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America Just Cannot Be the Loved One

(Daily Star -Lebanon) Michael Young - The Americans were indeed the defenders of a debilitating status quo in the Middle East, but since 2011 they have been on the side of emancipatory change, despite intense uneasiness. Yet they remain perpetually disliked, with the poll figures always reflecting deep ambiguity toward the superpower. Washington's support for Israel is the knee-jerk pretext whenever an explanation is sought for why America is loathed by Arabs. But let's get a grip. For years numerous Arab countries have ruthlessly mistreated or manipulated the Palestinians and their cause, without provoking a discernibly negative reaction from Arab societies. In light of this, perhaps we must seriously consider that the Arab world has so internalized its disapproval of the U.S. over time, integrating it perfectly into a prevailing sense of Arab misfortune and frustration, that anti-Americanism has become a constant of Arab political discourse, a crutch of sorts. That means that the positivist belief among Americans that they can be loved simply by altering their actions and manners is naively overstated.
2012-09-14 00:00:00
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