Anti-Americanism
Robert David STEELE Vivas
Half Chapter in ELECTION 2008: Lipstick on the Pig (Earth Intelligence Network, 2008)
Original As Published
Full Text Online to Facilitate Automated Translation
As a commercial intelligence practitioner, I oversaw a study on Strategic Communication across the twenty-seven countries that are of interest the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM). At the time, this was essentially all of Africa except for the Horn of Africa, plus the Middle East, and Central Asia including Afghanistan.
We found that foreigners—and most—regardless of their educational or financial status—tend to be much more conscious of international affairs and even more knowledgeable about the USA than most Americans, (many of whom cannot identify the three branches of government nor the states whose boundaries are adjacent to their own)—most foreigners clearly understand the difference among the following:
1. President and Vice President occupying the White House, and their appointed team
2. Congress of the United States
3. Government of the United States as a world power
4. Government of the United States as a bureaucracy following political orders
5. U.S. Military as a combat force
6. U.S. Military as a combat force following political orders
7. U.S. foreign aid and other forms of assistance
8. The U.S. public as a whole, generally viewed as both good-hearted and oblivious
9. The territory of the USA, the physical aggregation known as America the Beautiful
I take the time to make these distinctions for two reasons:
1. The policies, behavior, and investments ordered by the President and Vice President can be disowned by the American people, or they can be tacitly accepted as being “in our name.” The larger foreign public, in my own direct experience, remains astonished that the American people have allowed their political representatives to wreak havoc on Iraq and Afghanistan while ignoring all other threats.
2. We can fix this. We can restore the Constitution, reconsecrate the Republic, and get back to the business of being a moderate Nation that wages peace rather than war, peace which exports prosperity rather than munitions.
In this section on anti-Americanism, I am going to provide an outline of the thoughts and findings of other authors. The first section of the Annotated Bibliography addresses this topic, and in the online version of this book (free at www.oss.net/PIG), each book is linked directly to my full review at Amazon, allowing the inquiring reader ready access to my full review; to the many excellent reviews by others; and to the Amazon ordering page for the specific book being cited. Amazon has reached critical mass, and between the lists of books and the reviews and the comments from readers who are completely engaged in the world of non-fiction—which is to say, the real world—it is now possible for any person to absorb a rich spectrum of views and facts simply by browsing reviews and lists and comments at Amazon. Neither candidate has done this.
A harvest of lies and a complete lack of intelligence (Tim Weiner in Legacy of Ashes)
Always, without exception, failure to invest in peace in the aftermath of war
Axis of Evil #1: poverty, disease, and ignorance (George Soros)
Axis of Evil #2: US support for 42 of 44 dictators, idiocy on the other two (Cuba, North Korea)
Blind to the inevitable “coming home” of all sources of pestilence overseas.
Blind to the reality that our run is over—what matters now is how we influence China and India
Blindly accepting of the Treaty of Westphalia and the artificial concept of political sovereignty
Blindly characterizing terrorists as irresponsible, when they tend to be middle-class and educated
Blindly ignorant of the rich tapestry of cultural, tribal, and family networks across all boundaries
Callous indifference to impact of sanctions on infants and the poor
Contracting (out-sourcing) of covert intelligence and paramilitary and subversion functions
Excessive faith in hard power—military force—without respect for soft power—all else
Explicit preference for dictators over humanity
Foreign operations “hatched on the fly, delivered at random, and operating without instruction”
Historically, a “web of deceit” and a “legacy of ashes” as the twin attributes of US foreign policy
Historically, a bone-headed blindness to the costs of war at home in lost education, trade, etc.
Historically, allowed corporations to become powers unto themselves
Historically, allowed corporations to commoditize people and ignore social obligations
Historically, consistent willingness to send the poor to war without regard to merits of the war
Historically, from the Native Americans to American colonialism, no regard for indigenous peoples
Historically, myopic (and often uneducated) US leaders have exaggerated external threats
Historically, no accountability to the public for incompetence, hubris, and criminal misbehavior
Historically, no moral qualms about ignoring or enabling the murder of millions
Historically, US leaders have believed they (the elite) can make policy without regard to public
Historically, US leaders have enjoyed secrecy as a means of deceiving their own public
Historically, US leaders have favored pragmatism of the moment over long-term values
Historically, US leaders have felt privileged to lie to the public as a means to a “higher” end
Historically, US leaders have given Israel excessive favor without regard to Palestinian merits
Historically, US opposed wars of national liberation because Soviets were on humanity’s side
Historically, US spawned Islamic fascism and radicalism against communism
Ideology consistently triumphs over ideas, in part because the debate is secret, not public
Ignorance of reality including true costs of war
Intellectually impoverished appreciation for the role of morality and legitimacy in foreign affairs
Naiveté makes our humanitarian interventions part of the problem, fostering corruption & crime
No inter-agency operational oversight and orchestration
No inter-agency planning, programming, and budgeting
Oblivious to the fact that we have used terrorism as a tactic throughout our history, as has Israel
Oil has been a narcotic, an addiction, which has addled our brains and led to very bad behaviors
Perennial refusal to craft a grand strategy or do cost-benefit analysis—bravado instead of brains
Pervasive ignorance of both foreign history and foreign cultures at the tribal level
Refusal to engage with dissident groups
Separation of church and state has gone too far, role of morality and values absent from state
Too willing to take Embassy and media reports at face value, even though third hand in nature
Too willing to take foreign government assurances at face value, with no eyes actually on target
War as a profit-making enterprise that enriches the few at cost to the many
Wrong leaders, wrong strategy, wrong military (says Robert S. McNamara)
