The US govt. continues its campaign to alienate everyone

http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,905899,00.html

Scroll to the bottom.

“The fact is, this sort of thing goes with the territory. You’d have to be very naive to be surprised.” Or as another diplomat put it when asked the same question in a phone interview, “Let’s ask the guy who’s listening to us.”

heh.

Damn Americans. I hate those bastards.

The point is not to get caught. Getting caught makes you look incompetent and makes your government look like desperate bastards who have to resort to spying on allies in order to know how they are likely to react.

By the way, since I hadn’t heard about the Japanese sentiment on war with Iraq, here’s a link for others who are interested and hadn’t yet heard:

80% of Japanese oppose the US plan to attack.

The fact that in one year Bush’s administration has destroyed 50 years of good faith in Europe AND all the pro-American fervor after 9/11 is just appaling. I am not saying I am against war in Iraq but did we have to act like a 900 lb gorilla in the process and make everyone feel like gum we were scraping off the bottom of our shoes in the process? :evil:

People who think that America’s habitual alienation of Europe is a post-Bush development obviously never talked to a European before Bush was elected. I remember during my first trip abroad adopted a “No America” policy in talking with anyone from outside of the US, because everytime America came up, friendly conversations would degenerate into them spitting out curses and getting violently angry about “the evil of the American empire”. They all virulently hated “America” and both its domestic and foreign policy, and it was far safer to stay clear of the topic with almost anyone. And this was all during the Clinton administration, a period where the American government spent more effort than ever before trying to garner the support and approval of foreign countries, especially Europe. And to be honest, living abroad now, I don’t think it is any worse now than it was in 1998, simply more vocal.

Let’s also not forget that Al Qaeda’s terrorist operations steadily ramped up through the 1990’s - again, during the Clinton administration, when there was a greater interest than ever in internationalism and the White House was actively involved in trying to broker Middle East Peace Deals like the Oslo Accord. If you think September 11th happened because of Bush, think again: if Osama bin Ladin had his way, it would have happened during the Clinton administration.

I’m not trying to pin this all on Clinton or anything, just saying that terrorism and anti-Americanism is in no way the reaction of an enlightened, more-moral-than-thou world to America voting Son of Satan into office.

Speaking of anti-Americanism in Europe, the New Yorker has a cool article online about how Europe has never trusted or particularly liked us.

Oh, and in response to the statistic concerning 80 percent of Japanese being against war in Iraq: is the opinion of a country full of vending-machine-panty-sniffers somehow supposed to take precedent over the statistic that says that 80 percent of all Iraqis are basically creaming themselves waiting for us to save them?

Given that your conversations with other Americans “degenerate into spitting out curses and getting violently angry,” I somehow find your anecdotal experience less than helpful as a neutral gauge of world opinion on America.

Oh is that how it works? I’m sure that’s what you meant when you posted that link. And what the Observer meant, even though they didn’t say it.

Fuck Europe. They may not like us but they need us. I for one think it’s weird that they spend so much time thinking about us, personally entire months can go by without me thinking of Europe, and even then it’s to make a joke I know is wrong and stereotypical. Xenophobia is a word invented by those ashmed of their own country who NEED to think loving your country is some sort of disorder, ‘patriotic’ now means ‘Ugly stupid American who raves about America non-stop’. People say ‘patriotic’ like it would give you the AIDS if you said it nice.
I love how 99% of the people who hate America have never been here, and the only ones they’ve met have been tourists. Well tourists suck no matter what, I live in Vegas, German tourists are the most pushy, rude, and obnoxious people in the world, but I don’t think ALL Germans are like that. Screw them, go about your lives and we’ll go about ours.

Jacques Chirac lived in the U.S. for years, both as a student and in a variety of blue-collar jobs (including forklift operator at the Anheiser-Busch factory in St. Louis).

A fallacious assumption and useless generality. Some Europeans don’t like America. Some Americans, such as yourself, don’t like Europe. After 911 there were public displays of mourning throughout Europe. Red-blooded Europe-haters such as yourself seem to forget things like that because they don’t fit into your agenda.

What a revealing statement. First off, they don’t “spend so much time thinking about us.” The reason you hear about European opinions about America, is because that is mostly what Americans want to hear about Europe. That is what the news covers. We don’t care about much else that goes on over there. And second, your pride in only thinking of Europe to dismiss it as inferior is an attitude that has engendered some amount of resentment abroad. Arrogant ignorance does not create goodwill between nations.

You just said that the only time you think about Europe is to insult it. That is lot closer to the textbook definition of xenophobia than your silly John Birch interpretation.

You’re deluded. Liberals are proud Americans, and passionately patriotic. We dislike the actions of the current government because it besmirches the good name of this country we’re proud to call our home.

You been to Europe?

Crypt I spend 2-3 months a year in Europe every year for the past 5. I know you are living in Dublin - Maybe the Irish are more bitter but I never saw this. Yes they mocked our school shootings and thought we were pruds and did not like the Americanization of cultures and such…but that was fairly superficial. We are now pissing off political allies and in places where it means something more. Look at the announcement this afternoon that France and Germany and Russia all intend to veto the war approval process in the UN. This is more then it was in the past and much more focused. I agree since the end of the Cold War Europe no longer appreciated us as they had in the past and this was evident in the 90’s but if you were charting it it would have taken a serious nose dive in the last 15 months. The Boston Globe had an article talking about how US tourists are now being spat on and verbally assaulted in London and Paris once their accents are detected…this has gone beyond conversational issues to something much deeper

Same thing is happening in South Korea, with the addition of actual physical assaults.

All Americans I’ve met have been tourists? I have gone to school with Americans, I went to an international class from the 4th grade until I started high school and I met all kinds of nationalities. One of my best friend’s father was American, and all things considered I can’t find anything to complain about any Americans I’ve met.

I’ve even visited the country once, I was seven years old and all my memories of America are bright and shiny. Perhaps a bit too bright, but a seven-year old tends to focus on happy things like giant ice cream cones, neat toys and gigantic shopping malls.

So you see, my disgust for your goverment’s actions has absolutely nothing with any kind of personal bias/hatred of Americans.

Sayid Qutb lived here for years too.

And Gladstone I’m confused, I thought America’s media bias was constantly telling us that the world loves us? Isn’t that been a complaint from day one? ‘Oh American are surprised the world hates them cause the news tells them the world loves them.’? Get your conspiracys straight before you try to talk to me, we can’t have ALL been abducted by aliens AND Bigfoot.

I don’t hate Europe, and I was proud of the world-wide mourning, I just think that they’re being pissy about the U.S. wanting to enforce the rules they agreed to, and take out a dangerous man who’s been known to fund terrorism (hell, a terrorist group lays claim to what, a full quarter of his country?) Don’t give me that ‘no links to Al-queda’ bull, we KNOW members hide out in his country and have met with him, and there’s the fact that he funds other terrorist.
There are SO many reasons to go to war, but Europe is holding back and calling America names because A) they are profiting from Iraq, B) they just oppose anything America does, C) they oppose anything Bush does, or D) No war at any costs (Saddam can kill, smash, and destroy anything he wants, but as long as we don’t fight back it’s okay) The cowardly ‘well he hasn’t done anything to US’ tactic is the EXACT thing you bitch about the U.S. doing in WWII. He tried to kill a U.S. president, and he invades our few friendly nations and generally wants control of everything around him. But since he hasn’t hurt Europe, well it’s not your problem is it? (Nevermind that the terrorists that he funds HAVE)
Our ‘evil empire’ is gonna give Saddam 72 HOURS WARNING before the war starts. 72 HOURS WARNING. Shit, I can’t TELL you how evil I was when I let my little nephew have a head start when we where racing, or when I’d spot him a few points when playing sports? I was mother-fucking SATAN at that point!
I’ve YET to see ONE good reason NOT to go to war, nor ONE good way to resolve this WITHOUT war.

God, your rants are barely coherent these days.

Don’t give me that ‘no links to Al-queda’ bull, we KNOW members hide out in his country and have met with him, and there’s the fact that he funds other terrorist.

It’s like a cookie jar on the shelf; you just can’t resist making the claim.

Too true. The American and British intelligence agencies say there’s no proof of a link, but I guess I’ll take Captain Cookiepants’s assessment of the situation over theirs.