(Karen) Hughes: Fixing U.S. image may take years ("maybe decades")

[sabra]

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/15631630.htm

Hughes: Fixing U.S. image may take years
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - It may take decades to change anti-American feelings around the world that have been aggravated by war in Iraq, U.S. policy toward Israel and America's "sex and violence" culture, the State Department official in charge of dealing with the U.S. image abroad said Thursday.

"The anti-Americanism, the concern around the world ... this ideological struggle, it's not going to change" quickly, Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's going to be the work of years and maybe decades."

Hughes, a longtime adviser to President Bush, has worked for more than a year to retool the way America sells itself overseas, but she acknowledged that success can be next to impossible to measure.

...

Hughes said the three-year-old Iraq war "is the latest excuse" for anti-American grievance in the Muslim world.

"A lot of the world did not agree with what we did in going into Iraq," just as there is long-standing disagreement with U.S. support for Israel, Hughes said.

[yourout]

1. "A lot of the world did not agree with what we did in going into Iraq,"

No Shit Sherlock!

[arcane1]

13. correction: MOST of the world did not agree!!!!!

[President Kerry]

37. forget the world,

most of THIS FRIGGIN COUNTRY that elected (?) your sorry asses do not agree!!!

[Jawja]

55. With the exception perhaps

of Laura and Barney - but they don't even matter, either. :mad:

[Tellurian]

25. Pathetic and a disgrace to our country..

Karen, our image was fine until you and your bosses took over our country.
I have to ask you this and I'd appreciate an honest answer:

"ARE WE BETTER OFF THAN WE WERE 10 YRS AGO?" :hi:

[Joe Bacon]

53. It will take a century to undo what the Nazis have done since 1980

There is no Republican Party. It has become the Nazi Party. The damage these ignorant bible thumping fools have done will take decades to repair.

[Tellurian]

61. This has been a voyage into the core of Federalism..

at every US citizen's expense.

We're experiencing the mirror image of the Constitution...Federalism.
I've had 6 yrs of Constitutional Law training and my professor would regularly
bring in staunch Federalist profs for lectures and mock debates.

Globalism, Trade and The Corporate World are their realm. People have no standing
in this bizarro world and why Bush has been pushing so hard to strip us of our rights.

Believe me, you are not witnessing ignorance. You're witnessing a high jacking and privatization
of anything and everything that can be incorporated as a commodity, service, or government infrastructure,
with profits funneling directly into the hands of those holding the reins of power.

[SharonAnn]

63. It takes much longer to build something than to tear it down.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

2. Gee Karen, ya think???

Why won't this woman just disappear? She's a total freak!!!

[DoYouEverWonder]

19. All of the Bush women are total freaks

They really are a special breed.

[0007]

50. They're all straight up and down fucks for sure!!

[Kali]

3. it could change overnight if we convicted her "boss" and his cronies.

And elected an actual government based on the US Constitution.

[AlinPA]

16. Yes. The US would gain trust worldwide immediately if that happened.

[jimshoes]

4. In a little over two years

this person will hardly even be a footnote (or a comma) in the history books. Thankfully and hopefully a little sooner if we can impeach. Then maybe the country can fix its image.

[indepat]

5. Jeez, why should anyone consider our image tarnished by pre-emptive war

and siding with Israel on virtually every issue rather than being an honest broker for peace and stability in the Middle East?

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Maybe centuries.

[thereismore]

7. Where has she been, living on the hog on taxpayer's money? nt

[90-percent]

9. A lot of people are unhappy....................

"A lot of people are unhappy...................."

Gee, do you suppose any of those unhappy people were part of the largest worldwide protests in the history of civilization that took place all over the globe in the months in early 2003 before the US invasion?

-85% Jimmy

[Supersedeas]

8. Is disagreement with the invasion of Iraq, just an excuse for the American

people too???

As if there is no reasonable justification for resentment of this Administration policies.

[Ilsa]

10. They may not condone the "sex and violence" culture, but I

don't think they even care if we are leaving them alone. If they suspect we are invading to install our "style" of anything, then no wonder we have an "image" problem.

[filer]

11. Astute observations, Karen.

Guess that's why you're paid the big bucks. Decades to change their thinking? Hell, it'd be easier to kill them all first.

[Gloria]

12. She's the "latest excuse" for a human being produced by this

bunch of walking disasters....

[stubtoe]

14. Abu Graib, Guantanmo, secret prisons

It will take generations for these atrocities to be forgotten - or forgiven.

[niyad]

15. and, of course, we need to leave the people in charge who

CAUSED this mess in the first place, because they will happily clean it up. oh yeahhhhhh

[dkofos]

17. I say with her in charge of the program it will only get worse

[Straight Shooter]

18. "The latest excuse"????

There she goes, patronizing the Muslim world again. Makes it sound like she's talking about a bunch of adolescents who failed to do their homework.

What a piece of work. Can't wait to hear that talking point regurgitated by all the Repubs.

"Latest excuse." Holy crap. She's certifiable.

[Frustratedlady]

20. Our image would improve almost immediately...

if GWB (and cabal) was out of office. It would only take enough time for the news to circle the globe.

Could this planet take the vibration from so many people leaping into the air in jubilation?

[bamacrat]

21. It will definately not be while Bitch is in office.

[BigDDem]

22. Oh, so they wont

be greeting us with "flowers and chocolates?"

[Elidor]

23. Shorter Karen Hughes:

"The killing will continue until everyone is happy!"

[President Kerry]

38. or, as my favorite saying goes,

The beatings will continue until the morale improves.

[NastyRiffraff]

24. impeachment would go a long way...

..towards changing our terrible image throughout the world.

America's image wasn't a big problem before dumbass staged a coup in 2000.

[peace13]

26. Karen is the caboose in the train wreck that is this administration

[Jack1963]

27. Is she really paid to come up with this stuff???? nt

[librechik]

28. Thanks,K for letting your Love Button ruin our reputation for decades

oh, and for actively NOT helping while getting paid to HELP...

[yorkiemommie1]

29. and whose fault is that, may we ask?

take this whine to your master!

[NOLADEM]

30. Hmmm,, Why in the world would that be, Karen?

Could it be your disasterous, disgusting, inhuman, and INEFFECTIVE policies?

Nah, couldn't be. Must be that the entire world and 63% of your own country must be completely wrong and you rich, crazy, out of touch assholes have all the right answers.

HAIL! LONG LIVE THE KING!!!!

[MidwestTransplant]

31. Uh yeah it's the sex and violence culture. That has a major impact

on people in other parts of the world.

[President Kerry]

39. i'm surprised she didn't stick abortion and gay marriage in there

:crazy:

[chelsea0011]

32. I look forward to when history views her as a "comma".

[ninkasi]

33. This is so typical of the current administration

Rather than admit that our policies are wrong, illegal, and immoral, and trying to change our actions, they just try to repackage it. It's like the makers of a terrible product, one which fails to do what it promises, is shoddy, and breaks down. They don't fix the problem, they just go on a massive PR campaign, and change the box the product comes in. They refuse to change the things they are doing that have antagonized the rest of the world.

I wonder if we're going to keep on lecturing other countries about human rights, and freedom. We've lost whatever moral authority we used to have, and are now like any other totalitarian regime.

[dipsydoodle]

34. I think normality will slowly start to restore

when you've managed to get rid of your current administration but I don't think you'll ever return to the postition you had with the world's respect. The perverse law which seems about to be passed will be the final nail in the coffin.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/1089

[fshrink]

35. Permissible to allude to bully but not to laughingstock and

epitome of arrogance, hypocrisy and democratic decay. That's a lot to overcome. And the only way to achieve this quickly is to clean up our Augean stable. Problem is our liberal leaders are mostly not Herculean in this endeavor. Not even mentioning our media.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

36. Too bad they're more concerned about our effing image

than they are about doing what is right, what is honest, nd what is in the best interest of the people of this country and the rest of the world.

This really pisses me off...It's Ray-gun gov't all over again! I don't want to hear another thing about our "image"!

I want to hear about how we are going to respect the terms of the Geneva Convention. I want to hear about what we are going to do to reverse the effects of global warming. I want to hear the plans that will make health care available to all Americans. I want to hear about the jobs that are going to be created in this country to help employ those who have suffered for the last 6 years.

[mcscajun]

40. Standard Martketing Approach. Don't fix what's broken, just

put some new fancy, frilly package and a new name on it.

I feel like that angry duck in the old cartoon: "Every day I'm forced to add to the list of people who can just KISS MY ASS."

Karen Hughes just found a place high up on the list.

[WCGreen]

41. The latest Excuse.....

Karen Hughes is the latest excuse for a diplomat...

[wellst0nev0ter]

42. The Definition Of "Chuzpah"

It is a man who kills both his parents but then demands sympathy at his trial because he's an orphan.

[DrZeeLit]

43. Oh, duh. Times a zillion. She makes me want to puke. n/t

[Anakin Skywalker]

44. Until Then, Don't F*cking Travel Abroad! LOL!

[Anakin Skywalker]

45. What "Image"? That Our Women Look Like Men?

[leesa]

46. The ONLY way to fix it is to jail the Bush cabal.

[ckramer]

47. Then the question to ask her is - why were your boss so dumb

to invade Iraq?

[sueh]

48. Umm, ya think, Karen?

We all knew this long ago. Where the fuck have you been??

[Kool Kitty]

49. Karen,

What the hell would you know about sex OR culture?

[Zorra]

51. Just one year of a good Dem Prez will fix 8 years of Bu*h

destruction.

However, if the republicans take the WH in 2008 any number of countries will want to nuke us.

[It was not a pretzel]

52. Maybe she can be disappeared

in 2008. After all, she`s aiding and abetting the terrorist *

[Javaman]

54. Here's quick fix, pull out of Iraq. nt

Here's the second quickest fix; impeach moron*.

[Doremus]

56. Purging government agencies of incompetent political appointees

like Karen Hughes would be one step in the right direction.

There would surely be lots of empty offices; picture the day after the Rapture.


But efficiency would go up 90% instantly.

[Jack Rabbit]

57. She can start by resigning

This entire junta, Karen Hughes included, is a major part of the problem.

Pushing them aside is a major part of the solution.



Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Eugène Delacroix
From the website of the University of Southern California

[Ishoutandscream2]

58. Do these people understand irony?

I swear, the people in this administration must walk aroung with their heads up their asses.

[area51]

65. Irony

In talking to the extreme right, I'm wondering if they do have any concept of irony. Perhaps they don't understand it due to the mental illness that makes them republinazis.

[allisonthegreat]

59. she makes me sick...

Just another foolish employment by Bushie and attempt to make him look good. Look at Vietnam? I wonder what their feelings are about what happened there and how long it took them to recover?

[Bake]

60. Damn you, Bill Clinton!

That b.j. really ruined our image around the world!

:sarcasm:

Bake

[Tellurian]

62. The headlines in Euro newspapers were dissing the Repugs..

When the question of Impeachment was raised by House Mgrs..
The Euros thought the Puritanicals had been left in England,
and America was the New World devoid of Religious persecution.

But as you see, that was also a LIE...It was all a swiftboating sham
to gain power and opened the door long enough for a Federalist takeover.

[antonialee839]

64. Well Nurse Ratched, a step in the right direction would be

for you to make yourself scarce. I'm sure you've done more harm than good, each time you've spat words out of your ugly mouth.

[rhett o rick]

66. Fixing our image is the least of our problems. nm

[Uncle Joe]

67. Natural neocon policy: all image no substance,

and they can't even get the image right.

[rhett o rick]

69. The Neocons don't give a s*** about image. They are using

brute force pushing us into tyranny. I am afraid the Democrats can't stop them.

[Uncle Joe]

70. The only image they care about,

is the false one, they portray to the American People during an "election". However, I agree in regards to the rest of the planet, they don't give rat's posterior end.

[ronnykmarshall]

68. No shit ASSHOLE!

And just who's responsible for this??? YOU and your pals in Bush admin. Fuck you, Karen.

[struggle4progress]

71. Karen must be angling for a permanent position.

Nice work if ya kin git it: make a mess, get paid to clean it up, smear the mess around, complain it's too big a job to do quickly ...

[kskiska]

72. She's the third person to have that job

and they've all come to the same conclusion. Preznit Junior thinks that by putting a different person in charge, he'll get the answer he wants. Just like Hans Blix was replaced by David Kay, who was replaced by Charles Duelfer. They all said the same thing. Then we invaded anyway.