Friends abroad say storm debacle could hurt America's influence

[fencesitter]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/12585756.htm

By Trudi Rubin..

A trip to Paris last weekend made me painfully aware of the global impact of Hurricane Katrina.

The tardy national response to the suffering and death in New Orleans shocked both those who admire and those who criticize the American superpower. It caused foreigners to ask whether America is indeed a power in decline. If it can't protect its own, how can it aspire to lead others?

The Bush administration, which seems to believe its own spin, may not recognize the damage done to America's image. It should be paying attention. Unless reversed, the foreign perception of American incompetence will further erode America's influence and interests abroad.

<snip>

The French, like the Arab world, don't realize that the United States has the financial resources not only to stay in Iraq until it stabilizes but also to rebuild the Gulf Coast. But to have access to those resources, President Bush would need to rescind the tax cuts for the rich that have shrunk his monetary options. Such a dramatic gesture might persuade the world that the President means what he says.

That gesture, however, is unlikely. Tax cuts appear to be more sacred to the White House than New Orleans or Iraq.

more...

[displacedtexan]

1. More News from the Land of DUH. (n/t)

[marmar]

2. I think that aura of invincibility started disappearing a while ago...

Can't defeat loosely organized groups of fighters in Iraq, can't protect your own people from a storm you knew was coming, can't insure all of your citizens....
Even Rome burned.

[barb162]

3. I think "that aura of invincibility" vanished with Vietnam

[bemildred]

4. That's about right.

What's disappearing now is the "aura of credibility".