(By Ray D.)

In a recent online piece for the Washington Post, German journalist Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of Die Zeit points out the disturbing fact that many Germans feel more threatened by the United States than Iran. He points to a glut of hate-America, lunatic-fringe comments on his publication’s website, yet claims that Die Zeit is “squarely middle-of-the-road” and “read by educated people.” Mr. Brockhoff’s glaring inability to admit the obvious leftist-bias of his publication is matched only by his audacious unwillingness to acknowledge the German media’s far-reaching role in spreading anti-Americanism in Germany. He writes:

“Maybe we are getting a good look at anti-Americanism. Surely, Germany
has quite a bit of that. The nationalist right loves to talk about
“authenticity” and “roots” as opposed to American “shallowness” and
“materialism”. The left is proud of its history of “anti-capitalism”
and “anti-imperialism”. The United States is seen as the premier
perpetrator of these crimes. Surely, Germans will have to work through
these stereotypes –- and historically they have. But the undeniable
anti-Americanism in Germany and all of Europe has also become a
convenient excuse for Americans. The argument goes: if it is all about
who we are instead of what we do, then why care?

Traditionally, the way America conducted itself in the world
influenced foreign audiences. America was able to change the “balance
of power” in foreign debates. Certainly, America has again changed
foreign lands over the past five or six years. Except, this time it has
acted much to its own detriment.

Some argue that America does not explain its policies and motives
well enough and that this is why the country is hated. This is a
favorite claim from those who do not want to change policy course.
These people fool themselves into believing that expanding a White
House spin and communication campaign around the globe will change
perceptions. It is more likely that Frances Fukuyama of Johns Hopkins
University has it right.

During an event on Capitol Hill today he said that rebuilding
America’s reputation around the world will take “the better part of a
generation. And it cannot be done as long as “American tanks roll
through a major Arab capitol”. And I might add: there will be little
global legitimacy for the U.S. as long as it is seen as a country that
routinely tortures its prisoners.

That fact ordinary citizens of European liberal democracies feel
more threatened by America than Iran (or Putin’s Russia) is not just
because of a lapse of judgment that can easily be dismissed. It is
cause for alarm.“

How nuanced. Of course. It is current American policy that is to blame. But how does that explain German anti-Americanism at other times in history? Further, Mr. Brockhoff obviously lacks the moral integrity and the downright honesty to admit that his colleagues in the German media have tirelessly fanned the flames of anti-American bigotry and ignorance – particularly over the past five years. There is nothing any administration could conceivably do in the face of a media elite determined to present it in a negative light with little regard for facts or balance.

Could this sort of non-stop hate-America reporting have anything to do with German anti-Americanism Mr. Brockhoff or are you too dishonest to admit it exists? What can Americans possibly do to end the hate spewing from German media? (Take a look through our archives for more examples.)  

Mr. Brockhoff – who fancies himself a tough and fair reporter – would rather continue to exist in a cocoon of denial  – in a fantasy land – and hope that the language barrier and lack of interest for Germany in the United States will continue to conceal the very ugly truth about his profession. He has become too much a stooge of his editors to speak truth to power. Mr. Brockhoff obviously lacks the intellectual honesty to admit that the German media is a major part of the problem. At the very least he could drop the Oberlehrer-like tone of the wise truth-teller preaching down to his so-called American friends.

Mr. Brockhoff misses a further key point. Namely, that American’s opinions of Germany and Europe – especially those of informed decision-makers – will likely take a generation to recover from the feckless politics and hateful media propaganda spewing forth from Europe’s capitols – and that is something he ought to worry about as well. American leaders are growing increasingly reluctant to give their European partners the benefit of the doubt. Blogs like ours will continue to tirelessly expose and document the hate and hypocrisy coming out of the European press.

This much is certain: Germany’s shameless trade with Iraq, Sudan and Iran has not gone unnoticed. Europe’s cowardly appeasement of Saddam Hussein and other dictators has not gone unnoticed. Germany’s unwillingness to deploy troops in harm’s way when it really matters in Afghanistan has not gone unnoticed. Gerhard Schroeder’s incredibly corrupt, poodle-like obedience to his Gazprom masters in the Kremlin has not gone unnoticed. And Mr. Brockhoff’s – and the German media’s – unwillingness to come to terms with the pervasive and undeniable anti-Americanism that plagues his profession will not go unnoticed. If he is so worried about America’s image in the world, perhaps he ought to take a very long and hard look in the mirror. Tend your own garden first Mr. Brockhoff – before you tell Americans how they must tend theirs with your hollow – populist policy prescriptions.   

To conclude, we suggest our readers look at this recent piece by Andrei Markovits, which offers a far more honest and comprehensive assessment of European anti-Americanism, it’s roots and current implications. Here an excerpt:

“The Bush administration’s policies have catapulted global and
Western European anti-Americanism into overdrive. But to understand
that overdrive, we need to analyze the conditions under which this kind
of shift into high gear could occur. Western Europeans’ unconditional
rejection of and legitimate outrage over abusive and irresponsible
American policies — not to mention massive human-rights violations à la
Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, secret CIA cells — rest on a substantial
sediment of hatred toward, disdain for, and resentment of America that
has a long tradition in Europe and has flourished apart from those or
any other policies.

Ambivalence, antipathy, and resentment toward and about the United
States have made up an important component of European culture since
the American Revolution, thus way before America became the world’s
“Mr. Big” — the proverbial 800-pound gorilla — and a credible rival to
Europe’s main powers, particularly Britain and France. In recent years,
following the end of the cold war, and particularly after 9/11,
ambivalence in some quarters has given way to unambiguous hostility.
Animosity toward the United States has migrated from the periphery and
become a respectable part of the European mainstream.

Negative sentiments and views have been driven not only — or even primarily — by what the United States does,
but rather by an animus against what Europeans have believed that
America is. While the politics, style, and discourse of the Bush
terms — and of President Bush as a person — have undoubtedly
exacerbated anti-American sentiment among Europeans and fostered a
heretofore unmatched degree of unity between elite and mass opinion in
Europe, they are not anti-Americanism’s cause. Indeed, a change to a
center-left administration in Washington, led by a Democratic
president, would not bring about its abatement, let alone its
disappearance.“

Read the whole thing.