Los Angeles Times Tuesday 15 August 2006
No, it’s not our freedoms. Anti-Americanism isn’t going away until the US puts some fairness in its foreign policy.
America’s moral standing in the world has precipitously declined since 2001. For starters, blame the Bush administration’s go-it-alone tough talk after 9/11, contempt for the Kyoto accord, war and then chaos in Iraq, secret prisons in Europe and alleged use of torture at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Democrats would have you believe that a new team – theirs – in Washington would change all this. Not so fast.
Around the world, anti-Americanism is not simply the result of anger about President Bush’s foreign policies. Rather, it is deeply entrenched antipathy accumulated over decades. It may take generations to undo.
Consider the causes:
Nevertheless, the ideal of the United States as a beacon of justice, democracy, freedom and human rights still garners grudging respect abroad. Despite the perverse appeal of anti-Americanism, its proliferation hurts not only the U.S. but global security. For all the resentments that U.S. leadership generates, in the absence of an appealing alternative, it remains a much-desired resource. That’s why the U.S. could still get its global groove back.
But there is no quick fix. Liberals tempted to out-Bush Bush in the battle against terrorism risk sowing the seeds of a future backlash in the developing world. The U.S. will be no less powerful in the eyes of powerless nations if Democrats win control of Congress in November. Harsh global competition isn’t going away either. As a result, the wellsprings of anti-Americanism will not dry up anytime soon.
But anti-Americanism will begin to ebb if the new watchwords of U.S. policy and conduct are pragmatism, generosity, modesty, discretion, cooperation, empathy, fairness, manners and lawfulness. This softer lexicon should not be construed as a refutation of the use of force against hostile states or terrorist groups. Rather, a foreign policy that deploys U.S. power with some consideration for how the U.S. is perceived will gradually make legitimate U.S. military action more acceptable abroad.
Personalities do matter. And not just the president’s. The global initiatives of private American citizens – Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Gordon Moore, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg – carry the kind of message that government-sponsored public diplomacy can’t match.
And symbols matter too. We should close Guantanamo.
Recovering our global standing will come not only from how we fight or prevent the next war, or manage an increasingly chaotic world. Domestic policy must change as well. Steering the body politic out of its insular mood, reducing social and economic inequalities, and decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels will help improve our moral standing and our security.
Julia E. Sweig is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her most recent book is Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century.
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