大象传媒

Anti-American protestors in Turkey have attacked US sailors in Istanbul. Members of a nationalist Turkish group assaulted the sailors, tried to put hoods on them and chased them down the street chanting, "Yankees go home". The group said it was protesting American "imperialism" in the region and the attack seems to have been a response to an incident in Iraq in 2003 when US troops placed hoods over the heads of Turkish special forces they were interrogating. A recent US survey showed only 19 percent of Turks had a favorable view of the United States. Similar attitudes are widespread in the Middle East, the Muslim world and in many parts of Europe. Do Americans need to do more to understand why so much of the world sees them this way? Or is American intervention a no-win story with the US damned if it intervenes and damned if it doesn't?

Photo credit: Reuters