Condoleezza Rice is still lecturing the French for refusing to support war against Iraq. Congress is still serving “freedom” fries for lunch. Donald Rumsfeld has consigned France to the dustbin of “Old Europe.” And George W. is withholding the coveted Crawford ranch invitation from French President Jacques Chirac.
So, you’d never know that a majority of American citizens have more in common with Chirac’s view of world order than with the Bush Administration’s unilateralism. Don’t believe me? Check out an April poll by the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes. The survey found strong opposition to Bush’s “global cop” approach and overwhelming support for a multilateral US foreign policy–with a central role for the United Nations. Most striking is the degree to which the public rejects the kind of international role pushed by neocon hawks in the Pentagon and Vice President Cheney‘s office.
When asked to choose among three options to describe the role Washington should play in the world, only 12 percent favored the “preeminent” world leader position; 76 percent said “the US should do its share in efforts to solve international problems with other countries;” while 11 percent said Washington should “withdraw from most efforts to solve international problems.” With each passing day, it’s clearer that this Administration has no mandate to pursue an extremist agenda at home–or abroad?
