In noting that Australia is replacing the United States as the destination of choice for international students, Richard Bradley notes:
It’s clearly no coincidence that this student exodus has occurred during the unilateralist presidency of George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. The rest of the world doesn’t like us very much now, and that’s just another example of how a war that was supposed to make us safer has actually weakened our international position.
America’s international standing has been an issue the past four years. The optimistic interpretation is that the world continues to like America and Americans; it simply dislikes American (i.e., the Bush administration’s) policy. I hope Mr. Bradley’s take is wrong.