John Leyne the BBC's State Dept. correspondent has posted an article,
"US feared by foes and friends", which reviews a survey of global attitudes of the US.
It is so extremely important for us to look from the outside in - use a global mirror - and consider how the US is perceived from abroad. As an expat in Canada, I see this everyday.
Here is how the Leyne piece starts:
Discontent with the United States and its policies has intensified in the year following the war in Iraq, according to an annual poll of global attitudes towards the US.
On a miserable, drizzly day in Washington, Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Centre said: "The results of this survey were as gloomy as the weather outside."
The image of the United States is as negative as it was a year before, and even in the UK, arguably the closest ally of the US, approval of the world's lone superpower "tumbled".
And while the Pew Global Attitudes Project showed slight improvement in attitudes in the Muslim world towards the US, a great divide still exists.
And the report showed that those negative attitudes toward the US will fuel support for continued attacks against Americans.
A central question arises: Is it US policy to be feared by both friend and perceived foe? Does this policy actually work?
Perhaps what has transpired in Spain can be viewed in this context. Your thoughts?