This article is about 6 months old, but it goes to show that the reality may actually be the opposite of how our media portrays things:

Esteem for US rises in Asia
Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor | April 26, 2008

THE US war in Iraq has strengthened its strategic position, especially in terms of key alliances, and the only way this could be reversed would be if it lost the will to continue the struggle and abandoned Iraq in defeat and disarray.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23599516-7583,00.html