A study prepared by a panel advising the Defense Department says that Muslims do not yearn to be liberated by the United States.
Middle East Newsline, a service covering the Arab world and American policy there, reports that the Defense Science Board concludes that "Muslims in dictatorial regimes" do not have the same goals as and should not be compared to the citizens of former Soviet-bloc countries in eastern Europe.
"There is no yearning-to-be-liberated-by-the-U.S. groundswell among Muslim societies -- except to be liberated perhaps from what they see as apostate tyrannies that the U.S. so determinedly promotes and defends," the 102-page report said.
The report looks at U.S. information efforts aimed at the Muslim world and concludes that the country has failed to explain its policies.
In a report last year, the DFI took aim at the Bush administration. That study said: "Muslims do not 'hate our freedom' but rather they hate our policies." The report singled out U.S. support of Israel, the invasion of Iraq and backing of repressive regimes as sources of anti-Americanism.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
