I actually agree with much of what the article describes about the report. Soft power is exceedingly important for us, and we’ve neglected that greatly. However, even in our successes such as funding for HIV/AIDS and malaria and other efforts, we do virtually nothing to publicize those efforts. We allow others to dictate our image. This is one area where the EU and, yes, even the Chinese have us beat hands-down: Learning how to toot your own horn effectively.
I also disagree with the frequent assessment that we became “angry and frightened” as a nation. I think we have every right to be angry, and that we are perfectly within reason to expend a great deal of our resources in what we perceive to be a war on terror. Fear is certainly a component of that, but to describe us repeatedly as a “frightened” nation or people is silly. At worst on this point we have an administration that has put too much of its public time (what little there is of that) on terror. Repeatedly going to Asian economic summits and talking about little more than the WoT, for example, is ridiculous. To me, though, this is representative of poor PR management, not of a frightened, scared nation.
We allow others to dictate our image. This is one area where the EU and, yes, even the Chinese have us beat hands-down: Learning how to toot your own horn effectively.
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re: the EU and China. They don’t have an American media intent on making us like their citizens, docile muted serfs subservient to a global elite agenda.
IMHO the US should become a realpolitik nation with a Godfather mentality President. I like to spread democracy in the world but we cannot avoid being labeled a hypocrite. Kind of tricky to criticize China on religious freedom and then coddle to Saudi Arabia who is religiously intolerant for oil. I would deal with nations on a one on one basis of how they treated us in the past and what we can get from them. Giving billions to Indonesia after the tsunami after their Muslim politicians thought we deserved 9/11 and running to our chopters to get food and water in Bin Laden T shirts really irk me. I say the US close their wallets and use the power to say no when the EU demand that we send money and troops somewhere in the world like Bosnia, Somalia and etc, when their population vilfied the US and Americans overseas because they do not agree with our war in Iraq. I agree on one thing, we need to take care of home first before we go running around overseas on a crusade and handing money out to ungrateful world.