February 01, 2007
The Ugly American
By Victor Davis Hanson
Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic candidate for president, is at it
again
with another rude gaffe, this one providing an unintended glimpse of the
way
many contem****ary cosmopolitan elites characterize their homeland when
abroad.
In the past, Kerry has said that our soldiers were "terrorizing" Iraqi
civilians in their homes. He has also warned that uneducated Americans
"get
stuck in Iraq" -- a supposedly botched joke. Now, he assures an audience
at
the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the United States is
a
"sort of international pariah."
Kerry, who appeared on stage in Davos this past weekend with former
Iranian
President Mohammad Khatami, also proclaimed, "When we walk away from
global
warming, Kyoto, when we are irresponsibly slow in moving toward AIDS in
Africa, when we don't advance and live up to our own rhetoric and
standards,
we set a terrible message of duplicity and hypocrisy."
Kerry could learn a few simple rules of etiquette that should guide the
"message" of all high American officials when abroad:
Tell the Whole Truth Without Posturing or Spinning
Kerry was clearly directing his criticism at the Bush administration, but
the Kyoto Protocol, the international climate treaty, was first rejected
by
the U.S. in 1997. Ten years ago, President Clinton wisely chose not to
refer
the treaty to the Senate. Even that was not enough for outraged senators,
who went ahead anyway to vote 95-0 to oppose any international agreement
on
climate control like Kyoto in which China, India and other developing
countries would remain exempt. Kerry himself cast one of these votes -- an
ironic example of what Kerry now calls "duplicity and hypocrisy."
Nor was the United States "irresponsibly slow" in regard to African AIDS
relief. In fact, the Bush administration has devoted $4 billion annually
to
combat AIDS in Africa. That's triple what the Clinton administration
budgeted. That generosity deserves praise, not scorn.
Remember we are war.
Kerry's criticisms are hauntingly similar to al-Qaida's own talking
points.
Both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri have preposterously claimed
that
America's past inaction on Kyoto was a good excuse for going to war. In
various ways, they have long blamed America for the spread of AIDS, and
insisted that the United States is an international outlaw. When Kerry
makes
similar charges, it only enhances the jihadist propaganda, and weakens the
United States in a war that is largely to be decided by relative resolve.
Don't single out the United States.
Kerry said nothing publicly critical to former President Khatami about his
own theocracy's violation of United Nations non-proliferation accords. He
could have lamented Tehran's sup****t for the terrorists of Hezbollah who
are
undermining democracy in Lebanon. And he might have deplored the
infiltration of Iranian jihadists into Iraq.
"Pariah" status is instead given only to Kerry's own homeland. Yet, the
United States is currently working with the European Union and the United
Nations to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons. With NATO, we fight to
save Afghan democracy. And we spend blood and treasure alongside an
international coalition to offer Iraqis something far better than either
dictator****p or theocracy. Some pariah.
Avoid partisan****p.
For all his anger at the current administration, Kerry conveniently
doesn't
tell his audience that the United States Congress voiced overwhelming
bipartisan distrust of Kyoto. He forgets that he and other Democrats in
the
House and Senate, in traditional bipartisan fa****on, authorized wars
against
Afghanistan and Iraq by large pluralities that are now so controversial.
What then drives John Kerry to say such ugly things?
Kerry must still hurt over his recent loss to the supposedly less
sophisticated George Bush. And he and other leftist elites apparently must
remind their kindred European counterparts that there are still refined
Americans like themselves who are not flag-waving Christians from Texas.
But, mostly, it is intellectual laziness. It is always easier to cite
America's flaws to applause than to take the time to explain the nature of
its rare morality to catcalls. In truth, the United States has never been
richer or more generous. Its military is preeminent, protects vulnerable
allies and fights extremism worldwide. Immigrants risk their lives to
reach
our shores.
But we are in a deep spiritual crisis when a recent candidate for our
presidency either cannot, or will not, patiently explain that to the
world.
Instead, Sen. Kerry, the new ugly American abroad, glibly misleads a
global
audience that his own America is a "pariah" -- a verdict that is as
embarrassing to us as it is stupid for him.
Victor Davis Hanson is a classicist and historian at the Hoover
Institution,
Stanford University, and author, most recently, of "A War Like No Other:
How
the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War." You can reach
him
by e-mailing author@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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February 12, 2007 - 12:56:46 PM CST
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