different views

Submitted by Yannick (Belgium), Jun 6, 2007 at 10:59

You seem to think of me as a hater. Not really, actually. Although I don't agree with what your government is doing (as do most Americans), I don't hate the people. I have many contacts in America and we have our differences, but we get along just fine.

Anyway, thanks for presenting the American population's view on all of this. In return, I'll present you with the European view on the matter.

Some may hate the US for their patriotism. Others are worried; patriotism/nationalism is what got us WW I and after that WW II. Ever since the war in Iraq, the US acted in direct contrast of what the country used to stand for. And I don't have to go far to look for evidence of that: Belgium was about to pass a universal jurisdiction law that was designed to impart to war criminals and rights violators throughout the world. Apparently, Cheney took offense to that because he feared we would prosecute US officials and threatend to remove the NATO headquarters from Brussels.

And yes, I know why the US supported the Taliban during the '80. It was because they were also fighting against communism.
The same reason applies to the rebuilding of (Western) Europe. It was in order to create a bufferzone against the Sovjet Union.

As for the war in Iraq: Bush abused a mourning nation and Americans are waking up to that. Now we all just have to wait for 2009.

One last thing: America could certainly blow up the world (about 6 times over) but the age where the largest army automatically wins is over. Just look at France during Vietnam or the US during Vietnam. Or more recent: the enormous Russia, who isn't able to control one small provence called Chechnya or the US's incapability to knock down a couple of thousand insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I hope I'm making some sense as well.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".