THE RISING EAST
Americans growing weary of war
By Richard Halloran
Conventional wisdom or expressed fear in many foreign capitals these days holds that the assault on Iraq was but the first in a series of U.S. maneuvers intended to remake other nations in the American image and to impose a Pax Americana on the world.
Well, speculatively, maybe not. While a majority of Americans supported President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq, that may have been the peak of U.S. interventions abroad that began with the Spanish-American war just over a century ago. Bits of evidence suggest that Americans have grown weary of solving the world's problems and would be quite content to let other people police trouble spots. Americans in that school of thought believe they prevented German domination of Europe in World War I, stopped German fascism and Japanese imperialism in World War II, and saved the world from the godless Soviet Union in the Cold War.
In limited conflicts, Americans beat back North Korea and China to save South Korea and stopped the spread of communism in Southeast Asia even though the United States lost in Vietnam.
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Then there were forays into Grenada, Libya and Panama, and the war to liberate Kuwait. Now the United States has destroyed Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan and toppled Saddam Hussein in Iraq, both just about halfway around the world from the center of the United States.
When President Bush began exploring a White House bid in 1999, the world appeared more benign. Now, a growing number of polls suggest Americans are growing weary of intervening in the world's trouble spots.
Surfing the Internet these days turns up a relentless streak of anti-foreign flares, indicators of a backlash against the anti-American thundering from abroad over the past year. The French are perhaps the most popular target as in: How many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris? No one knows because it's never been tried.
Some of this opposition comes from serious thinkers. William Richard Smyser of Georgetown University has written that French and German opposition is causing the United States to return to "its traditional role as a maritime power." Rajan Menon, a scholar at Lehigh University, has said U.S. alliances, such as NATO, are coming to an end. "Lest we mourn too much," Menon said, "let's remember that we did just fine without alliances for most of our history."
Still more can be discerned from recent polls. Both Presidents Clinton and Bush have made the promotion of democracy a vital part of their foreign policies. In August last year, a Roper poll showed 70 percent of Americans agreed. By this February, that had dropped to 54 percent. In March, only 14 percent of Americans thought that promoting democracy in Iraq was a reason to go to war. With the fighting mostly over, Americans have turned their attention, unsurprisingly, to the faltering economy. A Gallup poll only a few days ago showed that 48 percent of Americans thought the economy was the most important problem confronting the nation. Gallup said that was the highest such figure in seven years.
In another poll this month, by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, 57 percent of Americans said they thought the economy should be a national priority. Dealing with the costs of healthcare and protecting Social Security were noted by 22 percent and 20 percent. Fighting terror, which is both a domestic and a foreign matter, was named by 34 percent, but Iraq was a priority for only 10 percent.
Now that America has scored a decisive victory in Iraq, there's little evidence of an appetite for more adventures abroad. To the contrary, the isolationist sentiment that lurks in the depths of the American soul seems to be welling to the surface. Consider, for instance, the surging interest in homeland security and the money and human resources being invested in it. This doesn't mean that Americans are retreating into Fortress America. It does indicate that Americans are on the verge of becoming more selective in the allies they consider vital to U.S. interests. Foremost would be Canada and Mexico because good relations with them are imperative to homeland security.
Beyond the seas are Britain, Japan and Australia. Each has been a valued ally since the end of World War II and has stuck with us in Iraq despite political opposition at home. Britain and Australia have sent troops while Japan has dispatched warships and logistics vessels.
They are in a position to benefit from us in the post-Iraq era while the summer soldiers of erstwhile allies contemplate their future outside the American orbit.
Richard Halloran is a former New York Times correspondent in Asia and Washington. Reach him at oranhall@hawaii.rr.com.
