U.S. Must Counteract Image in Muslim World, Panel Says

A team of academics, diplomats, and writers convened by the Bush administration has found "shocking levels" of hostility towards the US in the Muslim world. The panel found anti-American sentiment increasing in the wake of the Iraq war and escalating Israel-Palestine conflict, and called this sentiment a "lethal threat" to American interests and public safety. The panel's report recommends a drastic increase in the currently miniscule amount of money spent by the US on outreach to the Arab and Muslim world. US 'public diplomacy' has dropped off sharply since the end of the Cold War, say panelists, resulting in an international ignorance of American perspectives and goals. But, as the report notes, the roots of hostility towards the US may lie in US policies, not in poor US public relations. – YaleGlobal