United States Late to Recognize Brutal Dictators, Regimes, Says Author of New Book, 'Our Enemies and Us'.

Byline: University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla., April 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- The American public's image of bad guys around the world is shaped by the nature of America's diplomatic relations with these folks far more than by their evil deeds, says a University of Florida researcher and author of a new book.

As a result, Americans once harbored some goodwill toward Iraq and Saudi Arabia just as it had positive feelings toward Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in an earlier era, said Ido Oren, a UF political scientist and author of the book "Our Enemies and Us" (Cornell University Press).

"Look at how our image of Saudi Arabia has changed since 9-11," Oren said. "Were women not ill-treated in Saudi Arabia before …