American actor Danny Glover (L), and singer Harry Belafonte (R) said Bush’s admin has an agenda that does not represent the interests of the U.S. people

HAVANA, December 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Amidst polls indicating that negative views of the United States have increased in most nations over the past two years, U.S. stars Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte joined scores of actors and activists at home and millions of protesters worldwide in criticizing their country’s unjust foreign policy, speaking out against U.S. sanctions and threats of a U.S. war against Iraq.

In Havana for the 24th edition of the International Festival of New Latin American Film, the pair told reporters they were among a growing number of people in the arts who oppose war, and favor any move that leads to peace, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Belafonte, who comes to the festival regularly, said many in U.S. President George W. Bush's administration have an agenda that does not represent the interests of the U.S. people.

In Los Angeles Tuesday, December 10, about 100 U.S. television and film stars, including Matt Damon, Anjelica Huston and Martin Sheen, released a petition against a U.S. war against Iraq, saying "war talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary."

Samuel L. Jackson, Mia Farrow, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Tim Robbins and rockers REM also put their names on the list of those opposed to such a U.S. strike.

"A preemptive military invasion of Iraq will harm American national interests. Such a war will increase human suffering, arouse animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world," the petition says.

"The valid U.S. and U.N. objective of disarming Saddam Hussein can be achieved through legal diplomatic means. There is no need for war," it added.

Stars delivered the petition to the press at a Hollywood restaurant frequented by stars; on hand was Martin Sheen, who plays a fictional U.S. president on the NBC television series "The West Wing."

In Washington "they made up their minds a long time ago about going to war. [It's a] personal feud, that's part of it," said Sheen alluding to the Gulf War under then President George Bush, father of the incumbent, which did not bring down Iraqi President Sadam Hussein.

Former M.A.S.H current NBC television star Mike Farrell said, "A tendency of this administration is to imply that anyone who opposes them is somehow less loyal and patriotic. That's not right."

Meanwhile, in Washington some 300 people, rallied by a dozen Washington-area churches, gathered near the White House Tuesday to protest any eventual military action against Iraq.

"This war will be disastrous," said one of the demonstrators, Pat Elder. "Violence is not the answer to violence. Peace can only be attained through justice."

The demonstration, which marked the 54th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, later moved to the center of the capital under police surveillance.

Another protester, Washington University instructor Karen Pomeranz, criticized both Democrats and Republicans for having favored U.S. military budgets at the expense of bettering public social programs.

"It is still in the U.S. national interest to understand what others think about us," said Albright

On Thursday, December 12, a group of U.S. and Canadian women peace activists traveled from Jordan to Iraq on a solidarity trip to mark their support for an end to economic sanctions against Baghdad, reported AFP.

The five-strong group from the U.S.-based Voices in the Wilderness and Canada's Network to End the Sanctions will be joining a team from the U.S. group already in Iraq, they said in a statement.

Their visit coincides with stepped up U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq, which several international and Arab countries, including Jordan, have said must lead to an end of the 12-year crippling sanctions.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that according to a world survey, negative views of the United States are rising.  

Negative opinions of the U.S. have increased in most nations over the past two years, according to public opinion surveys in 44 countries, said the NY Times.

In keeping with sentiments aired at the United Nations and on the international stage, majorities in France, Germany and Russia opposed a fresh war on Iraq, especially a U.S. unilateral action, the Pew study of "What the World Thinks in 2002" declared.

And three-quarters of those polled in Russia and France felt that oil, rather than disarmament, was Washington's main motivation for mulling a war with Iraq.

The poll showed that the United States' allies still view it in a largely positive light but noted that even that light is losing its luster.

In Britain, Canada and Italy, at least 70 percent said they look favorably on the United States, compared with about 60 percent in France and Germany. But the U.S. image deteriorated over the past two years in the majority of those countries.

In Turkey, the number of people with a positive view of the United States was down 22 percentage points from 1999-2000, to 30 percent. And in Pakistan, the figure plunged 13 points, to 10 percent.

Some 69 percent of those polled in Egypt had an unfavorable view of the United States, while 75 percent in Jordan did.

"The most serious problem facing the U.S. abroad is its very poor public image in the Muslim world."

Majorities in almost all of the Muslim countries surveyed in the July-October poll opposed the U.S. war on terrorism, launched in response to last year's September 11 attacks on the United States.

And many people, especially in the Middle East and Europe, felt that Washington did not consider their country's particular interests when creating international policies, Pew said.

Pew warned that the issue of Iraq "threatens to further fuel anti-American sentiment."  

"We have to listen to what is coming from these countries and get a better sense of what the issues are," urged former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright, chairwoman of the Pew Global Attitudes project.

"It is still in the U.S. national interest to understand what others think about us," the Czech-born Albright stressed.

The poll showed that U.S. films, songs and television shows were widely embraced around the world, although many people had a love-hate relationship with American culture, enjoying it while expressing dissatisfaction with its encroachment on indigenous cultures.