By Patricia H. Kushlis
Note: Here follows the text of my speech for The League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico on Thursday, July 10, 2008. The numerous questions and comments that followed were every bit as good as my talk.
It’s a pleasure and an honor to be invited to speak to the League of Women Voters here in Albuquerque today. I want to thank Helen Wright, in particular, for asking me. I know the League has a long and honorable nonpartisan tradition in public service, in citizenship and especially in voter education. Your work is crucial in helping keep this country a democracy and, as we approach Elections 2008, it has never been more important than today.
I’m here to talk with you this noon about “The US Image Abroad – and How It Can Be Fixed.” My topic relates closely to the goals and activities of the League because the world has never been more interconnected. People abroad see the outcome of our November elections as important, if not vital, to their future welfare whether they live in Europe, Latin America, Asia or Africa. Lots of them wish they had the opportunity to cast their vote for our next president as well.
Here’s how I plan to structure my talk: 1) a review of how the US is currently seen abroad and why; 2) thoughts on how the situation can be changed; and 3) a few ideas on what the League in Central New Mexico can do to help make a difference. Finally, I’d like to leave time for your observations and questions at the end.
All the World’s a Stage: Perceptions of the US Abroad
In a recent article entitled “All the World’s a Stage” that introduced the results of this spring’s Pew Global Attitudes Project, an annual assessment conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, Andrew Kohut and Richard Wike, began as follows: “Simply put, America’s image in much of the Muslim world remains abysmal.”
Kohut is the president of the Pew Research Center and Director of its Global Attitudes Project. Wike is the project’s Associate Director.
Kohut and Wike tell us in this latest report issued in May 2008 that “between 2002 and 2007, the number of people with a favorable view of the United States fell in 26 countries of the 33 where . . . data is available.”
On the positive side, they report, however, that “in some Muslim nations, America’s image has rebounded slightly – in Jordan, for instance, the latest poll found that 20 percent of Jordanians held a positive view of the US – up from one percent in 2003 – two months after the start of the Iraq war and that in the Palestinian territories US favorability “climbed from less than one percent in 2003 to 13 percent in 2007. Those improvements, nevertheless, are nothing I would want to write home about to mother.
Moreover, favorability ratings of the US remain disturbingly low among many of our longtime European allies and they also dipped in Latin America. In Argentina, for instance, the US favorability rating is now at 16 percent and it’s very low in other parts of the non-Muslim world as well.
Why the dismal picture?
The Pew report tells us that many of the negatives relate to specific US foreign policies – in particular – the Iraq invasion and continuing US occupation of the country. The Iraq War not only solidified anti-Americanism in the Arab Middle East but it also extended it as far east as majority mainstream Muslim Indonesia and into Turkey, a US NATO ally, whose moderate Muslim population had been pro-American prior to 2003. Today, Indonesia shows a 29 percent favorable rating. Turkey comes in at nine percent, the bottom of all 47 countries surveyed this year - below even the Palestinian territories.
But many negative views of the US this year for the first time -and particularly across the Muslim world - extend beyond Iraq to the continuation of US and NATO military bases and actions in Afghanistan. Many Muslims think – including those surveyed in Western Europe – that the US is overreacting to international terrorism.
They have a point: like it or not, far more acts of terrorism are committed in the name of Islam by Muslims against other Muslims than against any other group or country. Furthermore, many groups that use terrorism are not Muslim at all. A few examples: the FARC in Colombia, our own Oklahoma City bombers, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka (who initiated the modern suicide-bomber), November 17 in Greece and the one I know best because it was active when I worked there – and the IRA, prior to the Irish Peace Accords.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of the mainstream Muslims surveyed by Pew worry that US military strength “might someday be directed at them.” This fear is particularly prevalent (76 percent) in Turkey. Many Muslims – including those in Turkey - do not trust US explanations for the “war on terror.” Finally, American power is deeply resented across the globe – but especially in Muslim countries.
US policies towards Israel are also a major irritant, not only among Muslims, but also among non-Muslim Europeans. Even in Israel, 42 percent of the Israelis polled think the US favors their country too much.
Now I want to draw a distinction between dislike for US government policies and for American citizens – like you and me. There, the record is not so dismal. In 14 of 23 countries polled by Pew, Americans as people are popular in Canada, the UK, Italy, France, Japan and Germany (in that order of descending popularity). We are not, however, particularly well received in Mexico, China and Spain. Although in all 47 countries surveyed, American citizens are seen more favorably than US foreign policies.
What can be done to improve the situation?
It’s not fun to occupy the position of the world’s most “hated nation.” The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. Turning the situation around, however, will not be easy, and as long as the US “remains the world’s dominant power, there will always be fear of our intentions and actions.” But a lot can be done – and our next president – who ever he is – will have that, among other, Herculean tasks in front of him.
There will be a grace period for either John McCain or Barak Obama in terms of world public opinion. Although as recent polls in France and elsewhere in Europe have indicated, Obama holds European hearts and minds in ways McCain does not. I think, however, either will be given a period of time – perhaps six months to a year to begin to turn US foreign policies – around.
A few suggestions for change
First, rhetoric is part of the problem and is the easiest to change: The first thing I would do is to abolish the phrase “war on terror” from the administration’s vocabulary and the public discourse.
“War on terror” is conceptually wrong. “Terror” is a tactic and declaring war on a tactic is not only an oxymoron but the term has become an unnecessary irritant in dealing with the world and especially the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims who see “war on terror” as anti-Islamic code coined by the West that targets all Muslims – most of whom – for good reason - also oppose the use of terrorism.
Second, I would rethink US foreign policies, revamp our foreign policy institutions and change how we use them.
I would recommend closing Guantanamo and publicly rejecting the illegal practices of torture and rendition and disregard for international law. I would reign in the US military, using it more selectively and getting its budget under control. I would phase out Missile Defense except perhaps at the tactical, or battlefield level which seems to have more promise in reality. Attempting to implement something that doesn’t work and is viewed suspiciously abroad simply causes unnecessary friction with allies in Europe and the Russians as well.
I would also rethink our immigration and visa laws, policies and their implementation.
I would re-engage with the world through multilateral institutions and skilled bilateral, multilateral and public diplomacy rather than through the doctrines of unilateralism, preventive warfare and anti-environmentalism. Where this administration has been its most successful – with respect to North Korea for instance – that is precisely what it did.
I would substantially reduce the number of private contractors throughout all corners of the foreign affairs community - civilian and military - and insist that those who remain are doing things the government cannot do well and are also held accountable for their actions wherever they may be.
I would also remove the functions that do not demand military solutions from the military and restore them to the civilian bureaucracies from where they came.
Any institutional realignment means expanding and reinvigorating the US Agency for International Development and letting AID officials do what they once did best. This means democracy and infrastructure building, economic development, relief work and various aspects of public safety.
I would expand the Peace Corps, separate humanitarian assistance from political posturing and reevaluate the current use of trade embargoes that only hurt people not regimes. And, I would remove the Pentagon from the overseas information business and recreate and reinvent the US Information Agency as a separate entity from the State Department with free standing cultural and information centers abroad and a permanent seat occupied by a prominent, well respected and knowledgeable person close to the president on the next administration’s National Security Council.
“Democracy is NOT a spectator sport” – League of Women Voters
Finally, I would accent America’s positives – and this is where the League comes in - in spades. Study after study has shown that foreigners, particularly mainstream Muslims, perceive our policies as contradicting our values. As the House Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight reported on June 11, data presented at ten hearings this spring on the reasons for the decline in America’s reputation abroad make it clear that people in other nations don’t “hate us because of our values” – but rather that they are disappointed with us because we aren’t always true to those values.
So I urge you to keep up the League’s core mission of promoting free and fair elections here at home – and as community educators and watch-dogs of the democratic process. This ranges from voter education to poll work and election monitoring. It also means teaching others less knowledgeable than you are on how to be responsible citizens in a democracy.
As part of this, I hope you are doing every thing you can to reinvigorate the teaching of civics, history, geography, foreign languages, responsible journalism, critical thinking and all those other aspects needed for the practice of good government in our schools, colleges and universities that have fallen from favor over the years.
These are ways we can help at home demonstrate to the world that we do, in fact, live up to our core democratic values.
In closing, there are a few other things that you as members of the League can also do to help change perceptions of this country on the international front. First, you can help brief and educate the many foreign visitors who come here to observe how our political campaigns and elections operate at the grass roots.
New Mexico is a fascinating state because it is so often an electoral battleground – and none more so than this year. I expect we will see any number of foreign journalists, officials and non-officials here for election night as well as those coming through during the weeks before.
And second, not only can and should you be poll watchers, election workers and judges yourselves – but you can also encourage international organizations such as the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe to send trained, impartial election observers to the US to help us make our most contested races as honest as possible.
The world is watching what we do as well as listening to what we have to say.
So your job is cut out for you and it’s never been more important than in the coming months. I thank you for having me and wish you the very best.
You say, " Finally, American power is deeply resented across the globe – but especially in Muslim countries." On more careful consideration it is not the power per se that is resented, but the misuse of the power.
Posted by: Courtenay Barnett | Sunday, 13 July 2008 at 09:30 AM
Do not misread my previous post. You make a lot of sense and I am boradly in agreement with you.
Posted by: Courtenay Barnett | Sunday, 13 July 2008 at 09:36 AM