America's Image Problem

November 30, 2004

You don't have to be a foreign policy expert to know that America's reputation in the Arab world is suffering . But many Americans do buy the narrative spun by the White House and others (Tom Friedman comes to mind) that the Arab world hates us because of our liberal democratic society. Give thanks to the Pentagon of all places for releasing a new report which challenges this notion. On the afternoon before Thanksgiving, the Defense Science Board—a Pentagon advisory panel—released "Strategic Command," a 111-page report citing America's diplomatic and communication failures with the international Muslim community. The report states,"Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies ," and urges the government to change its approach to understanding and communicating with the Muslim world. SEE THE REPORT