Is it time to rally the wagons 'round fortress America?
From The Economist
February 12, 2006
(snip)
A Pew poll in October found 42 percent of Americans agreeing that the United States “should mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own.” That figure had jumped by 12 points in three years to its highest level since the mid-1970s (after the humiliation of Vietnam)... Many Americans wish to disengage from the world in one or more of four ways: by fighting fewer wars, by trading less freely, by allowing fewer foreigners into their country or by giving less foreign aid. The purest isolationists, ironically, are to be found in the president's own party. Since Bush came to office promising a “humble” foreign policy, they feel betrayed that he has practiced the opposite.
(snip)
Iraq never attacked America, argues Buchanan, so America did not have to attack it. As for the idea that America's security depends on ending foreign tyranny, that is “noble-sounding nonsense,” writes Buchanan. “Our security rests on U.S. power and will, and not on whether Zimbabwe, Sudan, Syria, Cuba or even China is ruled by tyrants. Our forefathers lived secure in a world of tyrannies by staying out of wars that were none of America's business.” Buchanan thinks foreign aid is “the looting of America for the construction of the New World Order.” He is proudly protectionist and he fears that Hispanic immigration threatens not only America's survival as one nation but also Republican dominance of American politics, since Latinos usually vote Democrat.
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For different reasons, almost everyone on the left opposes the war. The people who have enough spare time to go on marches and listen to Cindy Sheehan tend to think “BusHitler” invaded Iraq to enrich Halliburton. A larger, quieter group thinks the administration launched an avoidable war and botched it.Overall, the proportion of Americans who think the Iraq war worth fighting has fallen from 70 percent in April 2003 to about 45 percent now. Opposition to Bush's trade policies comes mostly from the Democrats. The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) squeaked through the House last year by 217 votes to 215. Only 15 Democrats backed it – and unions promptly vowed to punish the “CAFTA 15.”
(snip)
According to Gallup, the proportion of Americans who see foreign trade more as an opportunity for growth than as a threat to the domestic economy fell from 56 percent in 2000 to 45 percent last year. While many Democrats want to curb the inflow of foreign goods, many Republicans want to curb that of foreigners. Bush says the American economy “could not function without” immigrants.
(snip)
Many non-Hispanic Americans see illegal immigration as not merely an economic threat, but also a cultural one. In a recent poll, only 8 percent of respondents thought the problem “not very serious,” while 63 percent thought it “very” or “extremely” serious. The final “isolationist” issue, foreign aid, is not yet electorally significant, though polls show Americans tend to think their country is too generous... Optimists point out that America has always had a vocal isolationist minority. And surely globalization – more travel, ever-deeper economic integration, common threats (such as global warming and terrorism) – mean that America cannot go it alone. Francis Fukuyama, a famously optimistic professor at Johns Hopkins University, even thinks the Muhammad cartoon row could pull America and Europe closer together, as Europeans realize they have more in common even with Texans than with Islamists.
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The Economist is a British newsweekly.
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