> The United States is losing stature in the world day by day As a foreigner looking in for five decades I'd say that the post-Vietnam US stature was cyclical;

> The United States is losing stature in the world day by day As a foreigner looking in for five decades I'd say that the post-Vietnam US stature was cyclical; generally positive but with the ability to surprise in a negative manner ( Panama and Grenada being two examples ), though such incidents were usually brief and forgiven like rare tantrums. But that has changed; the current downturn is unusually deep and sustained, dating back to 2001. There has been no amelioration in image since then, it has been a steady decline and each subsequent global action has lost the element of surprise. The USA now conjures images of drone strikes, paramilitary police and unilateralism. Withdrawing from the HRC barely moves the needle.