The Decline in America's Reputation: Why?

[Fuchs]

@Wolfsberger;
That's a typical mistake that Americans do. The attitude is not anti-American, but anti-U.S. policy. The difference is crucial, and those who don't see it are blind to the real problem, excuse it away with the assumption that others are at fault.

I grant you, the US commits more than its share of screw ups. But that's what happens when somebody steps forward, takes a moral position, and actually tries to accomplish something in the real world.

Well, the problem is that during GWB's government there was no accomplishment, just ruins and wrecks visible.
It's quite obvious that this causes a decline of reputation and relations.

However since the USSR -- and a few others I cuold name in other times -- have engaged in exactly the same things to a greater extent than we ever have, you blew it when you added that.

With respect to your list, I suggest:

Torture. -- some, not systemic or widespread.

Actually, there's a zero tolerance towards torture in the civilized world.
The tolerance for torture is also limited in the USA, that's why the government alleges that waterboarding and other stuff is no torture.

Heating up of international conflicts by threatening other countries (which is illegal). -- Illegal? How so? By what laws? Morally wrong in the view of some, perhaps but illegal? Nah...

Article 2.4, Charter of the United Nations, signed by the USA and in force*.

Unnecessarily promoting a conflict with Russia. -- That's funny.

Not if you have less than an ocean between yourself and Russia. The major Euroepean countries want a good relationship with Russia, and U.S. foreign policy (ABM, influence in Ukraine and Georgia) is a significant troublemaker in that area.

Disrespect towards U.N. -- that's even funnier. If you can produce any organization that does more to earn disrespect, please tell me what it is...

Others respect it, U.S. doesn't => respect for U.S. declines. It's that simple.
Btw, the U.S. could leave the UN - and would lose most of what's left of its influence by doing so.
Maybe the respect for that institution is so low because the USA exploited the UN so easily for decades to further its own agenda.

Spying on corporations and individuals even in allied countries. -- and you don't? Most other nations don't???

The U.S. intelligence budget is on the same order as the defence budget of Germany. Seriously, quantity counts.
And I do strongly doubt that European intelligence services listen to domestic U.S. phone calls.

Huge arms sales into crisis regions, to both sides. -- Let me count the Leopards...

Both sides? The Greek got them, not the Turks. And that's a minimal conflict among allies. There are certainly no Leopard2 sales to Israel, Egypt and Saudi-Arabia at once. Maybe you can give a single example of Germany exporting to both sides of a crisis region?
I ask because arms sales into crisis regions are almost impossible for Germans at all...

Repeated friendly fire on allied troops. -- Yep, we are trigger happy. Poor training, no excuse. Not even that it's a fact of war that can occur even with the best trained troops.

That doesn't change that certain people dislike it strongly, that's what this thread is about.

Cheating the world economically. -- Do Daimler and BMW know this?

I'm not aware what you refer to, but Daimler and BMW certainly didn't exploit the world financial system by financing their consumption with self-printed money. Daimler and BMW also didn't cause a single world economic crisis because of greed.

(Is it possible to have quotes non-italic and comment quotes in italic?)


Re-electing GWB didn't help and electing McCain would most likely increase the problems, but there's a chance that a turnaround under Obama would pretty quickly delete the troubles. This is possible because the problems are connected to policy and politicians, not to the nation by most who despise the USA today.
The Arab world is an obvious exception to this, though.

*:
"Article 2
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.

1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.

2. All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.

3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.

4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."