How do Americans view the European attitude toward terrorism

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Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 16 Dec 2003 08:54 PST

Dear Dickie, 

When you're talking about "Americans" are you referring to the
(US)-American population? To their government? The same applies for
the term "European": are you referring to specific countries in
Europe? To the European Union? To countries belonging geographically
to Europe - from Armenia to Iceland?

Dear Dickie, 

It is very difficult to define what is the ?American View? and what is
the ?European attitude? regarding terrorism.

After all, we?re discussing dozens of nations (in Europe), which are
not unified about the suitable reaction to terrorism; and in the US
side (assuming that by ?American? you meant ?US-American?), there was
almost a draw last Presidential elections between the two main parties
and candidates, without any indication of majority of opinions
regarding Europe from one side of the other.

On the one hand, James Wirtz of the Navy?s Centre for Contemporary
Conflict (CCC), writes that the way the Europeans dealt with the issue
of September 11 ("we have terrorism here too"), ?[?] is considered by
most Americans to be an inexplicable reaction to 11 September, given
the severity of the loss of life and treasure suffered by the United
States.?
(SOURCE: James J. Wirtz ?Confronting Euro-Atlantic Security
Challenges?, Centre for Contemporary Conflict (CCC), <
http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/rsepResources/si/june03/terrorism.asp>)

Regarding the same point, Tod Lindberg from the Hoover Institute
responds, that ?With all due respect to the desire to feel more
sophisticated than Americans, the notion of greater European
experience of terrorism is based on a highly selective reading of the
historical record.?
(SOURCE: Tod Lindberg, ?America Knows Terrorism - Unlike the
simplistic Europeans.? The Weekly Standard 03/18/2002, Volume 007,
Issue 26
<http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/001vhrfj.asp>).


This could be also because of European sentiments, mentioned in
Wirtz?s article, that the ?war? on terrorism is actually a long-term
struggle, and not a ?war? or a ?battle? that could be terminated, once
and for all.

An article on the difference of opinions regarding terrorism in ?CSIS
Europe Program? EuroForum (ed.: Dr. Simon Serfaty), the same point is
repeated: the Americans view the struggle as war, Europeans ?made it
clear they do not share the same sentiment? (SOURCE: The Finality
Debate and its National Dimensions, Beyond the NATO Prague Summit?/
EuroForum Summer 2002, <
http://www.csis.org/europe/euroforum/v4n4.pdf>, p. 4).

Dr, Judith Klinghoffer sums it up when she says, that ?[?] Indeed, the
divergence between American and European attitude towards terrorism,
[?], reflects divergence between liberal democrats and transnational
progressives? (SOURCE: Judith Apter Klinghoffer ?Is the Problem with
Arafat that He's a Dictator?? History News Network, <
http://hnn.us/articles/780.html.>), or in other words, between
different conceptions of identity and government.

I hope that answered your question. I searched the web for relevant
terms, such as :
"European attitude towards terrorism" 
"european * * terrorism" 
americans "european * * terrorism" 
and many more. 

If you need any clarification on this answer, please contact me before
you tip/rate it.

You may find the letter Marilyn A. Guinnane wrote to 40 reporters at
the Boston Globe, interesting...
   
"...I [Marilyn A. Guinnane - an ex flight attendant, presumably
American] think at some level every American knows the answers to all
these questions. It's just that Americans are terrified of the truth,
that their own government engineered the entire catastrophic affair
[that of 9/11]. Foreigners know. Americans, however, have their
collective frightened heads in the sand.[..]"
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0309/S00134.htm
(last paragraph)