A DEEPER MEANING TO ANTI-AMERICANISM ABROAD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88T00528R000100020032-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 27, 2008
• Sequence Number: 32
• Publication Date: April 4, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/03/27: CIA-RDP88T00528R000100020032-5
? ?
THE DIRECTOR OF
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
National Intelligence Council
Approved For Release 2008/03/27: CIA-RDP88T00528R000100020032-5
 Approved For Release 2008/03/27: CIA-RDP88T00528R000100020032-5
THE WAL1. S'1-REE-1- JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, APRIL. 4, 1984:
A Deeper Meaning to
Anti-Americanism regrettably has be-
come an indisputable factor in European
politics. But the notion itself. is not very
helpful because it confuses two separate
issues. On one level, anti-Americanism is
an exaggeration, because what is called
"anti-Americanism" is simply criticism of
American foreign policy. On a deeper
level, it is a dangerous understatement
that obscures -a profound crise de con-
science in Europe.
First. the overstatement. Hostile feel-
ings toward other nations or races have
Europe
by Paul Widmer
emerged several times in European his-
tory. One has only to recall anti-German-
ism in France or anti-Frenchness in Ger-
many during the first half of this century.
Compared to these pernicious examples,
anti-Americanism obviously is ' not the
right word. Aside from a few fringe groups
on the extreme left and the extreme. right,
such visceral hatred toward; Americans
does not exist anywhere. On the contrary,
there is a new phenomenon, the wide ap-
preciation, of American culture.
Whereas the Spanish philosopher Or-
tega y Gasset contended in the 1950s. that
America could not survive culturally with-
out a continuous European input, the oppo-
site seems to be true today. New-.York-has
become the undisputed world metropolis
for cultural events.
But if. anti-Americanism has virtually
vanished-in the cultural field, it has' not
done so in the political arena. Many of
those who are among the most slavish fol-
lowers of American cultural leadership..
criticize the political behavior of American
government most severely. For instance,
the leftist German highbrow magazine
Transatlantik consciously patterned its
layout after The New Yorker; reviews in
A nti-Americanism Abroad
its arts sections the latest plays and exhib-
its in New York and San Francisco-1 and
criticizes U.S. policy on the political pages
with predictable regularity.
On this level, then, what is called ' iand-
Americanism" is less than that. -It is la se-
rious and public disagreement with certain
aspects of American policy. But sinc the
U.S. is the leader of the Western wo l d, it
is natural that the Europeans express their
opinions on matters of common concern.
On the deeper level, anti-Americ ism
is a euphemism for a fundamental shift
taking place within Europe. To explain the
situation, one has to go back to 1968, when
for the first.time in postwar history, West-
ern society as a whole was challeng rad-
ically. To be sure, in the '70s the a ivist
challenge faded in significance. How ver,
many younger Europeans did not renew
their loyalty to the existing political insti-
tutions. If any political protest was ex-
pressed at all, it was no longer in fa4or of
radical visions, but simply against
change.
In this milieu, the environme talist
movement took root. It aimed to el inate
the obnoxious side effects of modern ivili-
zation and, in its more ideological version.
the complexity of a society based on high
technology. This movement, however;, was
not able to suggest how to achieve !these
goals. The prime targets that could ;bring
the people onto the street were, until the
late '70s, the nuclear power plants. In 1977,
when the' deployment of neutron bombs In
Europe was considered, the movement be-
came more' political and took on an anti-
American character, in.large part because
the weapons to be deployed were Ameri-
can.
At this juncture, ' the somewhat diffuse
movement evolved into a peace move-
ment. With the Carter administration's de-
cision not to deploy neutron bombs in Eu-
rope, the peace movement seemed to enjoy
its first victory: Bolstered by this, the am-
plified -protest -was.. redirected against the
impending. stationing of. cruise and Per-
shing II missiles-and joined by other
groups whose roots are not in environmen-
-talism.
What has occurred ' on the domestic
level for some years thus finally spilled
over into the foreign-policy arena. The for-
mer protests against the technological
world-the civilian use 'of nuclear technol-
ogy, in particular-have engulfed interna-
tional security issues. The same flawed
logic is applied. Domestically, one has
nothing against a high standard of living,
only against its unpleasant side effects. In
foreign policy, one wants, international se-
curity, but not the weapons that ensure
it. This means that the:retreat from 'real-
-ity, as practiced by many individuals re-
cently, is increasingly seen as suitable for
entire nations.
Such an attitude threatens the. alliance
and strains the transatlantic relationship.
But it is only tangentially' related to anti-
Americanism. The problem would have
arisen regardless of what the U.S. might
have done or not done.
The main problem is that?too many Eu-
. ropeans have lost their confidence in the
accepted values of Western society. They
deride the U.S. as a bulwark of dynamic,
capitalism, modem technology and strong
anti-Communism. - Yet, they also reject
what they perceive to be-the ugly face of
communist societies, and look mockingly
on the stumbling European unification pro-
cess and. setbacks in East-West detente.
Having chosen cynicism as their most reli-
able companion, they judge the systems in
East and, West as equally flawed and insuf-
ficient.
In sum, they know' what they do not
want, but they - do . not -know what they
want. Here lies the long-term problem that
the Europeans must solve.', This implies
that the main changes in the 'transatlantic
relationship have to occur in Europe and
not, whatever may be said, in America..
If this malaise Is not-to grow into a
major crisis, the task of designing perspec-
tives for Europe has to be tackled ur-
gently. By making a few proposals to re-
form the .structure of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, Henry Kissinger re-
cently joined the debate over Europe's role
in the future. He strongly pleads for a sort
of Europeanization of NATO. The Europe-
ans ..:
should, among other new functions, as-
sume ?
the major responsibilities for conven-
tional defense. And they should take over
those arms-control negotiations that deal
with weapons deployed on Western Euro-
pean soil.
The time is indeed ripe for a discussion
in which responsibility is the key word.,
Nearly 40 years after the end of World
War II, the Europeans have to recognize
that they cannot rely eternally on a de-
fense structure that was designed in ' a
postwar period when much of Europe was
devastated. The originally badly needed
dependence upon the U.S. has become a
comfortable tradition that no longer cor-
responds to Europe's potential strength.
Restructuring the alliance's defense is
important, but it is not 'enough. Defense
needs to be embedded in a context of polit-
ical convictions and purposes. Western Eu-
.rope must know and make clear what it
stands for politically. The open society, as
it is realized in Western Europe and Amer-. -
ica, still enjoys the support of an,-over-
whelming majority. Europeans, together.
with the Americans, have to assume their..
responsibilities in order to make the sur-,
vival and further development of this kind '
of society possible.
If Europe's destination and responsibil-
ities can be convincingly reshaped, anti-
Americanism will presumably shrink.,
again. Dependency corrupts and absolute',:'
dependency- corrupts' absolutely. -The new;:-,;
est wave of anti-Americanism is an ex
pression of this truth.
Mr. Widmer is a Swiss diplomat on -
leave for one year as a resident fellow a6:-
the Institute for East-West Security Stu-
dies in New York.
Approved For Release 2008/03/27: CIA-RDP88T00528R000100020032-5