The efficiency of the initial American military invasion of Iraq in 2003 created admiration in the eyes of some foreigners. But this soft power was undercut by the inefficiency of the occupation, the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, and the policy – initiated by Rumsfeld – of detainment without hearings at Guantánamo.
残酷无情和对“正义战争”分清青红皂白以及适度的原则置之不理同样也可以摧毁合法性。2003年美军最初入侵伊拉克势如破竹，某些外国人肃然起敬。但是，占领伊拉克杂乱无章，阿布格里卜的虐囚事件以及由拉氏提出的在关塔那摩基地不经聆讯关押囚犯的政策等事件破坏了柔性力量。