Subject: Re: Numbers Game Question
Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 05:29:11 +0000


Jan Straathof wrote:

>from: : http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC06Ak02.html
>
>Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has been spinning for weeks that the
>coalition is probably the largest in the history of mankind. The Bush
>administration never released a full list of the coalition. The institute
>did: 34 nations support the US war against Iraq. There were 33 in the
>first Gulf War. As it stands, the 34 are: Albania, Armenia, Australia,
>Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic,
>Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait,
>Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Oman, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
>Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the
>United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
>
>According to the study, these 34 nations represent "only about 10 percent
>of the population of the world's 197 countries. Subtracting the estimated
>70 percent of their populations that opinion polls show are not in favor
>of war, the war supporters in the coalition of the willing countries make
>up only about 3 percent of the world's population." A UN it ain't"

Note first that the above comparison is not between the populations of 
countries that favor the war and the populations of countries that are 
against it, but between countries that favor the war and ALL THE REST of the 
countries in the world, whether or not they have expressed any official 
opinion on the war.

Secondly, note that the above list does not include the United States 
itself, and its population.

Thirdly, one of the countries that opposes US action is China, which alone 
has a population of about 1.3 billion. Now, does the stance of the Chinese 
government reflect its public opinion? Well let's think about that. What 
percentage of that 1.3 billion opposes US action? Well let's take an 
independent poll. Oh that's right, we can't, due to China's government. Well 
then, let's rely on the government's polls. Oh that's right, we can't, due 
to the government. Ok then, let's assume that most of the Chinese population 
is well informed and agrees with its government. Oh that's right, we can't 
assume that its population is independently informed, due to the state-run 
media.

So I agree - the UN it aint.

Anthony Crifasi

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