And The Opinion Market Closed Up This Period

This is good news: [...] The percentage of people holding a favorable impression of the United States increased in Indonesia (+23 points), Lebanon (+15), Pakistan (+2) and Jordan (+16). It also went up in such non-Muslim nations as France, Germany, Russia and India. What accounts for this shift? The answer varies by country, but analysts point to waning public anger over the invasion of Iraq, gratitude for the massive U.S. tsunami relief effort and growing conviction that the U.S. is serious about promoting democracy. There is also increasing aversion to America's enemies, even in the Islamic world. The Pew poll found that "nearly three-quarters of Moroccans and roughly half of those in Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia see Islamic extremism as a threat to their countries." [...] And from the LA Times, no less. Of course, they did throw this in at the end (emphasis mine): [...] Of course, public opinion is fickle, and there is still a lot of hostility toward the U.S. out there. Even a small minority of extremists can cause mayhem similar to the London bombings. But at least there are some signs that the battle for hearts and minds in the Islamic world is far from hopeless. It is good news, though, published in Max Boot's commentary column rather than as news. We'll take what we can get. I wonder if this will appear anywhere in the NY Times, or the Washington Post? Well, will you look at this! WaPo came through! Actually, this is really, really good news. It shows that bin Laden, scum that he is, was correct when he purportedly said When the people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will support the strong horse. We are the strong horse. But there are many furlongs remaining, and the race is ours to lose. Update here: Not once in either of these articles did I see the word 'squandered'. Things are indeed looking up! Tagged as United States, Public Opinion, World Opinion, Terrorism, Islam, Islamofascist, Muslim, Osama bin Laden, LA Times, NY Times, Washington Post, MSM, Mainstream Media