The beef-eating ale-swiggers at the Economist explain anti-Americanism

Key graf:

Self-assurance is often the difference [between anti-Americanism and anti-Europeanism]. Americans do not define themselves in opposition to Europe, as Europeans sometimes do to the United States. American capitalism is not the alternative to the European social market. America, to its inhabitants at least, is just America, the city on the hill. Opinion polls show that Americans are more patriotic than most Europeans, and alongside that patriotism goes a sense of superiority. We're the best. Europeans are not so lucky, but neither are Canadians, Mexicans or anyone else. This self-confidence takes some of the edge off American hostility, just as it sharpens Europe's.

This dovetails nicely with a sentiment in Charles Krauthammer’s superb Washington Post article today: “A Costly Charade at the U.N.”

Months for the opposition to mobilize itself, particularly in Britain, where Tony Blair is now hanging by a thread. Months for Hussein to augment his defenses and plan the sabotage and other surprises he has in store when the war starts. Months, most importantly, that threaten to push the fighting into a season of heat and sandstorms that may cost the lives of brave Americans. We will have France to thank for that.

France is not doing this to contain Iraq -- France spent the entire 1990s weakening sanctions and eviscerating the inspections regime as a way to end the containment of Iraq. France is doing this to contain the United States. As I wrote last week, France sees the opportunity to position itself as the leader of a bloc of former great powers challenging American supremacy.

That is a serious challenge. It requires a serious response. We need to demonstrate that there is a price to be paid for undermining the United States on a matter of supreme national interest.

This is the infuriating nature of the U.S.-France rift. There’s almost nobody (at least that I’ve seen) who believes the French are acting out of some principled pacifism. It’s all too obvious that Chirac is trying to position France as the anti-American power in Europe, Iraq and the U.N. be damned.