The world will hate or admire us without turning an army into social workers.
I would rather soldiers shoot, bomb, scare and command respect. I want the world to tremble at the thought of the US army arriving.
I want fear and respect from the world. Frankly they may never like us. They envy us. And our soldiers joined up to fight and defend us. Not deliver toys.
They are not our PR specialists.
Just my opinion of course.
I respect your opinion, since many people feel as you do, but, actually...the members of the US Military ARE our PR. There are many, many people around the world whose only exposure to an actual American is a Soldier or Sailor of the US Military.
And they do command respect. The battle hardened US Marines practice PR, because they know that is the way to go. And you better believe their opponents fear them greatly, for good reason.
Lately, the unofficial motto of the Marines, after "Semper Fidelis" is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy".
In this world of media and Internet, the US Soldier has a more demanding job than ever before. They can change the world in an instant with a miscalculation, because it all gets out there to the world so quickly. And they all have training on how to deal with it.
I bet you're too young to remember stories of GIs and chocolate bars...and the good will that brought us all over the world.
The issue isn't whether the world hates or admires us. The issue is whether the ordinary people in the areas around the soldiers hate or admire them. From what I understand, much of our intelligence in Iraq comes from ordinary people whom we have convinced to trust us. Giving out clothes and toys isn't "social work"--it's an essential part of intelligence gathering.