Anti-Americanism is above all about perceptions. Nothing is more difficult to preserve than the good image of a country, particularly when the country—like the United States—claims to set the tone for the rest of the world and insists on the highest possible standards of freedom and democracy Unexpected events can deeply affect perceptions. The traumatic events of 9/11 certainly generated sympathy throughout the world. But the invasion of Iraq, the split between the United States and "Old Europe," the poor management of an unprecedented experiment in nation building, and the revelations about the tortures in the Abu Ghraib jail have seriously damaged the image of the United States and led numerous Americans to reassess their understanding of the proper response to the attack of 9/11.