Some interesting thoughts on European anti-Americanism from an American in London, Joshua Claybourn:
I spent the afternoon today with a friend of ours from Texas who's in London on business. We had an interesting talk about the Iraq situation vis a vis the widespread British and European anti-war sentiments. It became apparent to me during our conversation that there are several things he didn't seem aware of about European perceptions and attitudes. These observations might be worth considering when discussing the issue with Brits or Europeans.
It is probably hard for people in the States to realize just how much jingoism about alleged American imperialism, blood for oil, etc. is constantly pumped out by the British and European media. It's uncanny how little dispassionate analysis and giving of a fair hearing to all sides in the debate is apparent on this issue as compared to the way debate is usually approached, at least in the UK.
With apologies to our British cousins, I'm going to lump the Brits and Continental Europeans together as "Europeans" below, for the sake of brevity. (Most Brits dislike being referred to as "Europeans." They're British, not European.):
1) Most Europeans are completely unaware of how threatened Americans feel, and they have not realized how seriously we take the viscous language of Osama bin Laden and other Wahabbists against us. They are not aware, either, of the venomous content of Islamist sermons against America that have been spewing from the mouths of imams and mullahs for years.
2) Most Europeans cannot conceive how traumatic 9/11 was to us. Many of them expected us to "get over it" by now and see us as wallowing in self-pity and prone to paranoia and childish temper tantrums now.
3) Many Europeans do not believe America is really at war. They think the phrase "War on Terrorism" is figurative language. They often even put it in quotation marks.
4) Since the end of the cold war, many Europeans seem to be in denial about the simple and, IMO, indisputable fact that America is still the leader and protector of the free world. They think they can do very well for themselves without us now. Therefore they no longer see America's interests as concomitant with their own.
5) Most Europeans are completely enamored of the UN and don't realize that many Americans disdain it as a barking dog with no teeth or the boy who cried "Wolf!" Therefore they don't see that by not following through on 1441 they are simply confirming the belief of many Americans - and beasts like Saddam - that the UN is not to be taken all that seriously.
6) Most Europeans don't know that, if America simply wanted more and cheaper oil from Iraq, we could just have the UN sanctions lifted.
7) Many Europeans are very cynical about the integrity of their own politicians and they look at our leaders through those same, jaded eyes. They don't hold their own politicians to very high moral and ethical standards so they don't seem able to believe we do. This is evident in their skepticism of Colin Powell's presentation at the UN.
Tony Blair's Labour party, for instance, is notorious for its shameless use of spin and it has little credibility with the British public these days. (They have stayed in power largely by being the lesser of two evils, the Tories being seen as even more hypocritical and corrupt.)
8) Many, if not most, Europeans believe that America is so biased in Israel's favor that the U.S. is part of the problem in the Middle East, instead of part of the solution. (Also, the European media disseminates a lot more information about the unsavory activities of the Israeli military in the disputed/occupied territories than the American media does.)
9) Many Europeans don't seem to realize how dangerous chemical and biological weapons are in the hands of men like Saddam. They don't see him as a threat to their security (or anyone else's, except maybe Israel's, whom they don't like anyway). They aren't afraid of him, so they don't want to pay the price of disarming him. They seem to think the Bush administration is simply using scare tactics to raise support for its "imperialist aggression" against Iraq. (Can you say "asleep at the wheel" boys and girls?)
10) Again projecting the cynicism they have about their own politicians onto our leaders, they don't trust Bush at all and believe he is both ignorant and unthinking. They also seem convinced that the U.S. is simply seeking to extend our hegemony in the world. (IMO, they're projecting the motives of their own imperialist histories onto us.)
Maybe all this is obvious to educated and informed Americans like yourself, but my friend found it startling to learn.
Also, I watched a lengthy debate on Channel 4 here in London tonight that put "America on Trial" (the title of the program -- Sheesh!). There were quite a few articulate Americans there, some of whom oppose the Bush doctrine of pre-emption and disarming Iraq by force, but none of the above issues were actually addressed by the President's supporters. Frustratingly, the Americans who were trying to defend the Republican position simply didn't realize how their opponents think, and therefore they failed to persuade them to support America in the war against Saddam.
joshclaybourn.com |
