IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1410 
Supporting efforts to advance United States international diplomacy and 
engagement in order to restore United States credibility abroad. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2008 
Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin (for herself, Ms. LEE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. 
CHRISTENSEN, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Mr. CAR-
SON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting efforts to advance United States international 
diplomacy and engagement in order to restore United 
States credibility abroad. 
Whereas America’s global stature and standing is an asset in 
its efforts to achieve foreign policy goals and respond to 
threats to building a more secure and prosperous world; 
Whereas in the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 
2001, there was an international showing of sympathy 
and support for the United States, and since then, polls 
conducted by the Government of the United States and 
other entities have showed a troubling and sharp decline 
in public opinion toward the United States around the 
globe; 
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•HRES 1410 IH 
Whereas according to the results of the Pew Global Attitudes 
Survey, conducted between 2002 and 2007, the number 
of people with a favorable view of the United States fell 
in 26 countries out of the 33 surveyed; 
Whereas according to the results of the Pew Global Attitudes 
Survey, a majority of those surveyed said they have a 
very or somewhat favorable opinion of the United States 
in only 8 of 23 countries; 
Whereas according to the results of the Pew Global Attitudes 
Survey, in many countries central to the fight against 
terrorism, the general public deeply distrusts the United 
States, with solid majorities in France, Germany, and 
Spain continuing to express unfavorable opinions; 
Whereas according to the Pew Global Attitudes Survey, in 
Turkey, which is a secular, Muslim, non-Arab democracy 
and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion, only 9 out of 100 people have a favorable view of 
the United States, a 43 percent decline from 2000; 
Whereas the Pew Global Attitudes Survey found that the 
American people, considered separately from United 
States foreign policy, were viewed positively by majorities 
in 14 countries, including at least 70 percent in South 
Korea, Lebanon, Poland, and Great Britain; 
Whereas the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the 
Arab and Muslim World (Advisory Group), a sub-
committee of the Congressionally-created Advisory Com-
mission on Public Diplomacy, reported, ‘‘Although the 
objective of foreign policy is to promote our national in-
terests and not, specifically, to inspire affection, hostility 
toward the United States makes achieving our policy 
goals far more difficult’’; 
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•HRES 1410 IH 
Whereas a report by the International Organizations, Human 
Rights, and Oversight Subcommittee of the House of 
Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs stated 
that the decline in United States standing and credibility 
abroad was not caused by a rejection of shared values 
such as democracy, human rights, tolerance, and freedom 
of speech, and that a number of reports have found that 
people worldwide, including Arabs and Muslims, support 
our values but believe that our policies do not live up to 
those standards; 
Whereas reasons put forward for this decline in global public 
opinion include the war in Iraq, instances of torture and 
rendition, and a perception that American decisions and 
actions are made unilaterally and without regard to inter-
national laws or standards; 
Whereas the decline in global public opinion has also been at-
tributed to the unfortunate and ill-advised use of words 
and rhetoric by American officials, which has increased 
skepticism of motives and actions; 
Whereas specifically, the use of words to arouse strong fear- 
based emotions that tarnish entire peoples or religions 
has been cited as a reason behind the decline in percep-
tions of America abroad, which hinders, not helps, Amer-
ican national policy objectives; 
Whereas the Advisory Group noted that ‘‘a single word from 
the President of the United States (or from a Congress-
man or even an American entertainer) can harden into 
formidable antagonism the view of an Arab citizen who 
was wavering on a policy question’’; 
Whereas soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Presi-
dent George W. Bush recognized the importance of 
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•HRES 1410 IH 
words, and renamed the United States response ‘‘Oper-
ation Enduring Crusade’’, when experts pointed out a 
reference to the religious wars could be interpreted as in-
flammatory; 
Whereas President Bush recently expressed regret about 
using phrases such as ‘‘bring them on’’ or ‘‘dead or 
alive’’, which may have led people around the world, in-
cluding our allies, to believe that he was ‘‘not a man of 
peace’’; 
Whereas President Bush recognized these terms made the 
world think ‘‘he was a guy anxious for war’’ in Iraq and 
that ‘‘in retrospect, [he] could have used a different tone, 
a different rhetoric’’; 
Whereas in testimony before the 9/11 Commission, then Dep-
uty Secretary of State Richard Armitage stated that 
Americans have been ‘‘exporting our fears and our 
anger’’, not our vision of opportunity and hope; 
Whereas Harold C. Pachios of the United States Advisory 
Commission on Public Diplomacy testified before Con-
gress that in the information age, the statements of 
American officials travel to ‘‘villagers in Jordan, Indo-
nesia and Pakistan [who] will see and hear it simulta-
neously with people in Wichita, Portland, and Louisville 
. . . the same words and ideas reach our global audience, 
sometimes with unflattering editing, as quick as it 
reaches domestic audiences’’; 
Whereas the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of 
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties has recommended that 
United States officials use language strategically in their 
outreach to certain communities, noting the need to be 
‘‘conscious of history, culture, and context’’ and warning 
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