More on Why They Hate Us

Here and there, people are noticing some good stuff out of that report (PDF) from the Pentagon's Defense Science Board. The Daily Kos highlights a few nuggets. I'll cut and paste a bit of it for you with my own emphasis added:

Data from Zogby International in July 2004, for example, show that the U.S. is viewed unfavorably by overwhelming majorities in Egypt (98 percent), Saudi Arabia (94 percent), Morocco (88 percent), and Jordan (78 percent). The war has increased mistrust of America in Europe, weakened support for the war on terrorism, and undermined U.S. credibility worldwide.

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Negative attitudes and the conditions that create them are the underlying sources of threats to America's national security and reduced ability to leverage diplomatic opportunities. Terrorism, thin coalitions, harmful effects on business, restrictions on travel, declines in cross border tourism and education flows, and damaging consequences for other elements of U.S. soft power are tactical manifestations of a pervasive atmosphere of hostility.

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There is consensus in these reports that U.S. public diplomacy is in crisis. Missing are strong leadership, strategic direction, adequate coordination, sufficient resources, and a culture of measurement and evaluation. America's image problem, many suggest, is linked to perceptions of the United States as arrogant, hypocritical, and self-indulgent. There is agreement too that public diplomacy could be a powerful asset with stronger Presidential leadership, Congressional support, inter-agency coordination, partnership with the private sector, and resources (people, tools, structures, programs, funding).

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The number and depth of these reports indicate widespread concern among influential observers that something must be done about public diplomacy. But so far these concerns have produced no real change. The White House has paid little attention.

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The information campaign -- or as some still would have it, "the war of ideas," or the struggle for "hearts and minds" -- is important to every war effort. In this war it is an essential objective, because the larger goals of U.S. strategy depend on separating the vast majority of non-violent Muslims from the radical-militant Islamist-Jihadists. But American efforts have not only failed in this respect: they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended.

Unfortunately, the report is 111 pages long, so Bush will never read it unless they translate it into cartoon form, or film it with Tim Allen in the lead role. But holy fucking shit, right? The Pentagon saying the president is lacking in strategerie and leadership? No you dih-int! I hope the authors are keeping their families in hiding...

And an afterthought - why do we have to read about this in blogs? How is it that Chris Matthews isn't just reading this report verbatim every single night on that screamfest he likes to pretend is a news show? The president's own precious Pentagon is saying that everything we've done in Iraq is a steaming pile of shit. Isn't that news? I guess if there's no rape, car chase, or dead fetus, it's not news. WAKE UP, MEDIA! You're killing democracy!