Question

In foreign policy, presidents tend to take one of two approaches to engagement with other countries. Generally, a foreign policy decision is either a multilateral decision, secured by the agreement of multiple allies before being implemented, or a unilateral decision, made by the country in question without regard for garnering support from allies.
Read this article(http://worldpublicopinion.net/british-and-canadians-criticize-leaders-for-following-u-s-lead/) about declining world support for Bush's policies in Iraq. Drawing on what you have learned in this lesson, speculate on why international support dropped so much in the second term of Bush's presidency.

Answer 1

Answers will vary, but should note that:

Bush entered into the Iraq War with very little international support; in fact, he did so against the objections of the U.N. and several allies.

The main argument for going to war with Iraq—preemptive capture of weapons of mass destruction—proved to be based on false or dubious evidence.

Episodes of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay shocked the world and tarnished the United States' image.

Many countries viewed the United States' continued (and increasing) presence in Iraq as causing more conflict in the region than helping.

Answer 2

international support dropped so much in the second term of Bush's presidency because voters in most of the United States’ allies were opposed to Bush’s policies in the Middle East. This resulted in a drop in the popularity of leaders that were supporting Bush. In response to voters’ demands, most leaders withdrew their support of Bush’s policies.