Here is a response I wrote to an article that appeared on the NPR blog Parallels.
A recent article published by Parallels “Which Nations Hate The U.S.?
Often Those Receiving U.S. Aid” referred to a Pew Research Poll that showed an
association between countries that receive aid from the United States and
anti-American sentiments. Unfortunately, this article failed to acknowledge
many of the most salient reasons for these sentiments.
In the three initial
examples of countries receiving aid (Egypt, Palestine, and, Jordan), the reason
why ordinary citizens are not in the street waving the red, white, and blue and
singing “God Bless America” is quite obvious: the aid is not going to the citizens
themselves. In the case of Egypt, most U.S. aid is going to the Egyptian
military, the primary enforcer of both the unpopular Camp David Accords and the
destructive blockade of Gaza. Palestinian aid is primary going to prop up a
corrupt and aloof Palestinian authority, while Israel, which gets much more aid
than the Palestinians, continues its violent and illegal occupation.
The article’s treatment
of Pakistan is probably the most egregious. The only reason given for why only
11 percent of Pakistanis have an unfavorable opinion of the U.S. is “friction
in recent years as the countries have been at odds over policies toward
Afghanistan.” The article makes no mention the illegal drone strikes, which
have killed hundreds of civilians.
It is reckless to ask why
countries do not love us and all the money we give them, without acknowledging
where this money is going and other factors that influence public opinion aside
from money.
