... The “war on terrorism” is now so deeply imbedded in America’s psyche that we think it is “highly likely” that America will continue to export more fear than hope and will continue to defend things like torture and Guantánamo Bay prison and to favor politicians like Mr. Giuliani, who alienates the rest of the world.
... At a time when America’s bridges, roads, airports and Internet bandwidth have fallen behind other industrial powers, including China, we believe that the U.S. opposition to higher taxes — and the fact that the primary campaigns have focused largely on gay marriage, flag-burning and whether the Christian Bible is the literal truth — means it is “highly unlikely” that America will arrest its decline.
... All the U.S. presidential candidates are distancing themselves from the core values that made America such a great power and so different from us — in particular America’s long commitment to free trade, open immigration and a reverence for scientific enquiry wherever it leads. Our intel analysts are baffled that the leading Democrat, Mrs. Clinton, no longer believes in globalization and the leading Republican, Mr. Huckabee, never believed in evolution.
U.S. politicians seem determined to appeal either to the most nativist extremes in their respective parties — or to tell voters that something Americans call “the tooth fairy” will make their energy, budget, educational and Social Security deficits painlessly disappear.
Therefore, we conclude with “high confidence” that there is little likelihood that post-9/11 America will, as they say, “get its groove back” anytime soon.
If ever. This sad diagnosis of the American condition comes from Tom Friedman in the New York Times, couched in a hypothetical "NIE" written by Iranian intelligence assessing the damage the US could do in coming years, much as we assess (or not) Iran's threat.
What's most interesting is the pegging of our ills on 9/11. 9/11 has been an excuse for throwing a tantrum and hitting out. But 9/11 isn't the problem. The relationship of the US government and the strongest in our society with the rest of the world is just as bad as the relationship of political and corporate American to the least among us. Until we get that imbalance straightened out -- until something is more important to us than personal and national profit -- we'll continue to limp behind the rest of the world.
