[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 114 (Monday, July 27, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H8851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       AMERICA'S REPUTATION IS IMPROVING, BUT THERE'S MORE TO DO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, one of President Obama's greatest 
challenges has been to restore America's moral leadership and 
reputation in the world because it sunk to new lows under the previous 
administration.
  To achieve this goal, the President has taken several important 
steps. He has renounced the use of torture. He has called for a 
nuclear-free world. He has reached out to the Muslim world, and he has 
promised to emphasize diplomacy and international cooperation.
  We are now seeing the results of these changes. Last week, the Pew 
Global Attitudes Project reported the results of its latest survey of 
opinions about the United States. It found that the image of the United 
States has improved significantly under President Obama. People in 
Western Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia now have a much more 
positive opinion of the United States. America's reputation has even 
improved, Mr. Speaker, in some countries which are predominantly 
Muslim.
  The survey also compared attitudes about President Obama and Osama 
bin Laden in the Muslim world. For the first time in the survey's 
history, people in Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, and Indonesia have a 
better opinion of the American President than bin Laden.
  Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged that the people of the world have more 
trust and respect for America these days. It means our moral authority 
is being restored, and moral authority matters. When America is 
trusted, we have a much greater capacity for global leadership.
  But even though our country's good name is being restored throughout 
the world, there is much more to be done. Most importantly, we need a 
foreign policy based on the principles of ``smart power.''
  Smart power emphasizes preventing war instead of preemptive war. It 
relies on diplomacy and international cooperation instead of military 
occupation, and it gives the people of the world the hope and the 
opportunity they need to reject a life of violence and hatred.
  The principles of smart power are included in my ``Smart Security 
Platform for the 21st Century,'' which I have proposed in House 
Resolution 363. The Smart Platform calls for America to work with 
multilateral organizations to cut off funding and support for extremist 
networks. It strengthens international intelligence and law enforcement 
operations to track down extremists while respecting civil liberties. 
It helps eliminate the root causes of instability by promoting economic 
development, Third World debt relief, conflict resolution, global 
health programs, and universal education. It increases support for 
civil society, which plays a key role in stopping violence. It reduces 
our dependence on foreign oil by investing in renewable alternatives.
  Smart calls for diplomatic efforts enhanced by inspection regimes and 
regional security arrangements to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons 
and nuclear materials. It calls for the ratification of the 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by the Senate, and it provides 
adequate funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program to secure 
nuclear materials in Russia and other countries.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for America to start relying on smart power 
to protect our country because the smarter we are, the safer we are 
going to be.

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