Madison Avenue has moved to the Middle East with the visit of Under Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey this week. It is a part of a new effort by the State Department to change the image of the United States in the Islamic world. This is one of those ideas that should have never gotten off the drafting board, and may do serious harm to the achievement of our objectives in the Middle East.

The pictures presented in newspapers Monday depicted Ms. Hughes, a communications specialist, kneeling with the politician's folder stuffed with documents in one hand, leaning toward a well-dressed Egyptian girl in a blue and white dress. Behind them was the audience, handpicked by President Mubarak, made up of Egyptians in suits and ties and flanked by a huge number of security agents. This is how we reach out to the “Egyptian people.”

Hughes, who was making her first trip the region, candidly stated that she has a lot to learn. The message she was delivering was simple in its words and naiveté: We Americans are wonderful people; please like us. This is a response to reports warning that the United States' standing in Islamic countries has plummeted.

Among her messages, Hughes said that the slow response to Hurricane Katrina was regrettable, but not racist. It is absurd for us to defend our policies on a purely domestic matter in Egypt of all places -- that bastion of democracy. On this subject, when Hughes asked an Egyptian audience how many had voted in their recent first-ever presidential election, only one hand was raised.

If Hughes' statements, and this entire visit, were merely just a waste of time and money, it wouldn't be so bad. What is troublesome is that this mushy-headed initiative, being implemented from the State Department (which is appropriately located in “Foggy Bottom”), can seriously undermine American objectives in the Middle East. By going out to the Arab world and groveling for people to like us, we are sending precisely the wrong message.

They will never like us. The divide shaped by decades of history, colonialism, religion, and different political institutions is far too deep for that to change. They may, however, respect us. That respect will only be achieved by a show of strength. The United States has three messages to be delivered to the Islamic world, and those must be set forth boldly and forcefully.

The first is that we intend to root out and destroy Al Qaeda units and other terrorist organizations that were responsible for 9/11, and are still bent on killing thousands, if not millions, in the United States and Western Europe. We should be very clear in recognizing that those terrorists present an imminent threat to the United States. We will hunt them regardless of where they are, and we will continue to pursue our preemptive war against them. In this effort, we should seek the support of the host governments.

Second, we are determined to conclude the war in Iraq in a manner that is acceptable to the United States. We will not be able to create an American type democracy in Iraq. We have, however, succeeded in ridding the Middle East and the world of a cruel and dangerous despot. We are committed to train an effective Iraqi army to deal with the insurgency and nurture a stable government.

The third message is that yes, the United States does support Israel because it is a democratic nation and a valuable ally. We should make it clear that we are unwavering in our commitment to Israel's security. At the same time, we should stress that we are prepared to support Palestinian leaders who make an effort to disarm the militants and move their people toward economic development.

After decades of operating unsuccessfully in the Middle East, we have failed to learn the one essential message that should govern our conduct: Strength, wisely exercised, is respected. Those who grovel in weakness are held in contempt.

Unfortunately, the Hughes mission will not improve the United States' standing in the Islamic world. My fear is that it will undermine relationships and show the United States to be a country uncertain about its objectives and insecure about the path it is following.