Globalaffairs

Issue 8/April-May 2008
By Sumra Salem

The successfully democratic and capitalist United States became the world’s sole superpower after defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The nation subsequently began to dominate the globe militarily, politically, economically, technologically and also culturally, leading to the establishment of what some refer to as the American century. Krastev acknowledges that in the post-September 11 era, we are in fact entering the anti-American century. It is thus that anti-Americanism today is a response to grievances against the U.S. more so than simply a prejudice against America as often argued, particularly in regards to anti-Americanism in the Middle East.

Despite its prominence as a recent political issue and its presently immense proportions, anti-Americanism boasts a long history, originating in France during the 18th Century. France has always been seen as a country possessing some of the strongest anti-American sentiments and indeed the most fervent within Europe. There are several definitions of the term though the American Heritage Dictionary defines it simply as, “opposed or hostile to the government, official policies, or people of the United States”.

Critics and opponents of the superpower not only comprise of disgruntled foreigners, but also home grown Americans. Spanning across the globe from Australia to Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North America itself, the reasons for widespread and virulent anti-American attitudes are as vast and diverse as the locations in which they are found.

The source of anti-Americanism remains divided between individuals who simply possess a prejudice against America and those who do so in reaction to the nation’s actions. Such diversity develops and changes over time with the current dominant source being the latter option, predominantly regarding America’s foreign policy under the Bush administration. Singh recognises that, “Post- 9/11 American foreign policy provoked a new wave of anti-Americanism, facilitating the widespread public expression of antipathy towards the United States that had been muted in the decade following the end of the Cold War.”

Middle Eastern anti-Americanism is due to legitimate grievances of the United States’ paramount support for Israel, the war in Iraq and the incessant American interference in regional issues and the domestic affairs of Arab nations. As a result, anti-Americanism is more prevalent in the Middle East today than any other region in the world. BBC News captures the thoughts of many who perceive the U.S., “as an international bully, a modern day imperial power”.

Perhaps the most direct and uncomplicated way to view anti-Americanism is through public opinion polling results. Through such analysis it is interesting to note that findings vary significantly on the opinions of Americans as people, the United States as a nation, U.S. foreign policy, the U.S. government and President Bush. Katzenstein and Keohane discovered that, “the societies most hostile to the United States, by far, are located in the Islamic Middle East and North Africa, along with Pakistan. In both Islamic countries and Europe, attitudes toward Americans are more positive than attitudes toward the United States, and attitudes toward the United States are more positive than attitudes toward American foreign policy or President Bush.”

A report commissioned by James Zogby and the Arab American Institute in 2004, found that Egypt, one of America’s important ally’s in the region, holds an amazingly unfavourable opinion of the country with 98 percent of Egyptians possessing a negative attitude of the United States. In Morocco the figure stands at 88 percent, Saudi Arabia, 94 percent and 73 percent in the UAE.

When asked about their immediate thought of the term, ‘America’, respondents overwhelmingly replied, ‘unfair foreign policy’ rather than a dislike of values or culture. The most important issue that influences attitudes is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with American interference also mentioned. In more recent times the grievances have widened and now also include Iraq and the treatment of Arabs and Muslims internationally.
Pew surveys clearly indicate how, “shifts in US foreign policy have a discernible impact on how the United States and its people are viewed abroad; [with] the decision to go to war against Iraq in 2003… [leading to] a vast increase in ire towards the United States”. Suggestions on how to improve America’s image in the Arab World resulted in most people recommending that the United States stop supporting Israel and change their biased Middle East policies.

It is thus interesting to note that in spite of anti-Americanism in Egypt for example, calculating to a staggering 98 percent as previously mentioned, most of the discontentment is towards the American government rather than its citizens. This is best exemplified by Egyptian political specialist Dr Abdel Monem Said Aly in stating, “ask anyone in Egypt what country they would like to visit, and they will probably say America. Ask them what movie they would like to see and it will probably be an American film. Ask them what school they would like to attend and they will name an American university. They may disagree violently with American policies, but they don’t hate America. This is the paradox.”

The admiration of America as a wonderful place to visit, to live and to study, by many in the Arab world is unfortunately more often than not overshadowed by grievances from policies adversely affecting them in their region. It seems that the values of which America so proudly asserts, namely freedom, are lost in the realm of American foreign policy, which consequently results in a particularly negative regard of the superpower.

The widespread deterioration of the U.S. perception in the Middle East is simple when one assesses the popular political grievances of the region. The U.S. neglects to address these issues with productive public diplomacy which in turn leads to the distrust and resentment of the U.S. government, fuelling anti-American sentiment. Wyne states that at present, America spends roughly 500 times as much on national defence as it does on public diplomacy. Condoleezza Rice was herself quoted as saying, “we are obviously not very well organized for the side of public diplomacy.”

Rational and justified critiques of U.S. foreign policies in the Middle East are constantly made by the Arab world and are not simply based on prejudices as many American politicians and scholars assert. To define anti-Americanism as a prejudice in this case insinuates that the attitude is based on irrational or unreasonable and preconceived sentiments. Anti-Americanism in the Middle East is directly associated with the effects felt across the region as a result of American policies.

Pan-Arabism, a form of cultural nationalism, and Arab solidarity play a vital role in the spread of the anti-Americanism with Arab nations possessing an incredible affinity for each other. Although each country has its own political affairs, the Arab states more often than not, sympathise with and support their fellow Arabs. With Islam being the dominant religion of the Middle East, and indeed a powerful identifying factor among Arabs, it can also be seen that pan-Islamism is a motivating issue attributing to Arab unity on political views and grievances resulting from America’s foreign policy actions. Consequently so, when a U.S. foreign policy decision adversely affects any Arab nation, the injustice is felt across the region and attracts criticism and offence from several states in turn contributing to the rise in anti-American feelings.

The invasion of Iraq and strong U.S. support for Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the prime causes of this trend according to several political analysts and the general Arab public. Egyptian film director Yousseff Chahine captures this notion in saying that he, like many, is disturbed by the unrelenting violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and more recently, in Iraq. “All the time I am faced by these scenes, every night on TV. We Arabs feel rejection. But if it was only us, it may not matter. It seems it is also 1 billion Muslims are being rejected.”

It is thus that the focal point of anger against the United States is the condition of the Palestinian people with the U.S., “turning a blind eye to violations of Palestinian rights”, as summarised by Schoenbaum. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, also referred to as the Arab-Israeli conflict, contributes tremendously and is the foremost explanation of the high levels of anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Resentment lies in Washington’s stance within the conflict and is best exemplified by its substantial support for Israel politically, economically and militarily. Such undying support has effectively enabled Israel to defeat the Arabs and maintain the occupation of their land. Khairallah fundamentally highlights this fact in stating that America’s support for Israel, its “consistent assistance to an international outlaw bent on expanding its boundaries”, is a, “main generator of bitterness”, amongst Arabs.

Schoenbaum highlights that according to the U.N.’s principal judicial organ, the International Court of Justice, Israel is in violation of, “several human rights obligations, … major U.N. human rights treaties, including both international covenants and the Convention on the Rights of the Child”, in addition to, “the laws of war (international humanitarian law) relating to occupied territories: the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the 1907 Hague Relations.”

Despite convicted abuses of international law and such an appalling human rights record, the U.S. has stood beside Israel in every conflict with Palestinians and Arabs over the past half century. Makdisi states that the dominant view held in the Arab world recognises U.S. foreign policy regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict as shaped by the pro-Israel lobby.

President Bush has caused even further damage to America’s image by disregarding the aforesaid ruthless offences and controversially, “referring to [former] Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a ‘man of peace’” , and stating that Palestinians have, “no right of return”, undoubtedly fuelling Arab furore against the administration.

Doran identifies the maltreatment of the Palestinians as representing the prejudice of the West toward all Middle Easterners. He goes on to state that a common belief in the region is that both the United Kingdom and United States “planted Israel in the Arab world and then nurtured it with the intention of using the Jewish state as an ‘imperialist base’, a bridgehead for dominating the entire region. For most Arabs, the history of Palestine is thus not simply the story of two peoples struggling for the same land, but rather evidence that unmasks the true and nefarious intentions of the West toward Arabs and Muslims in general.”

Politically, America has supported Israel in the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly and in other international organisations also. Such collaboration with the Israeli government is unjust at the expense of the Arabs which in turn generates antagonism against the U.S. in the region. Abdallah reveals that America habitually utilises its veto power, “to block almost any resolution at the U.N. Security Council that would condemn what Arabs see as Israel’s excessive use of force against the Palestinians”. A leading security advisor to Yasser Arafat, Jibril Rajub, captured mainstream Arab grievances by referring to one of the U.S. vetoes as providing, “cover and protection to the Israeli occupation and support for the destruction and killing of the Palestinians”. The strong and indisputable correlation between American political support for Israeli aggression and the anti-Americanism sentiment in the Middle East will continue to prevail as long as the conflict goes on.

In terms of economic support, Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid despite being the world’s 22nd richest country according to the International Monetary Fund and comprising of less than .001 percent of the world’s population. In the eyes of the Arab world, American aid is seen as a U.S. attempt to support Israel’s flourishing economy and in turn help fund the occupation of Palestinian territories.

Bowles points out that aid to Israel differ in three distinct ways to that of given to any other country. Firstly, Israel receives its yearly aid in one lump sum at the beginning of each financial year as opposed to other nations who access their aid payments each quarter. Secondly, unlike other countries Israel does not have to account for the spending of its aid which is inconsistent to the normal procedure of receiving finance for specific purposes and accounting for purchases. Lastly is the sheer extent of the aid given which is substantially higher than that received by any other country.

The aid that Israel has received from America has been essential to Israel’s economic success and regional dominance, funding the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, effectively depriving the Palestinians of basic human rights along with the right to self-govern. Also imperative to Israel’s power and domination in the region is the extensive military assistance it receives from the United States.

America provides its closest ally with sophisticated arms including, “attack helicopters, jetfighters, and missiles that are used to target Palestinians, frequently killing innocent civilians, destroying homes, stores and other buildings”, states Abdallah. It is disgraceful that attributable to U.S. supplied and financed military strength, the Israeli Defence Force, the most superior military in the region and as Bowles points out, “the third or forth most powerful army in the world — routinely uses tanks, Apache helicopter gunships, and F-16 fighter jets against a population that has no military and none of the protective institutions of a modern state.”

The loyal American collaboration with Israel and the consequential Arab suffering is a legitimate source of grievances in the Middle East and prime generator of anti-Americanism. As documented by Abdallah, “U.S. support for Israel is unfair, unbalanced, racist, and the main reason for Israel’s victories and humiliation of the Arabs”.

The American occupation of Iraq also undoubtedly casts a negative image of the U.S. in the Arab world as Israeli and American aggression in Palestine and Iraq lead Arabs to view the two countries as two faces of the same coin. Many in the Middle East view America as employing double standards in regards to enforcing United Nations resolutions. The U.S. habitually disrespects the U.N. when resolutions condemning Israel are issued, yet is so determined to enforce others in favour of American interests.

According to the survey conducted by Zogby in 2004, most Arabs who were polled expressed, “deeply negative and suspicious attitudes toward the Iraq war, as well as disdain for President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon”. The majority of Arab participants claimed that the Iraq war has simply caused more terrorism and brought about less democracy to the country, with Iraqi people far worse off today than they were while living under Saddam Hussein’s rule. Linzer concludes that many believed America invaded Iraq for, “oil, to protect Israel and to weaken the Muslim world”. Theros thus acknowledges that the Bush administration has increased Arab, “perceptions of fear, contempt and hostility”, towards America with the situation in Iraq possibly proving, “to be the worst possible blow to the U.S.’s image in the region”.

Schneider established in 2004 that the Iraqi people distrust American motives and intentions. When asked whether they thought the U.S. was serious about establishing a true democracy in Iraq, only 37 percent of Iraqis said yes. Furthermore, 71 percent of those polled consider the coalition forces to be occupiers.

The Iraq war has in essence been the fuel for more anti-American sentiment as the reasoning behind the invasion was based upon lies about weapons of mass destruction and has lead to staggering carnage and destruction. It is a consensual Arab opinion that America’s intentions were dominated by a colonial aspiration to control Iraqi oil, further destabilise the region and increase their power.

In addition to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and America’s assumed imperialistic adventures in Iraq, U.S. air strikes, sanctions, establishment of military bases and general behavior in the region also attracts resentment. The majority of military and economic aid received by Arab states enables undemocratic and oppressive regimes to maintain control over their citizens and threats of withholding foreign aid give the U.S. power in the region. The funding of corrupt regimes is extremely hypocritical as America fails to communicate its virtues and values of freedom and democracy to where it is needed most, yet uses this defence to justify its occupation of Iraq. This is done so solely for the purpose of advances their interests in the Middle East and loses faith in America from Arab publics.

America’s treatment of Arabs and Muslims internationally is another cause for concern in the Arab world. The widespread media coverage of the inhumane treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and also Afghanistan is seen as an American attack on Muslims. American media reports and statements are seen in the Middle East to be extremely biased and derogatory towards Islam. The former deputy general counsel for the World Bank, Khairallah, points out that, the American media and entertainment industry portray Arabs as a, “frightening menace”, and that “from reading and hearing U.S. media, you would think Arab anger towards the U.S. is almost genetic,” rather than as a result to American foreign policy.

Constant attacks on Islam and the portrayal of all Arabs as terrorists by journalists, television presenters, academics, Congress members and religious leaders certainly do not help promote a positive image of America. High profile American individuals have vilified Islam including the Reverend Franklin Graham declaring it, “a very evil and wicked religion”, and Reverend Jerry Vines calling Prophet Mohamed, “a demon obsessed pedophile”. Columnist Ann Coulter goes on to state that America should in regards to Muslims, “invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.”

Anti-Americanism in the Middle East today is a direct result of American foreign policies actions in the region. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak aptly states that, “because of the war in Iraq and Washington’s continued support of Israel, hatred of Americans in the Arab world had reached new heights.” Shehab and Sid-Ahmed view Washington’s unconditional and, “eternal support of the ruling right-wing in Tel Aviv”, and thus alliance with, “Israel’s increasingly uncompromising” and stance on the core issue of Palestine as the foremost reasons for the rancor.

Along with the devoted U.S. support for Israel, the unjustified war in Iraq and America’s interventions in the Middle East, the support of corrupt Arab governments gives them the legitimacy and power to then suppress their people rather than promote development, freedom or democracy. Arab anti-Americanism not simply a prejudice but rather a legitimate response to inexcusable and disgraceful actions from the world’s superpower.

It is clear that Middle Eastern attitudes of anti-Americanism are principally a result of unrelenting U.S. support for Israel, hostile American policies and actions in the Arab world. If such policies were to change then so too would Arab perceptions. Abdallah believes that, “solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq, [and] closing its military bases in the Arab world … would end anti-Americanism among the Arabs.”

Sumra Salem
BA in International Relations, Politics and Asian Studies
Griffith University, Australia

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