Posted on 08/04/2005 7:05:06 AM PDT by Alex Marko
There has never been a more popular time to be anti–American. From Beijing to Berlin, from Sydney to São Paulo, America’s detractors have become legion. But not everyone has chosen to get on the anti–American bandwagon. Where—and among whom—is America still admired, and why? Meet the pro–Americans. ....But so were the reactions of many others, across Europe and around the world. Several days after September 11, I left London and returned to Poland, where I was then living. That evening I attended a concert in a provincial city. In the foyer of the symphony hall, someone had put up a large American flag and surrounded it with candles. At the start of the concert, the conductor announced that there would be a change: Instead of the planned program, the orchestra would play only Mozart’s Requiem, in honor of the 9/11 victims. These decisions were completely spontaneous and utterly apolitical: No one had reason to think that there would be even a single American in the audience. Within a few days, of course, a second reaction had set in. In London, a television studio audience attacked the former American ambassador on the air, accusing the United States of provoking international hatred and therefore bearing responsibility for the attacks. The New Statesman, an influential British left–wing magazine, ran a cover story, saying more or less the same thing. “American bond traders, you may say, are as innocent and undeserving of terror as Vietnamese or Iraqi peasants,” the editors wrote. “ yes and no.... If America seems a greedy and overweening power, that is partly because its people have willed it. They preferred George Bush to both Al Gore and Ralph Nader.” Elsewhere in Europe, then French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin had already urged the United States to be “reasonable in its response
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
The masses of people in Europe who are otherwise apolitical admire the USA and George Bush.
20 years ago American cowqboys were greatly admired by the Europeans. They were the rugged individuals who fought for liberty and self-sufficiency.
The masses of Europe will support the USA, particualrly as it becomes ever more clear that the USA were the first to recognize the true nature of the Islamofascist threat.
This is the reason why the most virulant anti-American politicians in Europe have fared the worst. While Blair has done well.
"...The masses of people in Europe who are otherwise apolitical admire the USA and George Bush. ..."
Not quite.
Need to make a delicate differential.
The Europeans in general, like the US. But they do not like Bush.
As long the US was one of the engine of the democratic development of the world, it was no problem.
But most of the Europeans don't like the single superpower configuration, a "get it alone" styile.
As the germans said regarding the Iraq conflict, the allies are not there to be told what to do, but to consult and act together.
The masses of Europa agrees with the general values what the USA represents, but not the methodes it try to impose on others.
Also, in Europe there is a dynamic connection with the arab/muslim world, and it not viewed so darkly as from the USA.
The people of the USA only know the muslims in connection the oil and 9-11 and so they draw their conclusion.
Europe builds on more than 1000 year of shared history, and judge them by that.
Tony Blair did not do well on the last election.
He lost a lot from the previous one.
He is lucky that his political opponents are absolute non-starters, so the brits had to choose between the bad and the worse.
For short: Being "anti-american" most of the times not really means that. It means mainly anti-war and anti-single-superpower.
And it is hard to deny that the war critics got it wrong completly. From a handful of die-hard AlQuaida in Afghanistan now we face few thousand battle-hardened terrorist who getting their "live" training in Iraq.
And if someone try to grill Sadddam over the Halabja attack, now he can smile back saying that it was a boys scout picnic compared to Falujah...
That was to do with annoyance with massive stealth taxes and Labour's general socialist elitism IMO. I certainly didn't vote for him :0)
Not sure I follow you here. Saddam gassed 5000+ Kurds in a single day. Iranians, Syrians and ex-Baathists have killed a equally great many innocent civilians in Iraq. America has killed a small number of innocents in unavoidable collateral damage in their extremely restrained operations. The world can believe what it wants to believe, but the truth is evident. America under Bush has done the right thing in Iraq (disclaimer: I am not American).
"The masses of Europa agrees with the general values what the USA represents, but not the methodes it try to impose on others."
...Unless it is their own narrow self-interest like imposing democracy by force on NAZI Germany or fascist Italy or opposing (by force) Russian communists or imposing values on Bosnia or Kosovo. Then it is a-OK to impose values by force.
France and Germany are not "allies", period. An ally stands by you when it's not in their immediate self interest. We stood by Britain in the Falklands (albeit not very enthusiastically) and they've stood by us repeatedly when it was unpopular. Same with Australia. They are allies.
At first it appeared France opposed removing Saddam just to spite the U.S. The bribes came to light later. Germany threw in with France and lost big-time. The US is opening bases in Poland and removing troops from Germany, an economic punch they really can't afford. These two countries, with their poodle Belgium are cast by the Left as "Europe" while Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and other European countries are ignored.
We need to adopt more quickly to the Post Cold War era. Our view is that we helped rebuild those countries after WWII and defended them against the USSR so they should be grateful and supportive of us. However, that kind of relationship over a long time breeds resentment, which has since been unleashed.
Our new policy to Western Europe should be based on the way things are today, not how they were at the end of WWII. We should support Japan and India becoming permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The next time France snubs us, we should disinter and repatriate the remains of the Americans who died liberating France. If they want to ignore the past we shouldn't cling to it. Why should a young American have to fly to France to visit her grandfather's grave? If they want the Statue of Liberty back, fine. We can create something better to replace it.
"The Europeans in general, like the US. But they do not like Bush. "
That's just B.S., Europeans don't like Americans in general because it makes them feel inferior. Bush is just an excuse.
I didn't know the Germans named a ship after Admiral Lutjens. Classy.
Feel free to come up to Canada, but STAY THE HECK OUT OF QUEBEC!!!! That is nothing but anti-American...polls there suggest less than 8% of the population is pro-American (59% in Canada as a whole)
I didn't realize we built it for them either. It's a Charles F. Adams class ship.
...America has killed a small number of innocents in unavoidable collateral damage in their extremely restrained operations....
I guess I have to take your word for that.
The Military is extremly tight lipped about Falujah and that is not meaning transparency.
Since then, Fallujah is like a prison, extremly difficult to get in ad out.
The news what come out is less than reassuring from the use of napalm to massive civilian casualties direct from the attacks or the consequences of cut off water and electricity supply which is until today are not reestablished.
.
It is instructive to go to bozot's homepage and hit "In Forum." What we have here is a whiny, mealy-mouthed Euro-troll of the type who made Michael Moore such a great success over there. In other words, you can't spell bozot without "Z-O-T."
Zot, zot, zot... thanks for the info. It confirms what was pretty apparent. Dude is spewing the general anti-American propaganda that the lefties over there (and here) love to lap up. Another useful idiot (yawn)!
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