Wasn't quite sure where to post this and I apologize in advance if this is a duplicate. This is a committee reprint from the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The link to the 47-page document in PDF format is below.

http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/42566.pdf


Executive Summary:

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attack there was world-wide
sympathy and support for the United States. This was best summed up in
the headline in the French newspaper Le Monde—Nous sommes tous
Americains. (“We are all Americans now.”)

Since then, polls conducted by the U.S. Government and respected
private firms have revealed a precipitous decline in favorability toward the
United States and its foreign policy. The generally positive ratings from the
1950’s to 2000 moved to generally negative after 2002. As the very first
witness in a 10-hearing series with pollsters and regional analysts told the
Subcommittee—“We have never seen numbers this low.”

The reversal is unprecedented and widespread:
• A 45-percentage point drop in favorability in Indonesia; 41 in
Morocco; 40 in Turkey; and 27 in the United Kingdom;

• Among Muslims in Nigeria, favorable opinion fell 33 points, from
71 percent to 38 percent, within an eight-month period;

• A 26-point increase in Europe of the view that U.S. leadership in
world affairs is undesirable;

• Unfavorability rose to 82 percent in Arab countries and 86 percent
of Latin American elites now rate U.S. relations negatively; and

• 83 percent of countries in 2002 had a plurality of citizens judging
the United States favorably; by 2006 only 23 percent of countries
had a plurality saying that U.S. influence is positive.

While the United States can’t base its foreign policies on opinion polling—
either at home or abroad—this consistently negative view of U.S. foreign
policy is both a liability and a sign that something has gone seriously awry.
What happened? Why, as the question is often posed, do they hate us?

Comment:

Having leafed through the document, the answer seems to be one of two:

--We are hated for who we are.
--We are hated for our policies in the world which are perceived as hypocritical and in violation of our values.

And it's not just the Middle East that holds these views. The report cited a Russian high school text:

"American foreign policy is designed to dominate the strategic minerals of the Middle East through alliance with dictatorial regimes. In Asia and Latin America, it uses military force to threaten governments who challenge its commercial interests."

As a former US Navy Intelligence Specialist (IS), I would be interested in hearing any comments on this report.