The World Wanted Justice, Not War
In the wake of 9/11, the American people were united, we’re told. Indeed, the whole world was.
But united for what? Gallup International polled people in 37 countries, and found that the vast majority of them in the vast majority of countries wanted the American government to seek extradition and trial of the terrorists — a course of action that would have almost certainly avoided the “war on terrorism,” and its pernicious spill-over effects including refugee crises and the spread of religious hostility, extremism and violence across the globe.
On average citizens of 34 countries — mostly in Europe and Latin America — favored extradition and trial over war by more than 5-to-1: 78.4% to 14.9%. The sole exceptions, with strong majorities (over 70%) favoring a military attack were India and Israel, both engaged in decades-long failed wars against Muslim “terrorists,” and the United States, where a slight majority — 54% — favored military action, compared to 30% favoring extradition and trial, and 16% unsure.
The 46% in the USA who did not favor war had virtually no support in the corporate media. A survey conducted by Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting found 44 op-eds in the New York Times and the Washington Post favoring war in the first three weeks after 9/11, compared to just two op-eds opposed.