geneva Convention and International Criminal Court statutes," it added.

Source: Asia Times


  Category: Asia, World Affairs
  Topics: Foreign Policy, Iraq
Views: 3012

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Older Comments:
AZAHAY FROM INDONESIA said:
So ashamed of depleted ,Maniac , warmonger USA !!! what rule are they to using to pressure Indo-Malasie govt to close the Iraqi Diplomatic , who is the aggressor or arrogrant invaders , or victims here ??? Iraq or USA , they USA should be closed thier diplomat out of SEAsia for their carnage in Iraq and Muslims world , they USA had written this World history with Blood of Iraqi and Muslims , WE muslims will not change , Allah is our illa , when Bush are dead !! he will , that he cannot escape from , I M sure he will be balantly punished & burn for his War crime , not a single USA armies be able to help him , poor humiliated Bush , your face look darkness of hell and being curse by our prayers !!!
2003-04-09

JAMES FROM UK said:
Hey Charlie, why dont you get a rifle and go to Iraq, you .. warmonger.
Cover it up all you want, but the world has now seen what "liberation" you fascists bring to others. All based on lies about WMD, regime change...... If there is a God, rest assured your place in hell is well reserved.
2003-04-08

CHARLES TULLO FROM CANADA said:
To all you religious .. muslims:
You have heard all the arguments now. How America is evil, how morally righteous the arab governments are. It's the old "WE ARE MORE MORAL THAN YOU," routine. Let me tell ya something, until the muslim countries modernize, until they get ..out of the 10th century, they will forever be loser countries. You want to blame the USA for your problems, fine. But that's not the solution. You can whine ..like a bunch of girls, but that won't pull your countries out of poverty and decay. You are gonna have to get into the 21st century. You must democratize. You must have tolerance of religion. You must get rid of these notions of theocracies.
2003-04-08

JAMES FROM USA said:
A barrel of Pesticide is NOT mustard or nerve you lying piece of filth. Fox news huh ? You damned warmongers have destroyed American creidibility and ruined the republic.
2003-04-08

STAN FROM USA said:
Dear Mike Hale:

A trigger-happy American soldier let loose his aggression and hatred and indiscriminately fired at an entire family in a van, killing them, except for a mother , who would not leave the van, because she did not want to leave her two children, who were now dead. If I were that young, aggressive soldier, I might as well be among those dead Iraqis. At least when I am dead I will not feel anything. By then, not even my conscience will haunt me. How would you feel if, instead of Iraqis, those were Americans? And you love peace!

Saddam gassed the Kurds. It's true. But who were these Kurds? Did they live in America? Were they American citizens? What is America doing in Iraq, in the first place? It used to be Saddam rampaging and killing innocent people. Now, as evidenced by the incident above, it is the other way around. Saddam is evil. Everybody knows that. His inhumanity cannot be condoned. But should war be the solution to Saddam's atrocities? Would you beat your kid to discipline him?

You take for granted the Thais, the Malaysians, the Indonesians, the Vietnamese not welcoming Americans in their countries! For me, this is alarming. Whatever happened to American friendship and goodwill? Down the drain? You can comntinue to limit yourself to the four corners of the US. That's your choice. But remember that the US cannot afford to isolate itself from the rest of the world. There is a need for you and the others who suppport this war to reconsider your stand because it is causing America more harm than good. Wars beget hatred and aggression, as displayed by that young American soldier. If peace is the ultimate goal of this war, killing is definitely not the means to achieve it.

By the way, if international law should prevail, everybody now knows who is going to be tried for a crime against humanity. And you will not like it.
2003-04-08

MIKE HALE FROM USA said:
Sarin Gas, Mustard Gas and other Nerve Agents have now been found. So everyone now can go on to the next topic. The weapons are there in missiles. The logical conclusion for their lack of use was not a decision by Saddam. The Iraqi soldiers down the line knew they would probably kill themselves or be tried for war crimes against humanity. Chemical Alli is now a small pile of rotting flesh and the thousands of familes of Kurds he gassed now can at least have some sense of closure.
And gosh, Americans won't be welcomed in Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia or Viet Nam. Find me 10 Americans who care about that. What Americans want is peace and prosperity. And they would just as soon everyone else had the same.
Sarin Gas -- WMD

No Peace No Justice
2003-04-07

ROMELIA PALACIOS FROM USA said:
do you think the american public has been convinced of the need for this war because they have no other sources than tvs, and radio stations that are owned by people that are influenced by the government ? i just now found out that what we hear on our tv and radio stations is only a certain percent of the truth , it seems that other parts of the world other than the usa are covering this war showing both sides because all the stations are not owned and operated by just one or two people very closely tied to government officials, or are they just none caring? or both ?im very afraid that next in the governments agenda is syria and iran , or will it be n. korea? are we in the beggining of world war 3? how do we get back to globalization ? usa is boycotting france, in turn france ,germany and others are boycotting the usa , as if our economy could stand to be picky at this time,how to gain back a handle on things ? people say vote but if the votes wont be counted and someone wants the presidency bad enough then what ? we go arround in circles ,i repeat how do we get a handle on things again?
2003-04-07

ERICCO FROM USA said:
.. the extremist muslims.You hate America the only cuntry to rule under liberty and the truth Good.
2003-04-06

MOOR FROM NONE said:
Let me tell you all Muslims, If you think that American can be besieged by rationality then you are mistaken. Answer to American is a bigger gun, or at least gun with equal size. What Muslims should be doing is thinking ways to improve their countries and make them stronger. All good Muslim with money, and I am not talking about those Saudi who invest money in America, should spend their wealth in Muslim countries and help them make conventional and non-conventional weapons. Muslim with 1.5 billion in strength can leave America in their dust, in less then 10 years. If you are in a position to transfer a technology to a Muslim country you should do that. We do not even have base technology to even make composite material how we are going to make Kevlar body armor or hull of an aircraft. Invest in Muslim country, educate your children and do not forget that one day we should land on American shores not to do what they are doing in Iraq but to establish Shariah on them - if they are clear in their motives then we should be too and out goal to fight them is to establish Islam as they are fighting us to establish their version of democracy and way of life. I wish I am in the Army, which will precede from Khuraasan and which will kill these corrupt Arabs the way they have not been killed before, hope full some of these Kuwaitis - fat Rooz Bukhari eating American wanabees and corrupt Saudi Regime.
2003-04-05

KHISMAT FROM TCHAD said:
Assalamu aley kum...
Dears, Brothers and sisters Muslim...(La hawla wala khu wati ila bilah)This word is more poweful than American gun,so all of you (muslim) stand up night as day, by the name of god and faith of islam pray to our brothers and sisters Irakiens who are been chooting by (Kafirina)like a wild animals...Alla hu akbar....When you(muslim) are sure about your salat,duwa and faith...Nasur is on your side...Allahu akbar.
Wa ssalamu aley kum wa rahama tullah wa barakatu.
2003-04-05

STAN FROM USA said:
Dear Steve Cummings!

Boy! You are full of hatred. Man, this will not get you anywhere. Besides, your facts are wanting with truths. Saddam may have killed a number of innocent people, but his cruelty is directed toward the Iraqis and the neighboring countries, and certainly not towards America. And speaking of regimes, perhaps the first Gulf War would enlighten you how Saddam came to be, thanks to the US. It's true. A regime born of violence will not last. Saddam's is not an exception. He will fall. That's an admitted truth. And it is an admitted truth also that the regime that created it will not be far behind. The US unleashed its sword of Damocles over Iraq. This war, which is unprovoked, is declared by the US whose only justification is that Iraq possesses WMDs. It will be naivete to consider the firepower that is unleashing on Iraq right now are mere firecrackers and bamboo cannons. Or asshole-bombs. Let's admit it. Iraq never bullied the US. There never was an Iraqi ever linked to any terrosistic attack against the US and the Americans. Its only now. But this has yet to be proven. Being a superpower does not entitle anyone to impose upon another its rules. All nations, whether rich or poor, are sovereign. Only their own people can effect the needed changes in the restructuring of their government. Other nations may help, but only humanitarian, not firepower.

"Those who live by the sword will die BY the sword."
2003-04-05

STAN FROM USA said:
TO KEITH.

When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) declared his intention to march to Mecca to confront the Quraish, under the guidance of Allah, he directed his followers to strike only on those who oppressed and killed the Muslims causing their families to suffer. He specifically directed his followers to protect the children, the elderly, the animals, and even not to cut down trees. This war is not about Saddam but about loss of thousands of lives, mostly children and elderly. This is also about destruction of infrastructures and animals and the natural environment. These are what the protests for. Not to protect Saddam. The Muslims allowing Saddam to kill other Muslims? Is that an accusation or just an admission of ignorance and guilt about how Saddam, and his menacing ways, came to be?. Never use the name of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to justify this war. Because I am very certain that he would never have approved it, even if Saddam were the most evil of all. The Prophet would have favored diplomacy over preemption. The US, being a superpower, could have prevented this war. What is mightier than the sword other than the pen? This war will cause loss of innocent lives, including those of the Americans whose only reason to be in Iraq is they are only following orders. But following orders or not, they are in Iraq to do just one thing: kill. And those who support these American troops are supporting the idea of killing. Maybe, even murder. It is sad that what America stands for all these years have been lost in this war: human rights and freedom. It is sad that all the good thoughts America earned after 9-11 have been wasted. America used to be the friend. Now it's the enemy
2003-04-05

AYESHA FROM UK said:
(keith reply)
The Arab leaders do not do much at all. And the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) would not have committed bloodshed like the american and british govt. If the war was justified we would all be for it. Look at the case for war even the UN did not back it . Bush has no manner of speaking he lacks showing the world proof of the so called crimes he is accusing ppl of and where are saddams weapons of mass destruction. whoever controls baghdad controls the middle east. And we all know the oil is running out and econonmy is unstable 'food for oil' is bushs message. Also the only holy land allah will protect is mecca and madina ( until even that is finally destroyed ) . But I could agree with you on the sins are coming home. Muslim brothers and sisters pay heed to what is going on in the world but do not forget that we have to fulfil our obligations by praying 5 times a day etc not by debating this war of hearts and minds . Pray and allahs help will come . This is an unjust war . Both Saddam and bush are unjust in their own ways I only feel for the innocent. Peace be with you all and spend more time remembering your lord and fulfilling your duties kalima,salaah, zakat, fast, haj it will be better for you.
2003-04-05

YAHYA BERGUM FROM USA said:
I am still waiting to hear what the people of Iraq are going to say about those who opposed the invasion. Perhaps there will be "bad news" ahead for those who sought to perpetuate brutality in Iraq, depending on their intentions.

Who knows? Insha'Allah.
2003-04-05

AHMED FROM MOROCCO said:
Steve

Your article is full of complete falsehoods. Most civilain death caused in this war were at the hand of the Sadamm's agents.

Poor Iraqis.they are facing 3 enemies now.Sadam's agents,US Army and ppl like steve.You must be a clever person.what channel do you work for ? I 'd really like to watch it.
2003-04-04

STEVE CUMMINGS FROM U.S.A. said:
Your article is full of complete falsehoods. Most civilain death caused in this war were at the hand of the Sadamm's agents. Your supposition that no government born of violence can stand. You were right Sadamm is one of the most ruthless murderers of this past century. He regime has fallen for the very fact.
"Those who live by the sword will die of the Sword" - Jesus Christ
2003-04-04

KEITH FROM USA said:
Arab brothers, think of the tyranny that is Sadaam. The Prophet (PBUH) would never approve of such a man ruling a muslim land. You've done NOTHING to remove him. YOU have aloud for him to kill his own people. YOU have let other ARABS commit disapproving acts in the name of Islam. Now you object because the west has come to remove him from power. Where were all the anti-Sadamm rallies when he gassed the Kurds. Where were the anti-Sadaam rallies when he waged war against Iran a nation of ARABS. Your sins are coming home now. YOUR INDULGENCE IS GIVING WAY TO CONSEQUENCES. If Iraq is such a holy land then ALLAH would never allow it to be attacked. When ALLAH gives protection who then can harm you?
THINK ABOUT IT.
PEACE BE WITH YOU ALL.
2003-04-04

SAEED KHAN FROM USA said:
Dear Matthew...God does not beget nor was he begotten.We muslims acknowledge that Jesus(peace be unto him)is a Word and a Spirit from Almighty God.Please understand that creating is easy for God...He says "BE" and it is.
Also, begetting is an animal function, definitely not the way Almighty God creates.
2003-04-04

MOOR FROM USA said:
Jesus Christ is not Son of God; read your own bible carefully. If he is then God has sons by tons. I think American leadership should be held responsible for war crimes along with Sadaam, and her solders should be tried as war criminals. NBC recently said this war brings back the dignity to America, which it lost in Vietnam. I have news for you; they are confusing the word bully with dignity. Just because you can shoot some body 10 thousand miles away does not exactly make you brave. America can loose to any country if war is fought on equal footing, after 6 days you can distinctly see American soldiers complaining about war plan, this or that. American solders are boys with toys, if faced with half a people with little resistance they start crying, So much for bravery.
2003-04-04

HYAT FROM CANADA said:
Reading such article sickness me so that I can't even think. I keep saying why read or listen to the news? This is all political "shit" and I know nothing of politic these US Administrations and policy makers only want what's good for them and Israel. It would seem the US mission is to make Muslims extinct and the stupid Arab leaders can't see that. Why did Saudi and Kuwait and the other countries allowed the US to pressure them or coax them in allowing the US to use their land to fight their Muslim neighbor? Maybe they will be next on the chopping block. Just because the US didn't include them in that list. The Americans are polluting the area in more ways than nuclear crab I got a sick feeling while reading the part where the soldier have occupied an all girls and all boys schools near a residential. I'm sure I'm not the only person thinking this way? Child molester and pedophiles are among the soldiers. Just knowing that makes me vomit. As for the Americans and their image getting ugly they probably don't care because they always seem to come up on top of everyone. You're with us or against us, applying pressure on countries to expel Iraqi diplomats you know what they might prevail. Unless more people and countries as well the UN stand up to them. May the God they trust in see how evil they are and deal with them accordingly.
2003-04-04

YUSUF FROM AUSTRALIA said:
US Arrogance in countries in which it has bases are a further element to the Ugly American image. Troops who get away with raping local women (Japan), demand alcohol and prostitutes in a country where these things are forbidden (Saudi arabia-although the Royal Family appears to also enjoy the booze), and occupy sacred land (Pine Gap, Australia- the US Govts signalling base which monitors satellites, intercepts communications etc from around the world- may be on sacred native Aboriginal land)--of course they contribute to their own image - but their propaganda machines and powerful Govt/Military cover up these and the more important Genocidal acts they perpetrate around the world.
Yusuf
2003-04-04

MAC FROM INDIA said:
(With reference to Matthew's comment on Jesus)Jesus (peace be upon him) was a mighty Messenger of Allah(swt), and not His son. Allah(swt) created Jesus (pbuh) out of nothing just as He created Adam (pbuh).
2003-04-04

MATTHEW FROM USA said:
JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD
2003-04-03