Anti-Americanism in Europe 'alarming'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Anti-American sentiment has been spreading like wildfire around the world, particularly in Europe, which is alarming, a U.S.- based scholar said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Meredith Woo-Cumings, professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, said U.S. President George W. Bush administration's unilateralism and decision to go war in Iraq had helped the spread of anti-American sentiment around the world.

"In some quarters in Europe, it is de rigueur, part of the culture, to disparage the United States," she said on Tuesday at the American Foreign Policy Colloquium, organized by the University of Indonesia's American Studies Center.

Meredith also said the Bush administration's general unwillingness to accept restraints on its sovereignty had merely brought this culture out into the open again.

"And the decision to go war in Iraq without the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council made it spread and bloom," she added.

Meredith said concern over anti-Americanism must be seen within the broader context of anxiety over deteriorating relationships with traditional European allies within the Atlantic Alliance and with Asian allies.

According to a 2002 survey on national attitude conducted by the Pew Research Center in 42 countries, 44 percent of South Koreans were found to hold unfavorable views of the U.S., although South Korea is known to be a close ally.

She said that the U.S. invasion of Iraq, its Middle East policy and recent Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal involving American soldiers had also contributed to rising anti-Americanism in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

She urged the U.S. to boost dialog with Northeast Asian countries to help improve its image.

Lt. Gen. (ret) Agus Widjojo, who delivered the keynote speech, said foreign policy depended on the regime in power.

"So Bush's (foreign) policy will be a trademark of his governance," he said.