McCain says Guantanamo has hit image of US hard

Gema Gonzalez

Sociology

article 4 week 4

09-09-06

In a recent interview, Senator John McCain was saying how Guantanamo Bay and Iraq have really damaged the American image. Of course McCain is the likely 2008 candidate for the presidential elections and is talking foreign policy and democracy. In the article, John McCain also discusses about the difficulties of spreading and establishing democracy in places like Iraq. He goes further on to say that many people like George Bush and others, himself included, underestimated that task. He claims that this more than anything has aroused more anti-American sentiment and protest abroad.



My reaction to this article would have to be that I agree with Senator McCain, but more or less on his argument of democracy and how difficult it is to establish in traditional societies like Iraq. Guantanamo Bay has hurt the U.S. image but to what extent, it is difficult to say. This is because we do not get the full story on our nightly news programs. However, the rest of the world sees pictures and hears stories that Americans do not and probably do not want to admit are true. A combination of both these issues probably has hurt American foreign policy and how other people view us. It also continues to fuel the image of Americans being arrogant and selfish which is unfortunate.



source:http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-security-guantanamo-mccain.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The New York Times, "McCain says Guantanamo has hit image of US hard." Sept. 09, 2006.