Well, one of the more restrained comments on America coming ot of the Johannesburg Conference was from Claire Short, a Labour MP. I believe she said,
"America has difficulty acting multilaterally".
In brief, although we recognize America wants many of the same things we do, it does come off as having the attitude that it (and only it) knows the correct way of achieving those aims.
Has American foreign policy contributed to the problems of some of the world's poorer countries? I'd have to say yes. Unfortunately, the same is true of many other Western nations. Currently, though, America comes off as the worst offender because it presents an attitude of "Well, we're the biggest military and economic power in the world, so we really don't care if you like what we're doing or not.".
I should add that this may not necessarily be how many Americans feel (or would like it to be), but it is the perception of many outside the US. Could the US avoid this by making its motivations clearer to the outside world? Probably.
"That might have been the biggest mistake of my life..."
"It is unlikely. I predict there is scope for even greater mistakes in the future given your obvious talent for them."
Vila and Orac, Blake's Seven