31 Mar 2004 USS Clueless – Anything but Clueless

A worthy essay on European attitudes toward Americans on the USS Clueless blog. A small sample of an essay that is worth reading in its entirety:

Saddam thought that the French and Russians would be able to prevent America from invading Iraq. The “Arab Street” thought that America was fundamentally cowardly, and would never be willing to make the sacrifice in blood needed to truly fight and win a war. The Baathist insurgency in Iraq thought that a few weeks or at most months of ongoing attacks against American forces there would cause America to give up and pull out. The last 30 months has been one long tale of all the ways in which “the world” has proved how little they truly understand us.

And now it seems that the Europeans believe that if Kerry is elected then the nightmare will be over, and the long-delayed “respectful equanimity” between America and Europe would take place. Which is to say that America would finally come to its senses and acknowledge the superior wisdom and sophistication of the Europeans and start following Europe’s lead.

As Vinocur says, they’re bound to be disappointed.

This isn’t, by the way, an essay about Bush v. Kerry, or who will win in November. It is about the fundamental nature of most Americans, regardless of who wins in November.