The Hindu : International : Doubts over Bush's bid for democracy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005

International

International

Doubts over Bush's bid for democracy

WASHINGTON, FEB. 22. The U.S. President, George W. Bush, is calling on European leaders to support his campaign to spread democracy abroad at a time people in many of those countries have doubts whether that should be the U.S. role in the world, Associated Press polling found.

A majority of people in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain said they thought it should not be the U.S. role to spread democracy, according to AP-Ipsos polls. A majority of those living in Canada, Mexico and South Korea also disagreed with that role. Mr. Bush is on a five-day fence-mending trip to Europe after tensions were raised there by the war in Iraq. In a speech on Monday in Brussels, Belgium, he promoted democracy as the path forward for a host of countries, from Saudi Arabia to Iran and Syria, and urged European leaders to move beyond the rift over Iraq and join his pro-liberty campaign.

Yet the public skepticism reflected in a new AP-Ipsos poll in Europe indicates Mr. Bush faces plenty of work on that front — a development that analysts of international relations suggested was not surprising.

``There's still wariness and resentment of the U.S. in general,'' said Michael Mandelbaum, a professor of European studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. — AP

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Doubts over Bush's bid for democracy