Traveling through Europe and now living in London, I'm constantly reminded of foolishness of the invasion of Iraq. Whether I'm talking to Europeans and hearing how angry people are, just picking up a newspaper and reading about American troops killing civilians in Iraq or watching (and joining) 150,000 anti-war protestors marching from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square here in London, I cannot escape the brutal reality that America has a tough road ahead.
Last week's scene at the United Nations is just a taste of what is to come. President Bush received no standing ovation (a major disrespect); and other leaders conveyed biting anti-American sentiment. The whole affair was just further proof that Bush has squandered the support and sympathy gained post-Sept. 11. Instead of seriously addressing the main reasons for Sept. 11--the fact that America has a unpopular past meddling in other countries' affairs, supporting dictatorial puppet regimes and violently asserting its foreign policy objectives--Bush is making the same mistakes of his predecessors, Democrat and Republican administrations alike.
Before this administration, America's image was tarnished by forcibly reinstating the dictatorial rule of the Shah of Iran in 1953, the Vietnam War, indiscriminate bombing of Cambodia in the early 1970s, the invasion of Chile to oust democratically elected President Allende in 1973, the illegal invasion of Panama to oust the once-CIA operative and American ally Manuel Noreiga in 1989, the military and economic support of Israel in its illegal occupation of Palestinian land taken after 1967 and the support of the oppressive Saudi regime to this day.
But look no further than Kyoto, Afghanistan, the UN debacle and now Iraq--Bush is committing the same blunders on an even grander scale.
Have we learned nothing from Sept. 11? The last three years have brought more wars, more arrogant invasions, and more bullying. No wonder the United States is in a state of freefall.
In October 2002, Senate Intelligence Committee chair Bob Graham echoed these sentiments: "We are still carrying the same chains of insularity, cultural differences, institutional pride and ego that we were toting before Sept 11."
Bush's smug grin at the United Nations last week nearly made me physically ill. The administration's "up-yours" attitude to the United Nations has guaranteed us a reputation in history as a transgressor of international law, as an opponent of world democracy and as an economic imperialist. As cries of "no blood for oil" become increasingly popular around the globe, I can only hope that America can somehow rectify its image and escape further attack.
Even in Western Europe, which is more ideologically similar to us than any other region, the prevailing attitude is now dangerously anti-American. Of all the people I met on my trip, not one expressed pro-American sentiment. One Polish college student whom I met in Barcelona told me that after Sept. 11, there was a great deal of support for America but after the invasion of Iraq nearly everyone became stridently anti-United States. I heard the same explanation from a clerk in Amsterdam. And during my orientation in London, a French friend explained that in France many people now ridiculously see America as the enemy. We can only imagine how bad it is in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and elsewhere.
With the 2004 elections nearing, we must seriously address the fact that America's security is much worse post-Sept. 11. No number of bombs can protect America from terrorist actions if anti-Americanism is spreading like a plague.
Bush has led us into a foreign public relations all-time low. He needs to face the American people and explain how he believes that invading Iraq, squandering nearly all the support from Sept. 11 and spending billions of dollars abroad when the economy at home is in shambles has been good for America. And how about his explanation for "Osama been Forgotten?" The Riyadh and Morocco bombings are further proof to the strength of the terrorist network.
We've left Afghanistan in shambles, Iraq is horribly unstable, American troops are dying each day in Iraq and Bush is now asking Congress for even more money for the rebuilding effort because the administration foolishly underestimated how much the nation-building would cost. At the same time, the federal deficit is sky-rocketing, states don't have enough money to provide basic services such as educating our children (the true future), the dollar has weakened against the Euro (if only I had traveled a few years ago) and millions of jobs have been lost across our country. Finally, people are realizing Bush's blunders, and that fancy approval rating of his has now plunged.
Bush needs to be on his way out in 2004--we need a leader that will guide us out of the darkness and again earn our position as the global leader of democracy and freedom.
Amir Mokari is a Trinity junior. His column appears every third Friday.
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