We are told ad infinitum how the rest of the world hates the
United States. From repeated accusations of imperialism and
cultural insensitivity, universal ire is supposedly at our
doorstep. Pundits claim that we are despised today as never
before.
But could it be possible that anti-Americanism, despite two
consecutive U.S-led invasions, is now waning markedly? This is not
wishful thinking but rather empirical fact.
A May poll conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project,
“hardly a bastion of neocon zealotry” in the words of
one analyst, has published a remarkable new study that polled
17,000 people in 17 countries. The results are nothing short of
astounding.
First, in nearly all majority-Muslim countries surveyed
“support for suicide bombings and other acts of violence in
defense of Islam has declined significantly.” Pakistan and
Lebanon had the most dramatic declines, while support for terrorism
remained minimal in Turkey, Morocco and Indonesia.
Support for bin Laden is also decreasing. He is on the run but
cannot hide forever. Two-thirds of al-Qaeda’s known
leadership has been killed or captured since 9/11. Bin Laden hides
in caves, proclaiming death to Americans, Shiites, Jews and all
other “infidels,” but his support system is crumbling.
He is finally being acknowledged for the evil mass-murderer that he
is. He no longer has any state willing to officially serve as a
safe-haven to subsidize and abet his deadly machinations.
Would-be-hosts of bin Laden have rightly come to fear the American
military.
Whereas once 49 percent of Moroccans expressed some confidence
in bin Laden, their numbers have slid to 26 percent. Indonesia, the
home of nearly a quarter of a billion people has shown similar
declines. Perhaps if Syria, Iran, and Egypt had any semblance of a
free press, they too would openly voice similar sentiments.
Tellingly, a slight majority of Pakistanis still profess
confidence in bin Laden. This one fact alone should give Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf a great deal to worry about. So too, the
United States is left with plenty to ponder regarding our
scandalous relationship with the brutal and unelected Pakistani
dictator.
President Bush has proclaimed to be the champion of democracy
throughout the world. And indeed he has done a great deal to
further this end. His words and actions are apparently being taken
to heart in the Muslim world. Amidst free elections in Afghanistan
and Iraq, over 75 percent of people from Lebanon to Jordan to
Indonesia and elsewhere believe that democracy can work in their
countries as well. No longer must amenities such as voting,
women’s rights, and consensual government be touted as
Western impositions. No longer must basic human decency be
proclaimed a cultural import. Arabs and Muslims, like everyone else
on the planet, prefer freedom over fear.
But what of foreigners’ supposed ever-growing hate of
America and our so-called belligerent foreign policy? According to
the study, the percentage of people who hold a favorable opinion of
America rose in Lebanon, Pakistan, Indonesia, Jordan, Russia,
France, Germany and India. Similarly, a BBC poll found that 88
percent of the population of the Philippines, has a “mainly
positive” view of America. There is still a long road ahead
but this progress must not go unnoticed. We are beginning to win
the war of hearts and minds. Undoubtedly, this battlefield is as
important, if not more, than the mountains of Afghanistan or the
plains of Iraq.
It must be remembered that societies can be rebuilt and
ideologies can be changed. Professor Victor Davis Hanson implores
his readers to ask why a German public that hated us in 1941 did
not in 1945 The answer lies in that Germany was utterly defeated
militarily, then aided politically and economically. They were
shown the disaster that was fascism. Democracy was instituted and
repeated belligerence morphed into persistent quietude.
Anti-Americanism will likely continue to drop because youth,
especially in Muslim countries, typically look more favorably
towards us than do older generations. In Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon,
Pakistan and Morocco, younger people hold a higher opinion of
America than those 35 and older, according to the Pew study. As
terrorist bombings continue to occur across the globe, sympathy for
the perpetrators will wane accordingly.
Incidentally, to be hated by the right people is not such a
terribly bad thing either. If you are despised by a Saddam or a
Hitler, you shouldn’t lose any sleep. Evoking hatred from
that type of person only means that you are quite a lot right. What
unelected leaders must come to hear is that America is on the side
of those whom they fear most ““ their own citizens. The
energies that once supported dissidents like Vaclav Havel and Lec
Walesa against the Soviet Union, must now be directed to similar
advocates of freedom in the Arab and Muslim world. Only then will
we truly reap the full benefits of our astounding military
victories.
E-mail Keyes at dkeyes@media.ucla.edu