An Oasis

Why is Britain spared much of the backlash?

Opinion piece in Arab News asks why Britain is spared much of the media backlash reserved for the U.S. over the Iraq occupation.

America Is Held More Accountable puts across the view of Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi who suggests that Britain is viewed in a different light being seen as a reluctant follower into the war. Aside from the Iraq war '03 though Dr. Batarfi suggests that the U.S. pro-Israeli bias and their fear of Arab and Muslim peoples contributes significantly to the animosity.

"Besides, the Muslims and Arabs who visited Britain since Sept. 11 have not sensed much change in attitude. In a country faced with similar terrorist threats to America, the British haven’t panicked. They didn’t use harsh and indiscriminate security measures against residing and visiting Arab and Muslims. Except for tighter visa procedures, most visitors reported normal treatment officially, commercially and socially. This explains the record number of Arab visitors to Britain this summer, in contrast to a decrease in visitors to America in the region of 90 percent."

Posted by Paul at September 28, 2003 04:44 PM |