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"Why do they hate us?"

That was a question asked predominantly by left-wing Liberal pundits after the horrendous attacks of 9/11.

For those who don't like America, there's always something not to like.

Unfortunately, that company includes far too many Americans as well.

We had slavery and Jim Crow.

We're either a nation of greedy materialists, sick sexual drug-addled perverts or fire-eyed Fundie zealots, depending on whom you ask.

We've interfered in the politics and subversion of other nations like Cuba, Chile, Argentina and Iran.

We continue to support Israel over the Palestinians. A big one.

Now a PEW global survey adds a few more modern specifics to the long laundry list of why the rest of the world doesn't like us.

And my retort as to how they can all get stuffed.

Here are some key excerpts, with commentary, from the International Herald Tribune article on the PEW Global Attitudes Project Survey:

On the one hand, the image of the United States has improved slightly in many countries over the past year. On the other, the new optimism appears to be driven largely by the fact that Bush will soon be leaving office.

In addition, while the prospect of Bush's departure and the excitement of the U.S. primary contest have helped the image of the United States, a worldwide surge in concern about slumping economic conditions and a widespread view that the U.S. economy is harming local economies may tarnish it.

Survey respondents also tend to see the United States as the main offender in global warming, Pew said.

"There has been no sea change in world views of the United States," Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, said of the results, which were issued Thursday.

"Europeans are still much more negative than they were at the beginning of the decade, and highly negative views prevail in the Muslim world. But there are some indications that the world sees the possibility of change with the prospect of a new president."

First, let's address the alleged Global Warming issue, where the United States is seen as the main offender.

There is no question the United States pollutes, as all nations do. But the US has done much in the past 20 years to resolve the worst of our problems. Anyone living in LA can tell you that. And we're working hard to develop new technologies to reduce it even further.

Seen the pollution in China or India by comparison lately?

What US cities even come close?

And when have Olympic marathon runners ever had to worry about air quality as a factor in American-based Olympics, or withdraw because of it?

That didn't even happen in smog-bound LA in 1984.

Justified hate, or just hate?

As to Europeans having a negative view of the United States, when was that not ever the case? They demonstrated in the millions during the Reagan era over the Minuteman ICBMs and screamed for a nuclear freeze, but it was exactly that arms race that sank the Soviet Union, brought down the Berlin Wall and freed Eastern Europe from the oppressive yoke of Stalinist Communism that held them in a murderous stranglehold for decades.

Who was wrong and who was right?

And who intervened when genocide was taking place in Yugoslavia when the rest of Europe, as is their historical wont, merely stood by and did nothing as it all went down?

Was it Americans who set fire to 300 French cities and towns in 2005?

Here's some more juicy commentary from our EU allies:

Bush might take some comfort in the finding that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of Russia is also unpopular in many countries. Only in Russia itself does a majority (83 percent) trust him to do the right thing in world affairs. Yet in every surveyed country in Europe except Poland, more people express confidence in Putin than in Bush.

You got all that?

The Europeans express more confidence in Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, in a very shady regime that is suspected in fixing elections, numerous suspicious deaths (particularly of journalists) and of hoarding billions of the Russian peoples' money for himself, than of President Bush, who can't even get a bill passed, or get Michael Moore to shut up.

Then again, Europeans have always loved strongmen, especially the whole sitting down and sipping tea with them thing.

That's why we had to go there in force.

Twice.

Another curious and puzzling entry as to why we're not liked very much:

And in 21 countries, majorities or pluralities want the United States and NATO to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan "as soon as possible," Pew reported.

The only survey countries where the public leans toward keeping troops in Afghanistan until the situation has stabilized are Australia, Britain and the United States, which have forces in the country.

Iraq I can understand. But Afghanistan?

What are we supposed to do, abandon that fledgling democratic nation to the mercy of Taliban and Al Qaeda forces so it can become an Islamist terrorist hellhole again, and wait for the next wave of commandeered airliners to hit us?

How many jihadis do you think would pour in from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other nations to once again create the 'Islamic Paradise' that Afghanistan was in their minds?

Who's not being very intelligent here?

We, the Brits and the Aussies?

Or the rest of the world?

Speaking of which, not much love for us among Muslim nations. What else is new?

Simply put, America's image in much of the Muslim world remains abysmal. Iraq, the war on terrorism, American support for Israel and other key features of U.S. foreign policy continue to generate animosity in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.

In many nations considered central to the war on terror, the general public deeply distrusts the United States. Even in countries like Kuwait that have long been considered relatively pro-American, the U.S. image has declined.

Let's take a close look at the Palestinian-Israeli issue as of today.

We can start with a Drudge news item from yesterday, which reported on an unrelenting barrage of rockets, mortars and suicide bombers. You can read the dismal news for yourself:

Under cover of a barrage of more than 50 missiles, mortars and rocket, Hamas made three attempts to breach the Gaza border fence for major suicide bombings, the last one late Thursday, June 12.

They sent a bulldozer to ram Netiv Ha’asara, a bomb car to crash the border fence and gunmen on foot to blow up the Erez crossing. Israel ground and air units foiled them all.

Israeli locations from Ashkelon in the north down to Shear Hanegev, Kibbutz Nir Oz and Sderot were struck by 20 missiles, one Grad rocket and more than 35 mortar shells.

A woman was injured at Kibbutz Yad Mordecai. Sirens warned people under attack to stay in indoors, as fires blazed and explosions erupted - one close to the Barzilai regional hospital in Ashkelon.

The first Hamas attempt to blow up Israeli military guard posts at the Erez crossing was mounted early Thursday as the Israeli defense ministry’s political coordinator Amos Gilead traveled to Cairo to hand over Israel’s acceptance of the Egyptian formula for a truce in Gaza.

Last I recalled, the only occupiers of Gaza today are Hamas terrorists, who took over in a bloody civil war and coup after the territory was turned over in 2005. Since then, Israel has seen an increase of thousands of rockets and mortars pour into the south from Hamas-controlled Gaza.

This is land for peace?

Sounds more like Hitler's idea of it: Lebensraum.

Who's the problem here again?

Oh yeah, that's right. The Israelis.

And us.

So much for world opinion.

And I have a real bone to pick with Kuwait.

After 9/11, 35% of Kuwaitis stated in polls that the attacks were justified. This from a nation we led a coalition to save from the rape and pillage being perpetrated by Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi Army not ten years earlier.

We even stepped aside so Arab and Muslim armies were the first to enter Kuwait City.

And despite massive world opinion against the Iraq War, Kuwaitis can now sleep in peace knowing that Saddam Hussein's Iraq is one country they don't have to worry about invading them anymore.

And we're the bad guys to Kuwaitis?

So much so that 35% of them thought the incineration of 3000 civilians and two of our most treasured landmarks on 9/11 was justified?

Here's some wonderful news on our wonderful friends the Kuwaitis from the US Treasury, dated today.

Reminds me of the tale of the frog and the scorpion.

With friends like these, who needs enemas?

Am I generalizing, perhaps unfairly? You bet.

But isn't that exactly what many in the rest of the world in great numbers are doing regarding us?

It is my right as an American to take offense at their offense, and offend in kind.

Like General George S. Patton once said, "I'm no diplomat."

But you know what? If General Patton was sitting down with Hitler at Munich in 1938 instead of Neville Chamberlain and the French, World War II would have never happened.

Before Pakistan condemns us, maybe they should clean out the terrorist rats' nest in Northern Waziristan so we CAN leave Afghanistan to the Afghanis.

Before their beloved Barack Obama invades to do it for them.

Might make them like us even less.

Such is the lot of the world's garbagemen, no matter who's running the company..

Before Kuwait supports terrorist attacks against us, maybe they should look past their unjustified hate of America and reflect on the fact that they are free of Saddam's armies, and all that entails, because of the coalition we assembled to free them.

Call me an Ugly American, but considering how much we have sacrificed in blood and treasure for the cause of liberty in Europe (and much of the rest of the world), and how much aid and help we contribute to natural disasters around the world, how greatly we have struggled to bring peace to the Middle East only to be rebuffed time and time again (as at Oslo and Wye) or rewarded with Intifadah, and how little gratitude or recognition we receive in return for any of it, the rest of the world can kiss my big fat white American butt.

Are we perfect?

Not hardly.

We have all kinds of faults, of which the rest of the perfect world is constantly reminding us.

Yet I too see many imperfections and flaws in this world, and they are not all in America.

Not by a long shot.

In the end, however, they are free to disagree with America, as I am free to be disagreeable with them.

That is the AMERICAN way.

Try that in Iran, Sudan or Saudi Arabia sometime.

Or even Kuwait.

It's funny how much the rest of the world hates us, until the crapola hits the fan and we have to step in to help.

And then they hate us even more.

No good deed goes unpunished.

Like I said.

World, get stuffed.

We have World B. Free.

Now waiting for the world opinion surveys on Sudan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, China, Russia and all the other lovely idyllic countries that are so much better than us.

Not holding my breath.

'nuff said.