It is safe to say the United States is the world's only superpower. It controls about a quarter of the world's economy and is the leader when it comes to diplomacy and war. It is no surprise then that many people resent this country as being a bully and using its power too much.
We know there are terrorist groups out there trying to somehow get to us. The Sept. 11 attacks showed there are people out there who aren't afraid to show their distaste for American hegemony. And the recent attack in Bali reminded us that the resentment can be as deep as a pure hatred for Western cultural ideals. Yet there have always been terrorists trying to turn the world's order upside down. For example, World War I started because of an assassination that no country took credit for.
What is alarming, however, is the way the United States is perceived not by those who are our enemies, but those we see as our allies. Citizens of many of our allies don't look at us favorably in many of our latest foreign policies. A recent survey by the Pew Center showed that. In Germany, a nation that has the world's second largest economy and has been a staunch ally of ours, nearly 60 percent of citizens surveyed said the potential war on Iraq is based on our desire to control Iraqi oil. In France, 75 percent also thought oil was the main motivation. And while it can be expected that many people in the Middle East might frown upon the United States, over half of those surveyed in Egypt and Jordan said that they looked at us \very unfavorably.""
Andrew Kohut, the Pew Center's director, said that ""while there is a reserve of goodwill toward the United States, the most powerful country in the world has an increasing number of detractors."" Most of the world has been involved, somehow, in a U.S.-led war for the past two years and there is a growing resentment toward U.S. military power.
However acceptable the war may be, Bush has done a lot of bridge-burning since he came into office. For instance, he has refused to have a one-to-one meeting with German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder after Schroeder spoke out against the war on Iraq in his recent re-election bid.
Not even Canada is immune. Bush has yet to extend an invitation to Prime Minister Jean Chretien to come to his ranch in Texas, something he has done for the leaders of over thirty other countries. When a political adviser to Chretien reportedly privately called Bush ""a moron,"" the president became infuriated and demanded the adviser be dismissed (he eventually was).
Many people in the United States, some out of patriotism, still support the president's every move on the international stage. But Mr. Bush must realize that we are truly a super-power and that what the United States does will somehow affect virtually all of the rest of the world. If the Leader of the Free World wants to act his role, he must take into account the opinions of other countries. If we want to stay as powerful as we are, we can't afford to lose our friends.
