There's the debate about Universalism (the capacity for a country to consider that all humans deserve equal rights); it's true that no country is perfect in that matter (immigration laws, rights for minorities, etc) and the US has declined in that matter.

What the world sees is a country that is supposed to be an example is now considering pre-emptive war as valid and justified. This will be used by any other country willing to punish its neighbour for whatever reason. It's an extremely dangerous theory.

And after 9/11, going after a country that had nothing to do with the attacks, this also is incomprehensible unless to compare it with the abused child becoming an abuser himself, which shows a great weakness.

And also, after 9/11, refusing in many circles to even ask "why" and merely consider them shortsightedly as evil, isn't an helpful way to avoid this to happen again.

I remember asking myself: how can they all have waited patiently and with such a methodical plan to take their own life, all together? It isn't just brainwashing (otherwise they would have been spotted as going "strange" or "crazy") but there was a commitment. A commitment motivated by recognition which they thought they only found in the way they died than in the way they were unable to get by leading a normal life.

Raoul