'One of the proudest things of my three years in office is helping restore sense of respect for America around the world'...
President Obama has said that elevating the image of the United States around the world was one of his proudest foreign policy accomplishments......
The violence and anti-American protests throughout the Middle East are bringing fresh attacks on the president’s foreign policies as Muslim rage is intensifying in the region.
The protests that have spread could undercut one of the key tenants of Obama's foreign policy argument that he has restored the U.S. image in the Middle East.
In February, Obama said, “One of the proudest things of my three years in office is helping to restore a sense of respect for America around the world, a belief that we are not just defined by the size of our military.”
Three years ago in Cairo, Obama stressed his leadership would be dramatically different than former President George W. Bush’s: “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition.”
But this week, protesters in Afghanistan burned Obama in effigy and cable news shows ran footage of many burning U.S. flags in various countries.
Republicans have blasted Obama’s foreign policy record in the wake of the protests and attack in Libya that left U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans dead.
They argue that the contrasts Obama made of his policies compared to his predecessor, President George W. Bush, have not yielded the success that he claimed would come in the Muslim world.
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