Realistically repairing America's image abroad There's no question that anti-Americanism increased dramatically worldwide in the past half-decade, in part because of our muscular response to 9/11. It's also true that, since the Cold War's end, Washington has significantly curtailed its "public diplomacy" efforts to win hearts and minds overseas. As political leaders and terrorism experts increasingly call for "strategic communications" in the long war against radical extremism, our intelligence community grows quite interested in this rising tide of anti-Americanism, calling it a threat unto itself. In the past year, I've had conversations with various agencies on this subject, and here's what I submitted for their consideration: