The Problem Is With Product, Not Packaging

[Quetzal]

The Problem Is With Product, Not Packaging

"America’s unwillingness to treat the Arabs as equal partners is intrinsically linked to the Arabs’ failure to establish themselves as equals. As long as Arab governments remain unable to win the trust and respect of their own people, they will always fail to redefine their relationship not only with the United States, but the world as a whole .."

By RAMZY BAROUD

The United States government persists in its disrespect for Arabs. Its frequent attempts to win their “hearts and minds”, through wars, state-of-the-art radio and TV stations and “reform” initiatives often lead to new follies, further insults.

US policymakers are failing to grasp that cluster bombs and cheap propaganda, even if combined with heart-warming photos of soldiers handing out candy to disheveled-looking Iraqi children, will change nothing. It will hardly alter the fate of one US flag on its way to being burned by angry protesters somewhere in the Middle East. Such rituals are anything but rare.

A US Congress panel, formed on June 2003, to “study the problem of America’s sinking image” concluded that US policy goes a long way toward explaining the anti-American sentiment throughout the world.

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20040319064713566