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Why does the world hate America? Samuel Brittan: Contribution to International Economy Symposium 01/03 "Are you not satisfied to be doing an important and useful job, and one for which you are not badly paid. Do you need to be loved as well?" These words were uttered some time ago by the late Harold Lever, a British financial guru and former member of the Wilson Labour cabinet. He was talking to bankers in London. But his remarks could equally apply to the US political and business elite. The whole question is defensive and guilt-ridden. Since September 11, 2001 an informal coalition of Islamist apologists, wimpish European leaders and US public intellectuals have tried to switch the issue from the threat posed by fundamentalist terrorists to the question of: "How likeable is the USA, its leaders or its culture?" Its most nauseating aspect was the remark "They had it coming to them". The West now faces a threat more difficult to deal with than the old Soviet empire. The latter was led by rational people whose ambitions could be deterred and with whom agreements could also be made. No such dialogue is possible with groups such as Al Qaeda. Any wishful thinking that their aims were confined to the United States should have been dispelled by the atrocity in Bali. But will it take similar atrocities in Berlin, London or Paris to bring the so-called intelligentsia to its senses. I hope that this lesson will not be taught while this contribution is going through the press. Of course much is wrong with US foreign policy. The basic fault is believing "My enemy's enemy is my friend", which led to the support of the Taleban against the Russians and Saddam against Iran. My advice would be to stop supporting the Saudi regime and to put pressure on the Israeli government on the issues of West Bank settlement and Jerusalem. But do not expect a model Saudi democracy to take over or be surprised if terrorist attacks continue to provoke Israeli over-reaction. The world is not a pleasant place. When Winston Churchill became British premier in 1940 he made it his job to defeat the Nazis and only secondarily to understand them. There is a battle of civilisation and our job is first to protect ourselves from our enemies and only secondly to understand them.
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