I'd like to believe that the invasion of Iraq really has resulted in an upsurge of democratic (or at least populist) sentiment in Arab countries. That would be a very good thing. Also good would be if the U.S. were perceived as a friend of democratic regimes generally. I have a hard time believing it, though.
It seems to me that Arab (and worldwide) opinion of U.S. foreign policy is much as it always has been:
"The Americans are crazy. There is no accounting for them or predicting what they will do next. They may support a tyrant for twenty years and then suddenly turn on him. They may do the same to an elected government. They may bomb your cities into ruins and then build you up again, or they may suddenly cut you off from trade and keep you cut off for decades. They may forgive or even forget the most appalling atrocities, or they may conceive a grudge against you for nothing at all.
"Their rhetoric rarely matches their deeds. They talk a good game of democracy and human rights, but they may say those things while funding coups, terrorist groups, death squads.
"Take what you can get from them when they are being friendly, but don't expect them to stay friendly. And above all, don't ever try to predict what they will do next."
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