Christopher Walker: US walks alone - and all over us

There was one Wall Street watering hole that always attrac- ted me. It had a mean "Man- hattan" cocktail and some of the friendliest barmen in New York, and it gave me many happy memories. It also had unparalleled views across the city – thanks to its location on top of the World Trade Centre. In the week of remembrance, I thought of those unlucky guys, caught waiting on a breakfast conference.

Sadness turned to anger.

We must not underestimate the anger the US now feels, nor the challenge faced by its leadership. President Bush has successfully rallied his own nation behind a resolve to tackle international threats, but at the same time, he has led America into a diplomatic wilderness. Could you name a single nation whose relations with the US have improved in the last year?

So often, the attitude of the US appears swaggering. This comes not just from the anger inspired by 11 September, but its economic and military su- premacy. It's less than 10 years since the US spent $280bn (£180bn) on defence, while the EU spent $180bn. Ours has hardly increased, while the US heads towards $500bn. This combination of economic and military power has created a US policy of machtpolitik.

We see plenty of evidence of this also in business and finance. There are few happy faces in the City just now, but one who is smiling is a steel trader I know. He's never had it so good, thanks to President Bush's decision to flout the rules of free trade in steel.

As the economic hyperpower, the US now seeks to impose its way of doing business on others. Stock exchange practices across the globe have gradually been forced on to its model – what one observer has called the "death of gentlemanly capitalism". Business managers are expected to act in the "Jack Welch way", and, until recently, the pressure for all companies to adopt US accounting practice was overwhelming (though things have gone a bit quiet on that front lately).

This has happened before. Britain's economic and military preponderance a hundred years ago led it into diplomatic isolation as it dealt ruthlessly with the "Boer terrorists". In many ways it marked the high watermark of British influence. Is this Americana peaking now?

There is an increasing divide between the attitudes of Americans and Europeans. The US seems so often to see the world simply divided between good and evil. In contrast, more and more, we Europeans have a world view of peaceful cohabitation. This requires understanding the shades of cultural and political difference, and operating strictly within international rules policed by strong international bodies. To put it in terms President Bush might understand, the US is playing sheriff hunting down the outlaws, while Europe acts as the saloon keeper eager for a quiet time selling whisky.

Of course, Europe is to some extent getting a free ride. Shorn of imperial responsibilities and military power, we can be "born-again idealists", but we can only do this under the protective wing of the Americans.

If we really wish to counter this US policy of machtpolitik, it will require us to act in much greater unison on diplomatic and military matters. On trade we have started to stand together; we must broaden that co-operation.

The need to do so is real. Two American actions have particularly worried me in the past year. How can any civilised democracy boast, with a press conference, of how it is mistreating prisoners of war? How can it demand that it alone is exempted from a new international treaty on war crimes? Are the rest of the world second-class citizens to Americans?

The US needs to rethink its attitude. Last week we remembered the dead. They deserve better.