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Bush’s “war on terrorism” rhetoric has lost its appeal
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PARIS, September 2 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) -
There was a global outpouring of sympathy for the United States
after the September 11 attacks, but today, a year later, what is left is
disillusion and dissatisfaction with the foreign policies of the
world’s number one super power, a U.S. newspaper reported Monday,
September 2.
In an extensive report reviewing the U.S. foreign policies during the
past year and how it affected its foes and allies, the Los Angeles
times said that for the first few months that followed the
attacks, there was an international support for the U.S. “war on
terrorism”. Many countries felt that it did the world a service by
toppling the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the paper said.
This, the Times said, led to international transformation
in terms of the U.S. relationships with other countries, such as the
U.S.-Russian partnership for instance. “The realpolitik of the war on
terrorism created instant winners (Israel), forlorn losers (Latin
America) and unlikely allies (Pakistan),” the paper said.
U.S-Russian relations after September 11 was remarkable, according to the
paper, with the first world leader to call Bush with condolences being
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After that, Putin embraced the war on terrorism. His acceptance of U.S.
troops on former Soviet soil in Uzbekistan and other parts of Central
Asia was an enormous geopolitical shift, said the Times.
Today however, the post-September 11 period of international solidarity
appears to have dissipated, an there’s a mere pause in a steady rise
of disillusionment with the world's only remaining superpower, according
to interviews conducted by Times correspondents around the
world.
“With a few important exceptions, foreign leaders and voters say the
U.S. may have missed a historic opportunity to forge a broad
international coalition and revamp its increasingly negative image,”
the paper said, adding that today, critics accuse the U.S. of aggressive
unilateralism.
If the U.S. marches alone against Iraq, it might find itself with fewer
friends than in a long time, said the Times.
However, there are several American allies in the world and perhaps the
staunchest friend of America – Israel – who are under the illusion
that they too are fighting a war on terrorism. “Israelis also see
themselves fighting a war on terrorism, even if Palestinians and some
Israeli dissenters say the analogy is flawed,” the paper said.
In the Arab world, there is a pervasive feeling of distrust of the Unite
States as many don’t believe that Osama bin Laden was behind the
September 11 attacks, said the paper, and that America’s war on
terrorism is a part of a broad Zionist conspiracy.
“Though many Arabs were upset by the number of civilian casualties in
the attacks, there is a widespread belief that the U.S. had it coming
and that a chastened America would evaluate its Middle East policy,”
said the Times.
In addition, many Arabs also believe that Israel now acts with impunity,
the paper added.
Even states that could be considered as American friends, such as South
Korea, have also witnessed the rise of Anti-American sentiments. And in
Europe, governments worry that the U.S. will isolate itself by ignoring
them, the paper said.
Despite
the debate, complaints and worries, the aftermath of September 11 pushed
European politics decidedly to the right during the last year. European
governments, and many others, recognize the stark realities produced by
unmatched U.S. military might, whether they like it or not.
However, said the
Times, America-bashing must be taken
into consideration with a pinch of salt, since “it seems almost
ritualistic to blow off steam with rhetoric while quietly cooperating
with and benefiting from U.S. policies.”
