Changing Perceptions of the United States |
| Written by Mark Lelyveld • September 2011 |
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Like Pearl Harbor before, September 11th marks one of the most tragic days in American history. The tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is this week. In the decade since the 9/11 attacks, perceptions of the United States have changed radically. Opinions of the U.S. have gone from good to bad to worse and back again. This article will focus on opinions of the U.S. from pre-9/11 years to during the Bush years and now to the Obama administration years. Before the 9/11 attacks, the United States was seen as a powerful country that was surrounded by an air of invincibility. Since the attacks, the U.S. has lost some of that authority and invincibility. According to Ethan Katz, a history professor at the University of Cincinnati, “On the whole…America is a more fearful, more insecure, [and] less respected nation than it was before the attack.” What the attacks really proved is that the U.S. can be attacked just like any other country and that Americans should be prepared for anything. During the eight years that President Bush was in office, the perception of the U.S. went down significantly. While in office, President Bush started two wars which are still going on today even though he is not in office anymore. In his article, Mr. Katz said that “The American decision to invade Iraq and the gross incompetence of much of our post-invasion effort in both Iraq and Afghanistan [has] exacerbated this problem of perceptions of American power and effectiveness.” One of the main points of contention between Middle Eastern countries and the U.S. during the Bush administration years was that Bush’s War on Terror had ulterior motives. For example, Bush invaded Iraq citing that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction for terrorists; however, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. The Bush administration also wanted to find Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden but their attempts were unsuccessful. Bin Laden was not found and killed until May 2011. Although many Middle Eastern countries still disapprove of the United States, this relationship is slowly getting better. U.S. troops are starting to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan which is what many Middle Eastern leaders want. Since coming into office into 2008, President Obama has taken steps to rebuild the U.S.’s relationship with the Middle East. In April 2009, Obama gave a speech to the Turkish assembly in Ankara and mentioned one prominent thing. During the speech, Mr. Obama said “I know there have been difficulties, these last few years. So let me say this as clearly as I can: The United States is not and will never be at war with Islam.” In the same year, President Obama also gave a speech in Cairo, Egypt titled “A New Beginning.” In July 2010, Mr. Obama met with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to show that the U.S.-Israeli bond is “unbreakable” and to discuss the Middle East peace process.
Sources: http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=14010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070601889.html http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/NewBeginning
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_090407.htm  Mark Lelyveld has been writing on national security and policy for decades. He has interviewed various policy experts for leading publications in the United States and oversees. He is very interested in how the politics of the Post-Cold War nations have evolved over the decades. Comments (0)
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