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2009-01-13 09:32:19
By Kim Ghattas
BBC News, Washington
A lot has been written about George W Bush's unpopularity around the globe -
but what about those places where the outgoing president was popular?
As he leaves office with a record high domestic disapproval rate - 73%,
according to an October ABC News/Washington Post poll - President George W Bush
can perhaps take some comfort from the fact that this feeling is not uniformly
shared abroad.
While the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq may come to symbolise the world's
opinion of a president who is often referred to as the worst in America's
history, some corners of the world will miss the 43rd president of the United
States.
He has approval ratings of around 80% in Africa, according to some polls, and
in Kosovo a main street was named after him to thank him for supporting
Kosovo's independence.
"It is generally accepted in the US that Bush has generated hatred for America
around the world," says Peter Berkowitz, a fellow at the conservative Hoover
Institution.
"But the picture is not black and white," he added.
Israeli ties
In the last days of his administration, Mr Bush again demonstrated his
unwavering support for Israel as it pounded Gaza.
Analysts in the US observed that Israel may have deliberately timed the
military offensive so that it took place before Mr Bush's departure.
Israel knew it could count on the current president to support its actions, but
felt less certain about how an Obama administration would react.
US ties with Israel have always been strong, but some believe the relationship
was even stronger under Mr Bush and that - depending on how Mr Obama handles
the Middle East - the outgoing president may be appreciated even more in Israel
once he has left the White House.
"Israel is probably the only place on earth where Bush can still get a standing
ovation," says Mr Berkowitz, who was in Israel at the time of Mr Bush's visit
in May for the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation, when he got several
standing ovations.
"Israel sensed correctly that he acutely understood the challenges they faced.
But my view is also that he understood the suffering and challenges of the
Palestinians. He was after all the first American president who called for the
creation of a Palestinian state."
It is unlikely, however, that many Palestinians will remember Mr Bush for that
particular call - especially now that their final image of the Bush
administration will be shaped by the latest Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Bitter disappointment
Just north of Israel and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon is one country
where there is still some lingering appreciation for Mr Bush in some circles,
albeit laced with disappointment.
The administration's support for Lebanon's pro-Western factions in the turmoil
following the 2005 assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was
received with gratitude and relief.
What was known in Washington as the "Cedar Revolution" - and to Lebanese as the
"Independence Intifada" - was held up by Mr Bush as a successful result of his
"freedom agenda".
Liberal, anti-Syrian and pro-Western politicians swept to victory in the
legislative elections that followed and formed a government for the first time
in three decades.
But bitter disappointment came in the summer of 2006, when Israel and Lebanon's
Hezbollah militants engaged in a fierce war. Civilians were dying in large
numbers, but for days Washington withheld from calling for a ceasefire.
Happy crowds
Africa as a continent stands out as the main region in the world where Bush is
most likely to be missed and where widespread support for the 62-year-old Texan
mystified his critics.
When he visited the continent in February, he was greeted everywhere by
excited, happy crowds.
Pew foundation polls suggested that he had approval ratings of up to 80%, even
in countries with a dominantly Muslim population.
In Darfur, many people reportedly name their newborn children George Bush.
"While Bush's critics have given him little credit for his African initiatives,
they will be among his most enduring legacies in a region of the world
neglected by policymakers from both parties for too long," wrote Andrew
Natsios, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, in an article in the Boston Globe
last year.
It helps that America is not fighting any wars in Africa, as it is in the
Middle East or Central Asia.
So in Africa, Bush would be remembered for "playing a central role as
peacemaker in ending a 20-year civil war between the Arab north and African
south," wrote Mr Natsios.
"It was the Bush administration that first raised the alarm about the
atrocities in Darfur, organised a massive humanitarian relief effort to save
people in the displaced camps, and rallied an international coalition to send
peacekeeping troops to restore order through the United Nations and the African
Union," he added.
When Mr Bush arrived in Tanzania in February, President Jakaya Kikwete poured
praise on him.
"Different people may have different views about you and your administration
and your legacy," he said.
"But we in Tanzania, if we are to speak for ourselves and for Africa, we know
for sure that you, Mr President, and your administration have been good friends
of our country and have been good friends of Africa."
Missed by enemies
What has really boosted Mr Bush's popularity there has been his decision to
increase aid to Africa and the economic and health programmes he supported in
the continent.
Overall, foreign aid doubled during the Bush administration, and in Africa it
quadrupled from $1.3bn in 2001 to $5bn in 2008.
Additional billions of dollars were allocated to support his programmes to
fight malaria and HIV/Aids and to reward good governance, programmes which have
been viewed as a great success.
Kori Schake, a member of the National Security Council during Mr Bush's first
term, says a number of other countries around the world may miss President
Bush, from those that were hoping to sign free trade agreements with
Washington, like Colombia, to rising powers like India which signed a
controversial nuclear co-operation deal with Washington outside the
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Former Soviet republics like Ukraine and Georgia, which were hoping to join
Nato or at least make good progress along that path, may also lament the end of
the Bush administration.
But it may well be that whether Mr Bush is missed or not will depend on what
Barack Obama does as president.
Finally, in their own way, leaders like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Cuba's Fidel
Castro and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may come to miss the man they loved to
hate when they have to start dealing with his successor, the man that the world
loves to love.