I second this. There’s a difference between having a runny croque-monsieur thrown at you by a snotty Parisian waiter and the Gaulois running through the streets in orgiastic schadenfreude. The majority of French people whom I know at least pretend to like the United States, and the ones who take issue with our culture don’t exactly gloat over the slaughter of innocent civilians in terrorist acts that have consequences for almost every country on Earth.
Thank you all for the updates about the reactions around the world. It’s one thing to hear it in the news, and another thing to hear it from you guys. I also appreciate the sympathies and condolences. It means a lot to me (and I’m sure it means a lot to the other American Dopers) that your thoughts and prayers are with us.
Thanks to all of you.
The reaction is just incredible disbelief, outrage and sorrow. Then anger. Textbook grief, really.
That’s from the media, and from individuals. No-one here (Sydney, Australia) that I’ve seen today has been any different, even among those who often disagree with American attitudes.
I cannot express my sorrow for this attack on your people deeply enough.
I want to add my thanks to the others. May this be the straw that broke the camels back. Let us hope the good people of the world reach out and squash not only the animals that did this…but the ones that do it all over the world.
I am reminded of a quote…
I am afraid we have awoken a sleeping giant
The giant being the all the good people of the world.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/09/11/trade.centre.reaction/
A summary of reactions worldwide.
Disbelief here in Japan.
I just wanted add that I saw footage of Palestinians dancing in the streets and celebrating. There were little kids in these crowds that they showed, and I just about threw up. I wonder if those kids realize that they are celebrating thousands of deaths. How could anyone be throwing candy around after an event like this? Even for my worst enemy, I would cry.
My friends in Brazil have told me tonight that all of the people there are very shocked, extremely saddened and fearful for the world, and what might happen next – hell; what might happen tomorrow.
There are many Brazilian nationals in NYC, as a lot of you probably know, so this has them particularly concerned.
Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has addressed his nation at least once, and has contacted President Bush with his sympathies and offers to help however possible.
I have heard from Bush, Blair, and others, but nothing from Jean Chretien in the US media. Does anyone have his comments handy?
Another Australian here. I’ve been at University and everybody has been talking about it. Everyone is absolutely stunned and most people sat up watching it on television last night. I know several people with relatives or friends who worked in the WTC and they’re absolutely terrified. There has also been some talk about how the tragedy will affect the economy, petrol prices, the stock market, etc.
I think our Prime Minister has offered Australian support for any military action that the US might take. Thankfully there hasn’t been any anti-Arab backlash … mainly people are completely and utterly shocked that this could happen to America, of all places.
I think the Reverend and Spiny Norman said it all really!
The people here in Germany are deeply shocked.
The TV showed nothing else and one of the German music channels (VIVA) even shut down their program comletely yesterday.
And a lot of people here a very scared of the possible consequences.
It’s like Weirddave said: it’s war!! And yes: I’m afraid of that! This war will not only afflict the US - it will afflict the whole world!!!
in taiwan, everyone i know has friends or relatives in america, and everyone’s shocked and worried. even people who have absolutely no connection to america are offering condolences to those who do. everyone agrees that the terrorists have done a horrific thing, and some are afraid that this will start a world war. 
There were wholesale changes to TV schedules last evening. The main BBC channel showed maybe two or three programmes they normally would have, but the rest of the evening was devoted to the terrorist attack. The main commercial channel took a similar approach.
I have 3 morning newspapers here in front of me. The Times has 36 pages of coverage including story, pictures, comment, analysis, consequences, editorial, letters and business news. This is 36 pages out of a total of 80 pages.
BBC News 24 has been on our television since 9.30 US Eastern Standard Time yesterday and is talking about nothing else.
I think you’ll find that the reaction is pretty much universal disgust, outrage and sorrow in all democracies around the world.
This is not just an attack on the US. This is an attack on civilization.
And at a time like this, the fact that the dead happen to have a different passport to us is irrelevant. Personally, I keep tearing up every time I think of the horror.
More directly, this is not just a tragedy for the US. Many of us have friends, even family that work and live in New York. Many of us work for companies that have offices in the WTC. As well as sympathy and condolence, there is also personal grief.
Other countries? Hell - I probably live closer to New York than a Los Angelean does.
pan
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/09/12/mideast.reaction/
I was most surprised by the statement from Libya:
Qaddaffi has been acting most reasonably (at least in the press) lately.
When I heard the news yesterday, I relayed the information to all my colleagues. All work was dropped immediately and the sentiment was the same everywhere: shock, disgust, anger. Everyone stayed tuned to the radio and web to hear the latest information. We followed closely when the second plane hit the towers and when they collapsed, and no one could believe it.
I went home early to watch the news and almost every channel save two or three had footage of the attack non stop.
I think our prime minister voiced the general feeling of the Dutch very well: shock, horror and sympathy, but also a desperate hope that the US can react to this attack in a rational way and that it wouldn’t escalate unnecessarily. This morning on the radio I heard that 75% of the Dutch population fear that this means war. I agree with that sentiment and I hope by God that this attack was a result of a domestic terrorist organisation, because I don’t want to think about what would happen if the alternative is true.
Agreeing with Pyrrho… with a few additions:
Last night the Korean news channels were full of wild stories for a while (I’m going on second-hand info. here as I was watching the US Armer Forces network… my friend is Korean-American and speaks Korean fluently, so he was flipping back and forth from US TV to Korean TV.), on newscaster said that there had been 12 planes hijacked and diverted to attack various places, don’t know where they got that from…
I went to teach this morning (didn’t want to, at all… I’ve been holding back tears all day!), and my students were very concerned. For me, and about the world situation… they asked if my family was OK (They are… but I have a friend who (maybe… I can’t remember exactly what he told me, dammit!) sometimes works in the WTC… I’m waiting to hear from him…
I told them that I did not want to talk about it, as I didn’t want to sob in front of my students, so we moved on, and I taught… maybe next week we’ll talk about it…
I DID see, written in Korean, on a message board in the lobby of the Humanities Building, this: “America is exploding!?” Not sure what to make of that…
Dear God.
Ireland in shock. No words can discribe this.
India is in shock. i am in shock. news of ppl dancing in the streets sickens me and anyone from a civilized world.
this is an attack on freedom worldwide, not only on America.
Still shock, tempered by sadness. The consequences of yesterday’s awful events reach around the world and our thoughts go out to our American friends as the rescue effort and clean-up begins.
The BBC has a page of official reactions from around the world. There is also a page to watch the videos of the statements of leaders from around the world, including Tony Blair’s pledge of support to the US to help “eradicate this evil”.
On a personal note, I’m relieved all our dopers are safe and my heart goes out to those who have lost friends or loved ones. The sheer scale of the tradgedy is difficult to get my head round. I wish I could do more.