Posted on 04/23/2004 4:43:32 PM PDT by jmstein7
Much of the world hates America, largely because America has a successful economic system, says Fox News anchor and author John Gibson.
What's more, such western allies as France, Germany, and Belgium say it is not fair that we are successful - that we dont emulate their inefficient, socialist economies.
The war in Iraq is the focal point for worldwide America-bashing. But lest anyone suppose that pure, unselfish humanitarianism is at work here, the author of the new book, Hating America believes (for example) that the U.S. action in Iraq derailed a cozy deal to turn Saddam Husseins Iraq into Frances Saudi Arabia.
Gibson says the foreign policy differences with the U.S. are real, but they serve as a cover for other nations to vent their frustration with the United States because it is prosperous, successful, and powerful.
Extending the olive branch of peace in public is more respectable than bluntly stating the real No. 1 reason for anti-Americanism: Envy - or saying out loud, We hate you because youre successful, and were not. And we cant stand it.
In an interview with NewsMax.com, the host of Fox News' "The Big Story" says the American economic model of low taxes, low government involvement, and high productivity is an abuse of the workers and an abuse of letting the corporate titans run amok.
We see it as prosperity and opportunity. They see it as oppression. Gibson adds, noting (for example) that it is illegal to work overtime in France.
Also, it is much better from a public relations standpoint, to bash George W. Bush (while ignoring the mass murderer Saddam Hussein) than to whine in public over the fact that Americas reach around the world is not only economic, but cultural, as well.
The governor of California is as recognizable in Amman, Jordan as he is in Los Angeles, according to Gibson.
As for Americas military reach, Gibson says the fear in many quarters in Western Europe and certainly at U.N. headquarters is that we will use our power without their permission, and that will will make them even smaller and more irrelevant. Thus their very bitter reaction.
Right before the war [in Iraq], 33% of the French public hoped Saddam would win the war, he says.
It turns out that while France was playing the humanitarian dove-of-peace role, their leaders were stabbing America in the back because they were on the take from Saddam.
Gibson believes the evidence that Saddam Hussein was sending oil to the French.
French President Jacques Chirac took the position that he was going to save the Arab world from this invasion [of Iraq], the TV newsman says. He was out promising the Arab world that there would not be a United States invasion [and] that he was personally going to stop it. He was being hailed as a hero in the Arab world for standing up to the United States.
In fact, the author of Hating America says, Chirac was the guy who sold Saddam the nuclear power plant the Israelis blew up. They had huge, vast oil dealings.
Further, he charges, France had an active campaign to rehabilitate Saddam to be able to lift the sanctions, buy and sell the oil on the world market, and turn Iraq into Frances Saudi Arabia.
What frustrates Gibson is that the guilt-trip often works because Americans have always had this desire to be loved by everyone. Is this phenomenon best analyzed by a psychiatrist?
During his book-signing tour, Gibson has been heckled by Americans who think its wrong for him to say, Dont worry about this. If youre not liked, thats not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing that can happen is running airplanes into buildings.
The major exception to Western Europes sport of America bashing is Britain, thanks largely to Prime Minister Tony Blair. And even that situation may not hold in future years.
However for Islamo-fascists it is not envy. How can they be jealous of freedom when they know not what that is? How can they be annoyed with the American way of life when they have no idea what the first thing about being American is?
Basically for Islamo-nuts it is pure and undistilled hate, the hate brought about by centuries of wanting the whole world to be as they are eg the forced conversions to Islam at the hands of the Muslim hordes that happened from Mecca (the first forced conversions after Muhammad got an army from Medina and went to take over the Ka'aba), to Spain (funny the current Spaniards capitulated to the terrorists after 3-11 when throughout their history Islam has been their greatest threat), a good part of Europe (the guys Vlad Tepesh ...aka Dracula, the real Romania prince not the silly batty baboon-fanged count ....was fighting were Islamic Turks), to North Africa and the Berbers, and parts of West Africa up to the Sudan.
Islamo-nazis are like the Borg in Star Trek ....they take over everything they can. A world that is not Muslim is a world for them to fight against. And even if the whole world became 100% Islamic they would still fight ....Sunni against Shia against Sufi.
War with no end .....but not 'jealousy.' Jealousy as the rationale is a western concept. Islamic radicalism has no logic but the lack of it.
"They" (being the Europeans) hate us because they are 1.) are abandoning Christianity and (though they won't yet admit it) are embracing Islam...look at Belgium. 2.) Europe is guilty of taking billions in slush money from Saddam.
I'm not sure the Islamics "hate" us in the sense we use it. They want to conquer us and dominate us. The Islamics want to rule the world with Islam, kill all Jews and subjugate all other infidels under Islam in servitude as second-class slaves of true Islamics under Sharia law and kill all Christians who won't convert. You've heard about "the flag of Islam flying over our Capitol building and White House..." That is their plan which is more of a plan for Allah's holy war of conquest by the sword that it is 'hatred' in the traditional sense... In my opinion.
And they're still there for me... I've decided not to get a set of Michellin Pilots for my Ducati, rather, I'll be going with Dunlops. And I let Michellin know why, too.
Mark
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