Until this month, the United States appeared to disagree with the rest of the world on a long list of topics: missile defense, global warming, land mines, a UN racism conference and others.
Attacks by terrorists, however, have prompted an about-face from the United States as it seeks help from abroad. It's even turned to countries the State Department says sponsor terrorism, such as Cuba, Syria and Sudan -- a country once targeted by US cruise missiles for alleged links with Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11 attacks.
The Bush administration's demand that foreign banks cut off money to terrorists is the latest example of how the United States has become a nation in need.
"Today, we're asking the world to stop payment," President Bush said Monday.
Less than a week ago, Bush urged world leaders to "help us round up these people" responsible for terror attacks in the United States.
His spokesman, Ari Fleischer, later elaborated: "We are going to build our alliances and coalitions. And that means interesting interplay, always, with different nations about how much they want to contribute."
Before its appeal to the world for help in tracking down bin Laden and his alleged colleagues in a war on international terror, the Bush administration prided itself for engaging in what it called an "a la carte multilateralism" approach to foreign policy. That meant essentially joining allies when it suited American interests.
Since Bush assumed office, rifts have occurred between the United States and many European allies. He thumbed his nose at the Kyoto global warming agreement. He balked at a global ban on land mines and had US negotiators boycott a UN racism conference. He also pushed ahead with a missile-defense shield system likely to violate a 1972 treaty seen as a bedrock arms agreement by most.
"We've been a fairly fat and happy country, repeating the mantra that, we won the Cold War so basically history has ended and we can just enjoy the product of our incredible economy," said Joe Montville of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Then the whole country was hit in the head by a 2-by-4 on the eleventh of September. There are so many elements of that terrorist act that emphasized the interconnectedness of the US to the rest of the world."
To encourage international support, the United States is offering rewards. For example, Bush lifted economic sanctions imposed against Pakistan and India for testing nuclear weapons in 1998.
The Bush administration is seeking help even from minor European players like Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The two former Soviet republics, which border Afghanistan and are barely a decade old, are expected to provide places for US military aircraft to land; they hope to get some economic aid in return.
"For some people, this may appear to be a flip on American policy, but the policy is still evolving, so we have to see what happens over the longer course," said Edward Turzanski, a political science professor at La Salle University.
James Lindsay of the Brookings Institution said Bush's foreign policy stance is "not a role reversal. It's in keeping with American foreign policy."
"This administration, specifically, has always made clear that it wants to work with others. It just wants to work on its own terms," Lindsay said.
The American public apparently would like to see the administration work harder to improve international efforts, especially those overseen by the United Nations.
Public regard for the United Nations has increased in recent years, with almost two-thirds, 64 percent, now saying they think the organization does a good job trying to solve the problems it faces, according to an Associated Press poll. That's about 10 points higher than in a poll early this year.
Nine in 10 in the poll, conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa., said they think the United Nations should play a major role in pulling countries together to fight terrorism. The general belief that the United States should remain in the United Nations has remained high over the years -- more than eight in 10 -- although about a third in the AP poll agreed with the US action in withholding some dues over policy differences members of Congress had with the United Nations.
(China Daily 09/26/2001)
