By Bernard Schoenburg

The next president needs to improve the United States’ image in the world, and water might be the key, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Thursday.

Speaking to a meeting of the Citizens Club of Springfield at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, Durbin emphasized the need for the United States to end the war in Iraq. The Iraqis will get serious about self-governance only when they know Americans are going to leave, he said.

But Durbin, the assistant majority leader of the Senate, also said other steps must be taken to improve America’s image in the world, including closing the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, taking global warming more seriously, and showing other countries the caring side of America.

“When you go to developing countries and want to battle for the hearts and minds of those countries ... it takes more than a military,” Durbin told reporters after the speech. “It really takes people who are focused on the daily struggle that people have in the poor parts of the world — the struggle for water that’s safe to give their children, the struggle for basic education. the struggle to elevate women beyond the role of slaves and chattel into participants in the society’s decisions.

“I hope that the next president will make that a goal, that we are going to be much more forthcoming around the world to tell the American message through peaceful means.”

Durbin recalled in his speech that the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., when he was director of the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, wrote a book called “Tapped Out: The Coming World Crisis in Water and What We Can Do About It.”

“Paul turned out to be right again, as he was in so many ways,” Durbin said. “All around the world, the quantity and quality of water is defining the future, and we as a nation should lead the family of nations in bringing water to the world.

“It would be our messenger, our medium, for telling the people around the world we care about you enough to invest our resources and our talents in making certain that water is available for every child (and family). It would be revolutionary.”

Durbin also called for more emphasis on the Peace Corps and Agency for International Development. He recalled talking to an embassy official in Bolivia who told him that Cuba had sent 10,000 doctors to that country and Venezuela had sent 10,000 teachers, while the United States had built a “magnificent highway” marked by a sign noting the United States’ involvement.

“If you were setting out to win the hearts and minds of people, would you rather be on the side of the doctor in the clinic saving the little child’s life, or the side of the teacher who is teaching the child to read, or standing next to a sign by a highway?” Durbin asked.

What should we do?

Among steps the United States should take to restore its standing in the world, according to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin:

• End the war in Iraq, close the Guantanamo detention facility and renounce torture.
• Take responsibility for the U.S. contribution to global warming.
• Expand the U.S. Agency for International Development.
• Pay back dues for U.N. peacekeeping operations.
• Support the State Department, Peace Corps and Voice of America and increase the number of U.S. consulates, cultural exchanges and international libraries.
• Provide development assistance to address AIDS and other diseases and refugee crises, and lead a global effort to dramatically improve access to clean drinking water and sanitation in developing nations.

Where do we stand?

According to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, poll numbers indicate that the number of people in other countries who have favorable opinions of the United States dropped sharply from 2000 to 2006.

Among countries he cited, “favorable” ratings fell during the period from 83 percent to 56 percent in Great Britain, 78 percent to 37 percent in Germany, 75 percent to 30 percent in Indonesia, and 52 percent to 12 percent in Turkey.