Wednesday 19 March 2003

U.S.'S Image Fast Eroding With War Plans

As if Dubya cares.....

In Preparing for War Against Iraq, America'S Image Is Fast Eroding As the U.S. Throws Around Its Weight

Dan Vlasin, a 23-year-old teacher in Romania, has no doubts that the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein. But he's just as certain that America doesn't have the right to overthrow the Iraqi leader.

"America is acting as if it were God," says Vlasin, from the city of Cluj in Transylvania. "Saddam Hussein is a paid assassin, but it's up to the Iraqi people to get rid of him."

Donna Wright, a massage therapist in London, is sensing more anti-American feeling these days. "I'm not anti-American people, I'm anti-American administration," she says. "I don't agree with what they're doing."

Both Romania and of course Britain, America's staunchest ally, support a U.S.-led war against Iraq. Vlasin and Wright disagree with their governments, and they're not alone.

From a legal consultant in Rome to a housewife in Hungary to a businessman in Madrid, the message is the same: The image of America is fast eroding, and people are concerned about the way the world's lone superpower is throwing around its weight.

A poll released Tuesday shows that U.S. favorability ratings have plummeted in the past six months, both in countries that oppose war and countries that support it.

Full story...