Zeeshan Aleem is Fall 2008 Prospect editorial intern.
More than 10,000 supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr protested peacefully against the Status of Forces Agreement in Baghdad today. This reminded me that the word "anti-American" is consistently used to refer to Sadr and the sentiments of his supporters.
But what does it mean to be "anti-American"? And why is this adjective used only on stances towards the United States? American citizenry are never divided among "pro-Iraqi" and "anti-Iraqi" camps, at least by the media. "Anti-American" blurs nuance, connoting a primal animosity, rooted in an abject resentment towards the essential condition of being American, of possessing American values and culture. It suggests that Sadr's followers are irrational and unable to distinguish between American foreign policy and the general American populace. Those who are "anti-American" are not discerning thinkers defined by their allegiance to sovereignty, but a crowd with a consuming opposition to the very idea of the U.S, regardless of what good or bad it does. Anti-Americans don't think and have grievances; they hate.
"Hard news" reporters would be better served by describing Sadrists as critical of the US occupation under any conditions; such a description would re-legitimize their interests and drop the unjustifiable clash-of-civilizations aura that surrounds every discussion of their sentiments.
--Zeeshan Aleem
