March 1

"I don't think art is propaganda; it should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further. It celebrates humanity instead of manipulating it."

--American artist Keith Haring (1958-1990); Haring image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Hillary Clinton's Threats, US Backed Jundullah and Dana Rohrabacher - Aamir Mughal, Chagatai Khan: "In the past few months, as the situation in Iraq has deteriorated, the Bush Administration, in both its public diplomacy and its covert operations, has significantly shifted its Middle East strategy. The 'redirection,' as some inside the White House have called the new strategy, has brought

the United States closer to an open confrontation with Iran and, in parts of the region, propelled it into a widening sectarian conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East." Image from article

US Mission Pakistan: Ambassador Hoagland Visits Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: "According to the US Embassy in Pakistan, the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation has provided more than $1.8 million towards 17 different cultural and archeological projects in Pakistan over the past decade.

Ten of these 17 sites were in the province of Punjab." Image of one of these sites, the Badshahi Mosque, from

Beyond the Radio Days - news.gnom.es: "Some view Voice of America as 'stuck in the 1950s with short-wave radios,' as one of the agency’s Washington-based Africa TV hosts recently phrased it. But the onslaught of 21st century communications has outfitted the one-time Cold War broadcasters with a wider global reach via the Web and social media. And the demands of digital have forced some new thinking on old rules. ... The worldwide penetration of online content, however, has called into question one long-standing fact of life at VOA: The 1948 Smith-Mundt Act prohibits it from disseminating content to domestic U.S. audiences. 'It’s anachronistic, since it’s all available on the Internet,' says Joan Mower, VOA’s director of development. The act was passed at a time when lawmakers feared the impact of foreign policy propaganda on American audiences (though that word is not in the law) and commercial broadcasters opposed the competition. Today, the restriction 'makes it hard to get our message out,' which is why VOA’s parent body, the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors, wants it lifted, 'so we can do a better job,' Mower says. The oft-cited example is a 2009 incident involving a Minneapolis-based radio station that serves the Somali-American community, which housed several young men arrested for traveling to commit terrorism in that troubled African nation. The station owner sought permission to replay a VOA program designed to counter al Qaeda propaganda, but VOA programmers nixed the proposal, citing Smith-Mundt. A comparable situation, Mower notes, is the community of native Tibetans that has sprung up in Los Angeles. VOA programmers believe that broadcasting to them would result in key news being relayed privately to their relatives in that isolated country, which is tightly controlled by China. Easing Smith-Mundt would 'help take away the handcuffs on a small part of the government and allow it to operate in a truly global environment,' says Matt Armstrong, who until December was executive director of the now-disbanded U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

But he complains about misinformation that has clouded the issue for decades. One example is the notion that the law prevents VOA from communicating with Americans, when in fact the ban is geographical—plenty of Americans can hear its broadcasts while overseas, he notes. Some incorrectly assume the State Department would lose resources and authority to communicate if the law were changed, and that Congress intended the prohibition to apply to Pentagon communications, Armstrong says. Such complexity might be the reason that legislation to modernize Smith-Mundt, introduced in 2010 by Reps. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, and Adam Smith, D-Wash., is on hold pending further refinements. The bill would 'revise an outdated law that interferes with the United States’ diplomatic and military efforts,' the sponsors said. The Office of Management and Budget has responded favorably to the bill’s goals as they apply to the agencies under the Broadcasting Board of Governors, according to VOA staff. When the board in January announced that it was preparing draft legislation to streamline operations, it included language for repealing Smith-Mundt restrictions. Also favoring a change is Jeffrey Trimble, the board’s executive director, whose task is to maintain the journalistic independence of VOA and its four allied operations such as Radio Martí (which broadcasts to Cuba) and Alhurra TV, the Arabic-language service that played a key role covering last year’s uprising in Egypt. 'We’re about the news business, and we tell the journalistic story,' Trimble says." Image from

Linguistic Peking Duck Soup at Broadcasting Board of Governors - Quo Vadis, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "Keeping VOA Cantonese broadcasts alive could and should be a strategic decision by the BBG in order to maintain and moreover, to increase listenership among a population now deprived of media in its own language. In the olden days of VOA, issues such as these were discussed and debated prior to implementation. Not so now. Unfortunately, trying to point these facts out to the members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors and their executive staff is akin to speaking Mandarin to a Cantonese and vice versa: quack-quack to cluck-cluck: like a duck talking to a chicken."

In Afghanistan, 1981, "men listened to BBC, sometimes to VOA (and) laughed at Radio Moscow" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Oy Frickin’ Vey: Israeli Prez Shimon Peres on Yenta Hag-Fest, “The View” - Debbie Schlussel, debbieschlussel.com: I’d like to know which teepshee [Hebrew for dummy] at Israel’s Ministry of Public Affairs agreed to book 89-year-old left-wing Israeli President Shimon Peres on ABC’s pro-Muslim yenta hag-fest, 'The View,' this morning. There’s another Hebrew word I have in mind that the Israelis apparently did not: hasbarah.

It has several meanings, primarily public relations or public diplomacy. But it can also mean propaganda. Peres’ appearance on 'The View,' this morning did neither. ... [W]hatever happened to the good old days when daytime TV was for game shows and soap operas? Those are Shakespearean classics compared to what’s replaced them. Attention, Israel: stay away from moronic ABC personalities who brag about their Fourth of July vacations with the leader of Syria. It might be a hint." Image from article: Talk show hostess Barbara Walters (r) with "Dr. Death" Jack Kerkorian

Shimon Peres On The View - "The View had quite a guest of honor this morning  - Aussie Dave, israellycool.com: "Israeli President Shimon Peres, who is in the United States for a meeting with the president, and decided appear on daytime television while he was in the neighborhood. Why not? Apparently he and Barbara Walters are friends, so that might have had something to do with it. Barbara fielded this interview on her own, perhaps not trusting the other ladies to avoid offending/yelling at the president . ... Walters ... asked Peres for a farewell kiss as the segment ended, and he gave her two enthusiastic smooches on both cheeks. I’m not sure if this indicative of the poor state of Israeli public diplomacy or Peres’ desire to kiss women. Or both."

Is Putin's Russia Keeping Up With a Changing World?‎ - Pavel Andreev, RIA NovostI: "Considering the current economic and social situation in Russia, a foreign policy relying on 'hard power' but also using elements of 'soft power' constitutes a major challenge. It can succeed by relying on the country’s internal development, which implies having sufficient resources for creating the instruments of 'hard power' while at the same time using 'soft power' to project one’s interests. The latter appears to be questionable given the sizeable approved state defense order (although experts are not sure that it can be fulfilled). Russia does not have a developed and clearly formulated narrative reflecting its basic principles and values.

Its development and use do not involve a return to the historical period when foreign policy was invariably burdened with ideology. On the contrary, it is a way to become aware of one’s place in the world and to project this vision to your partners. Russia currently has only a limited set of 'soft power' instruments. It lacks coordination and interaction between the various federal agencies operating in the field. It requires more active and meaningful parliamentary and public diplomacy. Russia lacks trained personnel in this sphere. Russian diplomats are skilled in traditional diplomacy, methods of 'hard security' and the balance of power, but have limited awareness of modern communication practises, including for representing Russian business interests abroad." Image from

In Russian agriculture has great potential for development - tourtaxa.blogspot.com: "The annual growth rate of rural tourism in the world is 10% on 'Tourism in Russia,' said the Russian Union of Travel Industry. This number is the president of the Association for the Development of agro-tourism Astakhov Taras at a scientific conference 'Rural tourism as a modern interpretation of the factor of public diplomacy' in the travel fair MITF-2009 in Moscow. ... Rural tourism can build infrastructure, restoring derelict buildings. 'In Russia there are many interesting things for rural tourism development', - said Vladimir Novikov. He believes that the development of tourism in rural areas should be taken, in particular concerning the legal status of rural tourism, to ensure the participation of regional and local authorities in tourism, to develop the concept of rural tourism in Russia and coordinate with state plans for the development of agriculture. 'Government support to this trend - the factor of public diplomacy - Mr. Novikov said. - We must learn to respect the tourists, wherever they went.'"

Moving Australia’s Public Diplomacy Beyond the Cult of Rudd - Caitlin Byrne, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "Australia’s international policy portfolio has been left hanging after Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd’s surprise resignation from his post . ... Rudd’s resignation ... is potentially devastating for Australia’s international image projection. ... Rudd has personified the message that Australia is a hardworking, practical, and creative global player. As such he has been a driving force for Australia’s ambitious international policy profile, and a critical feature of Australia’s public diplomacy profile. ... In terms of managing Australia’s international image, certainly the latest political shift highlights the risks associated with a public diplomacy profile that is heavily influenced by the cult of leadership personality. It draws attention to the gaping hole in the institutional leadership of Australia’s public diplomacy.

There are decent threads of substance to Australia’s public diplomacy profile: the frontline work of Australian diplomats in building local relationships from the post, on-shore and off-shore modes of international education, the expansion of many Australian Studies Centers within international universities, international broadcasting activities and English language study offerings via the Australia network, the activities of nine bilateral foundations, councils and institutes utilizing small grants programs to build mutual understanding, the vast expanse of Australia’s arts presence, cultural and science exchanges, as well as sports outreach programs, to mention a few. However, this expanse of public diplomacy activity is highly fragmented. Interagency coherence is absent, and Australia’s public diplomacy remains disconnected from strategic policy – moving at a fits-and-starts pace, often following the latest crisis or politically motivated initiative. ... Last year at the Australian Institute for International Affairs (AIIA) Forum on Public and Citizen Diplomacy in Canberra, some suggested the establishment of a single entity that might move Australia’s public diplomacy forward, in concert with existing diplomatic networks, but away from the unpredictable influences of political profiles and processes. That suggestion needs to be (re)considered." Byrne image from article

Radio Australia launches new website and social media services - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

China talks public diplomacy, Middle East - China.org.cn correspondent Jonathan Calkins interviews Chen Mingming, the former Director-General of the Department of Translation and Interpretation at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Chinese ambassador to

New Zealand and Sweden, and Zhang Yuanyuan, the former Director-General of the Department of Translation and Interpretation at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the former Chinese ambassador to New Zealand and Belgium. Topics include: public diplomacy, the Middle East and the upcoming 2012 Chinese leadership handover." Image from article, with caption: Zhang Yuanyuan (L), Chen Mingming (2nd L)

China and the U.S.: Comparing Global Influence (China in the 21st Century) - 1hfgdsf1382.blogspot.com: "This book compares the People's Republic of China's (PRC) and U.S. projections of global influence, with an emphasis on non-coercive means or 'soft power', and suggests ways to

think about U.S. foreign policy options in light of China's emergence. The global public images of the two countries are compared in this book and PRC and U.S. uses of soft power tools are described, such as public diplomacy, state diplomacy, and foreign assistance. Other forms of soft power such as military diplomacy, global trade and investment, and sovereign wealth funds are also examined." Image from article

OIC/UN: Ihsanoglu Calls for “Preventive Cultural Diplomacy” to Keep Interfaith Harmony - "The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu asserted that the OIC has demonstrated ability to build consensus on the most sensitive of international issues. In his speech at the High Level Segment of the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, today Tuesday 28 February, 2012 he highlighted the OIC’s initiative of sponsoring resolution 16/18. ... Ihsanoglu stated that Islamophobia is a contemporary manifestation of racism. He assured that combating Islamophobia as well as vilification of all religions and denigration of symbols and personalities sacred to all religions is a matter of priority at the OIC. He urged the HRC to an urgent initiative of ‘preventive cultural diplomacy’."

Everything is Global Summit - nnic.org: "April 18, 2012 The goals of the Summit are to share skills and strategies for improving global business and intercultural relations and to raise local awareness of the value and importance of citizen diplomacy by bringing together members of the business, academic, nonprofit and international exchange communities. Global competence combines intercultural awareness, sensitivity and respect for personal and cultural differences with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and experiences necessary to strengthen America’s image and maintain a strong presence in the global economy. This Summit on Citizen Diplomacy was initiated through a seed grant from the National Council for International Visitors as part of its 50th Anniversary celebration. The Northern Nevada International Center (NNIC) at the University of Nevada, Reno is a driving force of promoting the concept of citizen diplomacy in Northern Nevada. ... [Among the speakers:] Gillian Martin Sorensen, senior advisor at the United Nations Foundation ... is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow at the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy."

Host A Foreign Exchange Student - Lauren Jewel, menifee247.com: "Did you know you could host a foreign exchange student right here in your

Menifee [CA] home? Cultural Homestay International is a non-profit educational exchange program looking for families to host students. It’s a unique opportunity to volunteer and give back in a way that promotes cultural understanding and public diplomacy. In exchange you and your family will gain a lifelong friendship and innumerous memories of the experience you share with your student." Image from

Course teaches about law, government and other global issues - blog.syracuse.com: "David Chaplin, of Stone Mountain, Ga., is currently pursuing a law and public diplomacy joint degree at SU’s Maxwell School and S.I. Newhouse School. This semester he works with students at Fowler High School."

Grad Students Front Row for NATO Town Hall - gsfgwu.wordpress.com: "This week, six GWU graduate students in the Elliott School [at George Washington University] were provided with the opportunity to attend a town hall event with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, D.C.

The town hall event–geared specifically toward students of the NDU and other schools around D.C.–provided a forum for dialogue between the Secretary General and students pursuing careers in international affairs and public diplomacy." Image from article, with caption: Secretary General Rasmussen visits NDU and addresses students at Town Hall discussion.

Want to be like Obama? Speak English! - Elizabeth Dillard, Djibouti Is A Funny Name: My Adventures on the Dark Continent: "Life here in the Horn of Africa has been crazy busy! I ... hosted a tea party on behalf of the Ambassador, and eaten enough pizza to last a lifetime. ... [l]ast week when I came back from lunch, I had an envelope on my desk to 'Elizabeth Dealer'. I assumed that was me, so I opened it, and it was an invitation from the English club (that I attended the day I got to Djibouti) inviting me to their mid-semester party. Jazmine received one as well and we decided to attend, along with the Marines and Omar (Public Diplomacy for the Embassy). When we arrived, I was shocked. If I had to guess, I would say there were at LEAST 500 students there. And they had saved us seats right up front.

And they gave us two shout outs. And they gave us water in the middle of the show. I enjoyed every minute of it because I know that was as close as I will ever get to VIP treatment!" Image from

RELATED ITEMS

Internet Can be Used for Evil, Too - Heritage Foundation, opposingviews.com: You send and receive them all the time: friend requests, tweets, wall posts, etc. For most of us, our regular routine of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites doesn’t seem particularly dangerous. Few would even consider such activities as part of a larger conflict.

In Wiki at War, Heritage’s James Carafano argues that conflict does not end at the edge of the Internet and social media sites. All types of conflict—business competition, international rivalry, social unrest, and even military conflicts—are continued on the Internet. When governments are savvy enough to manipulate and use the Internet to their own ends, it can become a tool of oppression and propaganda, such as in Iran. When the opposite is true, the Internet is a tool for revolution like in Egypt. Image from article

Scholars reflect on Afghan Koran burnings, rioting - powerandpolicy.com: The burning of the Koran simply adds insult to injury to a battered and impoverished population(Aisha Ahmad); The Taliban are capitalizing on gross mistakes and signs of tiredness from US troops and American allies. At the same time, burning the Koran (as well as urinating on dead bodies) clearly questions the effectiveness and quality of the cultural awareness training these soldiers should have received (Chiara Ruffa); the best chance for rioting over the Bagram Koran-burning incident to die down quickly is if Afghan political leaders appeal for calm, Afghan security forces deal responsibly with public order incidents and Afghan media refrain from airing inflammatory material (Michael Semple).

The Koran Burning Episode: Negligence or Stupidity? - Patricia Lee Sharpe, Whirled View: Is it possible that the paperwork crazy U.S. military doesn’t have a clear, consistent, well-publicized and constantly-pounded-in policy on what to do with Korans that fall into U.S. military hands?

Israel’s Last Chance to Strike Iran - Amos Yadlin, New York Times: What is needed is an

ironclad American assurance that if Israel refrains from acting in its own window of opportunity — and all other options have failed to halt Tehran’s nuclear quest — Washington will act to prevent a nuclear Iran while it is still within its power to do so. Image from

Iran Invokes the West to Motivate Voters - Robert F. Worth, New York Times: In the days leading up to Iran’s parliamentary elections on Friday, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials have been crisscrossing their country to issue stern warnings against a vast Western conspiracy, driven by panic, to undermine the vote. The official news media have amplified the campaign: “U.S. Dreads Iranians’ Turnout in Elections,” read one typical banner on Press TV, the state-run English-language vehicle.

Column: Time for Assad to go - Dennis Ross, USA Today: Creating humanitarian corridors or safe areas for civilians, though difficult to implement, need to be on the table and developed as a real possibilities. Arming the Free Syrian Army when it lacks clear organization and is highly localized raises a number of troubling questions about who would be armed and what could take shape in Syria. But there is help short of arms that could alter the realities on the ground, such as blocking the communications of Assad's forces and facilitating those of the Free Syrian Army. Moreover, given the behavior of Assad's forces, lethal assistance managed in a coherent way through Jordan and Turkey should not be ruled out.

How to advance Syria’s transition - Anne Applebaum, washingtonpost.com: One way or another, this conflict will end. Assad will fall — or he will remain in power thanks to a bloodbath, followed by another era of sullen repression. Either way, one of the best things the West can do now is help Syrian rebels and the Syrian diaspora think about what might come next. It seems ridiculous to focus on the future in the middle of a crisis. But in this case, that might be the only way the crisis can be resolved.

Yemen’s peaceful transition - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The very fact that Yemen is so poor and remote is an unlikely source of leverage for the United States and its allies. Curbing corruption and spreading the wealth in this faraway country is the best strategy for getting “buy-in” for the Arab Spring’s quiet revolution.

Don't Worry, North Korea's Nuclear Program Will Be Back Soon Enough - Max Fisher, theatlantic.com: North Korea has pledged to halt its nuclear enrichment, nuclear tests, and long-range missile tests, which is great news. Pyongyang's nuclear program is one of the world's most dangerous threats: it risks an accidental nuclear war, raises the possibility of a conventional war, and destabilizes one of the most militarized and densely populated regions in the world.

A mere gesture from Pyongyang toward cutting this program makes everyone on Earth a bit safer. And all we had to do was promise some food aid for North Koreans, which is worthwhile in its own right.But this is not a permanent solution to North Korea's nuclear program. Even if Pyongyang does live up to the deal, they will almost certainly start the program back up in a few years. Image from article, with caption: One of countless propaganda posters that plastered North Korea shortly after the country's leadership accelerated its nuclear program. A caption, out of frame, reads "Ruthless Punishment to U.S. Imperialism!"

On "Putin 2.0" - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: Few people doubt that Putin will win the coming elections, even if he is forced to go on to the second round. And although there are many analyses and predictions as to what "Putin 2.0" will bring, one thing can be said for sure: the Internet has played a key role in this election campaign, thus making it all about "Web 2.0."

Putin's Well-Timed Assassination Plot - Leonid Bershidsky, Bloomberg: Mass anti-government protests in Moscow are no reason to suspend the venerable traditions of Vladimir Putin's propaganda machine.

Ever since he first won the presidency in 2000, Putin has told voters that his job is to lead the “fight for Russia” against enemies, both foreign and domestic. To underscore this immutable message, it is an established custom to foil an attempt on Putin's life not long before the vote. Image from

Russian lawmaker calls Georgia’s visa move propaganda - dfwatch.net: Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili said in his annual speech to parliament Tuesday night that he would drop visa requirements for all Russian citizens. Today, citizens of Russia’s northern Caucasus republics can visit Georgia without a visa for up to 90 days. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili said in his annual speech to parliament Tuesday night that he would drop visa requirements for all Russian citizens. Today, citizens of Russia’s northern Caucasus republics can visit Georgia without a visa for up to 90 days.

An Act of Valor Dissent - G. Murphy Donovan, American Thinker: Hollywood and the Pentagon are good examples. Like the Soviet propaganda flicks of yore, the good guys are ten feet tall, and the bad guys are ambiguous nitwits. The action film Act of Valor purports to show "active-duty SEALs," an elite cadre specially trained for covert warfare, in operations "based on true events." For openers, it's hard to quibble about the hype for feature-length propaganda, but it's also difficult to reconcile "true" anything and a Hollywood film crew.

Veteran saves books from getting destroyed in World War II - George Ostrom, flatheadnewsgroup.com: Our US WWII occupation forces acting under orders from top brass had accumulated a storehouse filled with confiscated Nazi propaganda books. There were thousands of volumes and a large fire was used to destroy them. As I helped haul books out of the building, I couldn’t help but examine some. One big one was magnificently bound and contained several hundred photos of military parades and Hitler addressing his troops and various crowds at giant rallies around the country from Nuremberg to Berlin.

It was a pompous display of the power of Nazism 'in all it’s glory' the way Hitler wanted it to appear. The photography was flawless. Although only eighteen, I disliked the idea of burning all those books. I thought at least some should be saved for study by scholars and historians. Frankly, just the cursory looks I was able to make told me things I did not know about Hitler’s Germany and about the Nazis, things I hope other Americans should know. I was seriously intrigued so I did it … I hid a copy of the big book and two others in a handy pile of rubble. I don’t remember exactly how I eventually shipped them back home, but I know I was worried about being caught and maybe court-martialed. I never did learn if there was a specific punishment for 'not burning books.'” Image from

Native Communist Party, father Stalin, and dear Lenin… On manipulations in language of political propaganda - Larysa Masenko, day.kiev.ua: Unlike Nazi totalitarianism which did not try to hide the antihuman essence of its ideology, communist totalitarianism held in power not only thanks to terror but also due to constant use of fraud. Soviet propaganda always used the words borrowed from the European political lexicon of democratic and humanistic orientation. Although, in realities of antihuman regime such words as “freedom,” “equality,” and “brotherhood” lost any sense, the government continued to use them for manipulative effect on public consciousness.

As Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski once noted, the purpose of propaganda in communist countries was not to simply lie but to destroy the very idea of truth in normal understanding of the word. Particularly we should consider such manipulative techniques as using words taken from the field of family relations in the language of political propaganda. For example, the name of Communist Party was often used with an attribute “native” -- Soviet people were building a bright future under the leadership of native Communist Party. The absurdity of such combination of words was that the word “party,” which comes from the Latin root meaning “a part” refers to a union of people for political views, thus, a party can not be native even for the members of such union, not to mention all of the country’s population. Image from article, with caption: The placard reads; Lenin organized the [Ukrainian]  famine of 1921-22.

February 29

"When the French keep their mouths shut, everyone loves them! (Comme quoi, quand les [F]rançais ferment leurs gueules, tout le monde les apprécie!)"

--Belgian-born commentator regarding the fact that "'The Artist,' a silent film from France, gets 10 Oscar nominations, and actually wins both best film - a first for a French film - and best actor"; image from

VIDEOS

(a) China's International Outreach: Soft Power and the Soft Use of Power - Gary Rawnsley

(b) Guantanamo detainees get new $750,000 soccer field, compliments of the U.S. Taxpayers

(c) "Check out The Challenge of Ideas, a curious example of Cold War propaganda produced by the United States Army Pictorial Center and the Department of Defense during the Kennedy administration ... The film features the iconic Edward R. Murrow (late of CBS News and participation in Operation Mockingbird), the head of the United States Information Agency" - lewrockwell.com

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. Policy and Engagement in the Americas; Wednesday, 29 February 2012, 4:15 pm Press Release: US State Department - scoop.co.nz: "Remarks Wendy Sherman Under Secretary for Political Affairs Remarks to the Council of the Americas and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Washington, DC February 28, 2012 ... I appreciate the invitation and welcome the opportunity to share some impressions from my trip to Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil earlier this month.

These countries are key regional and global players, and genuine partners, and we work closely with them in virtually every area of policy. ... [In Brazil,] Pernambuco’s Governor Eduardo Campos, is spearheading investment ... in education. We signed an education MOU with Pernambuco state to strengthen cooperation in education and professional qualification, particularly in the area of English language training. This is a great example of new partnership at local and state levels that is having an immediate impact on people’s lives. This is, if I may say so, part of the modern face of our public diplomacy in the region. We are building linkages at the grass roots level that will help nurture and sustain the quickly growing ties between our societies." Image from

Afghanistan: Quran Burning and Language Training - Roxanne Bauer, Exchange, The Journal of Public Diplomacy: "Afghans and, indeed, Muslims throughout the world are protesting for a sixth day the recent and unintentional burning of Qur’an at the US’ largest base in Afghanistan. ... In a war that seemingly has no end and relies heavily on endearing positive popular opinion, this incident may prove to be pivotal. ... Eventually, the protests will stop. However, one wonders how long the Afghans will remember that foreign troops desecrated their holy book. In the battle over perceptions, the US needs to start living by the standards it professes to engender the kind of goodwill it hopes for. This could start with more serious language and culture courses for troops.

It seems obvious to say, but the whole mess could have been avoided if just one NATO troop had been able to read the words 'Qur’an' in Arabic and remove the books from the pile. ... [T]he Army’s requirement that all troops ordered to Afghanistan take a 4-6 hour training program for language and culture and the Marine’s requirement of a two-day course for troops ordered to Afghanistan are insufficient and not undertaken with the seriousness required to produce troops that fully understand the gravity and import of language and culture in the region. Sadly, this latest incident and the military’s inability to cope only prove how crucial public diplomacy is and will continue to be. Language, and all the gifts that it provides, is as crucial a tool as artillery or armor. Language skills also need to be complemented with cultural sensitivity courses that impart the thoughtfulness that US and NATO troops should exercise in their activities." Image from article

Immorality of nuclear weapons - Gabe Kish, Pacific Grove, letter to the editor, montereyherald.com: "Let's assume that Iran is aiming for the Japanese solution on nuclear weapons, that is not actually producing them but having the threshold of technology to do so if needed urgently for self-defense. After all, their supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa back in 2005 forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons as 'un-Islamic.' A regime that has built its legitimacy on Islamic values could be challenged publicly by the West to adhere to its own professed moral standards. Such a public diplomacy of words could well be more productive than escalation with economic sanctions and the not-so-Christian threat of a military attack."

Public Diplomacy Takes On Social Media: 21st Century Statecraft - splashmedia.com: "What is 21st Century Statecraft? It is a key initiative started by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to work with traditional foreign policy tools. The idea is to fully leverage the networks, technologies, and demographics of our interconnected world.

In other words, it’s the State Department acknowledging the power and usefulness of social media as a necessary part of their diplomatic toolkit. Yet the department is doing more than just talking the talk; it’s also walking the walk. ... If you want to see a complete list of all the embassies, consulates and other State Departments in social media with links to their sites, please visit the U.S. Department of State Facebook page." Image from article, with caption: Public diplomacy takes on social media

Broadcasting Board of Governors Should Show Some Humanity - Edite Lynch, USG Broadcasts/BBG Watch: "For decades America and America’s people, her virtues, her values, her free market economy, her many freedoms provided direction, focus and a bright light to those living behind the Iron Curtain or under other intolerable dictatorships. It appealed to their humanity and VOA gave them that sense of humanity that they did not receive under their own systems of government. To stop any of these VOA programs would be similar to pulling the rug right out from under them and leaving them to die from a sense of isolation, despair that no cares about their lives, and their humanity will cease to exist for them and why would the BBG do such a thing to millions who rely on American compassion, empathy and sympathy for those less fortunate."

My Take On “Crovitz: How the U.S. Is Losing the Information War” - studio1heartbeat.com: "The main problem at the VoA is not funding, but the lack of acceptance by it’s [sic] managers and staff that they are ... to communicate effectively ... US Public Diplomacy and are to communicate the values of this country to people around the world.

Most of the time, the news and commentary coming out of the VOA is closer to what one would hear from Al-Jazeera and MSNBC. The most notorious of the offenders is the VOA Persian Service which is more often than not sounds like the Voice of the Islamic Republic than Voice of America. VOA does not need more money, what it needs are people who are unapologetic about the values of this country and professional in the way they communicate it to the outside world." Image from

BBC says its audience in Iran "has nearly doubled," and sets global audience target of 250 million - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

The World Service at 80: The Ambivalence of International Broadcasting - Robin, Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "February 29, 2012 The BBC World Service is celebrating its 80th anniversary today. I was wondering what to say about this when I heard the Director of the Service, Peter Horrocks being interviewed on the domestic service Radio 4. In commenting on the continuing relevance of the service he pointed to the Iranian government’s jamming of the service and harassment of the families of Persian service staff ’…it’s because the Iranian government sees it as such a threat. And in a report from the Iranian government, it described it as so dangerous because it’s impartial not because it’s propagandist or oppositionist but because it tells the truth as it is.’ This is simultaneously an impeccable statement of a liberal theory of journalism and a state funded broadcaster boasting about upsetting a foreign government that he’s been pointed towards by the Foreign Office. This sums up the history of the World Service in a couple of lines. Happy Birthday! You can listen to the whole interview here."

US and undercurrents of Baloch Unrest - Momin Iftikhar, nation.com.pk: "The 8th February presentations on Balochistan, sponsored by Oversight and Investigation House Committee on Foreign Affairs at the Raymond House, Washington D.C has finally let out what had been cooking up for quite some time in the subterranean world of strategy formulating circles of State Department and the CIA. The ‘hearing’ was conducted under the chair of Congressman Donna Rohrbacher . ... The majority of speakers in the witness box were Americans rather than Balochis, some of whom are well known for their outlandish ideas, reflecting a wishful mindset in the US establishment; doggedly promoting the pernicious idea of a free Balochistan. ... The onerous responsibility of presenting the ‘Baloch cause’ was resting on the shoulders of Dr. M. Hosseinbor, a member of the bar of the District of Columbia, who had earlier authored a book Iran and Its Nationalities: The Case of Baloch nationalism. Of Iranian descent and a well known figure in the US public diplomacy circles including CNN and BBC, the presence of Dr. Bor

as a witness should be sufficient in understanding why the hearing was termed as a political stunt by Christain Fair; another member of the witness panel. T. Kumar, the Advocacy Director for International Issues for Amnesty International USA, of Sri Lankan origins, who called on the US to 'apply the Leahy Amendment without waivers to all Pakistani military units in Balochistan' is another active member of the US public diplomacy team who has been active in projecting US hidden agenda in Bosnia, Haiti, Guatemala and now in Pakistan." Image from

China-Taiwan PD Milestone Goes Unnoticed in U.S. Media - Adam Clayton Powell III, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "While the latest aircraft carrier movements and military maneuvers here are chronicled closely in U.S. media, significant public diplomacy initiatives go largely unreported. This past week provided a prime example: Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong’s

week-long visit to Taipei has been front-page news in this region, in newspapers from Korea to Singapore. For his first-ever visit, the mayor led a 500-person delegation – yes, five hundred people – including party officials, business leaders and Chinese celebrities. Guo ended his visit on Wednesday by announcing a major cultural exchange between China and Taiwan, signaling a major advance in cross-Straits relations, building on the increases in trade and tourism between China and Taiwan. If you haven’t heard about the visit, it is because it went unnoticed in U.S. media." Guo Jinlong image from

China Talk Tune in for a live webcast on China's public diplomacy on March 1, 2012 - china.org.cn: "China.org.cn will host a live webcast interview on China's public diplomacy at 9:30 am, Beijing time, Thursday, March 1, 2012. Guests include Chen Mingming and Zhang Yuanyuan, former Chinese ambassadors and Director-Generals of the Dept. of Translation and Interpretation at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Young Israelis on mission to improve their country's image - Alison Healy, irishtimes.com: "A group of eight young Israeli people have come to Ireland to tell their stories in a bid to improve their country’s image. The 'Faces of Israel' group includes a Muslim policewoman, a journalist who is an Ethiopian Jew, an actor and a former soldier from a secular immigrant background. The Ireland-Israel Friendship League is supporting the group, which arrived last Friday and will travel to Belfast today. ... The tour is timed to coincide with Israeli Apartheid Week – an annual international series of events with the stated aim of educating people about the nature of what is called Israeli apartheid against the Palestinian people. ... As a member of a Haredi family, Sari Diskind comes from an ultra-Orthodox tradition. She said her life, as a divorced mother who worked outside the home, was an example of the many diverse strands that reflected the Israeli-Jewish narrative. The tour was organised by the Israeli ministry of public diplomacy and diaspora affairs. However, she said, the group was not told what to say. 'They are not telling me what to say. I can say everything I want.'” Below image from

Minister says calls to boycott cultural visit are 'absurd' - Deaglán De Bréadún, irishtimes.com: "There had been a 'slight improvement' in relations between Ireland and Israel in the past year, said Israel’s minister of public diplomacy and diaspora affairs Yuli Edelstein in Dublin yesterday. He said Israel disagreed with various countries on many issues but this should not be an obstacle to a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship."

'Putin's election to do good to Karabakh settlement' - News.Az:  "News.Az interviews member of the Russian Academy of Political Science, doctor of political science, professor Andrei Baranov. ... [Baranov:] As is known, Dmitriy Medvedev organized the tenth meeting of the heads of Azerbaijan and Armenia in January of this year. This meeting can be rated as moderate positive. In their joint statement of 23 January of this year, the heads of all the three states, voiced readiness to accelerate the agreement on main principles of the Karabakh conflict.

All participants to the negotiations admitted that an achievement has been made in coordination of these main principles. The mediation of Russia, United States and France, as the Minsk Group co-chairs was assessed positively. All the same, the political scientists and journalists of the countries involved in the conflict give skeptical assessments to the proposed measures of settlement. The potential of public diplomacy in accelerating the fair resolution of the conflict is also assessed skeptically in both Azerbaijan and Armenia. In addition, Medvedev’s term is close to completion and the reduced activeness of diplomatic efforts before inauguration of the new head of the Russian state is quite natural. Image from

Essays European Union: How have the relative policy-making influence of the European Commission, What was the initial purpose of European integration? How has the European Parliament been transformed since its original designation as an assembly custom essay - primeessaywritings.com: "BEWARE OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY/BIAS OF EU website (if it’s used) and the dates of the Treaties (some might have expired)"

RELATED ITEMS

The Storytellers of Empire: Captivated by an image of an atom bomb falling on Japan, Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie asks American writers why, “Your soldiers will come to our lands, but your novelists won’t” - Kamila Shamsie, guernicamag.com: “I came to America as an undergraduate and realized that with a few honorable exceptions, all of America looked at America with one eye shut. I don’t mean Americans looked at America uncritically. I mean they looked at it merely in domestic terms. ... The stories of America in the World rather than the World in America stubbornly remain the domain of nonfiction.

Your soldiers will come to our lands, but your novelists won’t. The unmanned drone hovering over Pakistan, controlled by someone in Langley, is an apt metaphor for America’s imaginative engagement with my nation." Via AB on Facebook. Image from article

U.S. ‘info ops’ programs dubious, costly - Tom Vanden Brook and Ray Locker, tucsoncitizen.com: As the Pentagon has sought to sell wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to often-hostile populations there, it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on poorly tracked marketing and propaganda campaigns that military leaders like to call “information operations,” the modern equivalent of psychological warfare. From 2005 to 2009, such spending rose from $9 million to $580 million a year mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon and congressional records show. Last year, spending dropped to $202 million as the Iraq War wrapped up.

A USA TODAY investigation, based on dozens of interviews and a series of internal military reports, shows that Pentagon officials have little proof the programs work and they won’t make public where the money goes. In Iraq alone, more than $173 million was paid to what were identified only as “miscellaneous foreign contractors.” “What we do as I.O. is almost gimmicky,” says Army Col. Paul Yingling, who served three tours in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, including as an information operations specialist. “Doing posters, fliers or radio ads. These things are unserious.” Image from

The Conservative Case for Foreign Aid: Reagan knew that diplomacy and development policy neutralize threats before they become crises - John Kerry, Wall Street Journal [subscription]

Despite the deepening crisis, the Afghan strategy is worth saving - Editorial Board, Washington Post: The only secure and honorable means of exit is to finish the work of creating an Afghan army and police force capable of defending the country from the Taliban and other extremists, with backup from U.S. special forces and air power. Achieving that goal by the end of 2014, the current NATO timetable, will be hard enough, as the events of the past week vividly show. If the Obama administration chooses to accelerate the timetable or significantly reduce the funding -- and thus the size -- of Afghan forces, it will become nearly impossible.

Afghans Don't Hate America: They also don't want a return of the Taliban, despite the recent protests over the burning of Qurans - Max Boot, Wall Street Journal [subscription]

There Be Dragons - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: "The Arab/Muslim awakening phase

is over. Now we are deep into the counter-revolutionary phase, as the dead hands of the past try to strangle the future. I am ready to consider any ideas of how we in the West can help the forces of democracy and decency win. But, ultimately, this is their fight. They have to own it, and I just hope it doesn’t end with extremists going all the way and the moderates just going away." Image from

Consider this: Iran, film, nukes and spin - The Post-Standard Editorial Board The Post-Standard, blog.syracuse.com: For a brief moment, art triumphed over politics at the 84th Academy Awards Sunday in Los Angeles — and then the propaganda machine cranked up.“A Separation,” a film made in Iran, won the Oscar for best foreign film. Director Asghar Farhadi, speaking in English, made an eloquent speech. Alas, what looked like a moment of cultural understanding between Iran and the United States became an opportunity for Iran to widen the, uh, separation between us. The hard-line Fars News Agency fabricated a reference to nuclear tensions and inserted it into Farhadi’s speech, only to remove it once English-speaking Iranians pointed it out. The Iranian government official in charge of the film industry crowed, “American judgment bowed for Iranian culture,” and boasted that Iran’s entry had beaten one from the “Zionist regime,” Israel.

This Is Not a Film: The Filmmaker Who Isn't: There's a reason for the title of Jafar Panahi's urgent new movie - Karina Longworth, Village Voice: In 2010, the internationally celebrated Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was arrested at his home.

A neorealist who has been a vocal opponent of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, Panahi was accused of participating "in a gathering and carrying out propaganda against the system," sentenced to six years in prison, and banned from leaving Iran, giving press interviews, and writing and directing films for 20 years. This Is Not a Film, made in March 2011 while Panahi was under house arrest awaiting the result of an appeal, is billed as "an effort by Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb." This dispatch from Panahi's life behind closed doors was shot entirely on the grounds of his Tehran apartment. Image from article, with caption: Jaar Panahi, not working on a film

APOSTROPHE CATASTROPHE

Mitt Romney stay's alive with Michigan win - CBS News (6:44 AM, February 29); image from

February 28

"'cultural diplomacy', 'public diplomacy' now there's even 'health diplomacy'. Statesmen are not social workers!!!"

--The Westphalian Post on Twitter; image of 1951 Nash Statesman Super from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

‘Oscar diplomacy’? Obama ought to try it on Iran - David Ignatius, Washington Post: "So here’s an off-the-wall “red carpet” proposal: President Obama should invite the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi to the White House — not to talk politics, a subject over which the two countries are sharply divided, but to talk about what makes a good movie, which Farhadi’s award-winning film 'A Separation' surely is. ... Farhadi’s acceptance speech was moving because it was as clear and direct as his film: 'At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy.

They are happy not just because of an important award or a film or filmmaker, but because at the time when talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture — a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics.' So, Mr. President, invite this gifted filmmaker to the White House to celebrate his wonderful film — and signal to his countrymen that while the United States resolutely opposes Iranian policies and its threat to Israel, we respect the people of Iran and the country’s culture." Image from, with caption: Asghar Farhadi said that he accepts the award on behalf of fellow Iranians.

Why Won’t Obama Speak Frankly About Iran - Jeffrey Herf, New Republic: "The world is nearing the point where it is going to have to make some difficult decisions about how to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon—among them, a decision about whether to use military force. Given Iran’s deep hostility to the United States and Israel, as well as its history of sponsoring terrorism, the importance of denying Iran a nuclear weapon cannot be overstated. ... [Comment:] 02/28/2012 - 12:30am EDT | roidubouloi[:] TNR beating the war drums again. The reason why Obama's rhetoric is circumscribe is rather obvious. He is not prepared to use military force at this time, and all the things that Herf demands that Obama say would both make it that much more certain that Iran will not cooperate and make the quick use of force politically necessary. Once the saber is drawn, there is not choice but to use it. Herf wants the saber drawn. There is plenty of reason for ambiguity in public diplomacy and less there is a firm commitment to particular course of action and it is time to let friend and foe know just what it is. Herf wants to leap over the question whether we are well-served by the use of force and by the use of force at this time and simply make it inevitable. If and when the decision to use force is made, there will be time for the speech Herf longs to hear."

America's Ad Hoc Foreign Policy May Not be Enough in an Unstable World - George Friedman, thecuttingedgenews.com: "In the Middle East, there was little receptivity to Obama's public diplomacy. In practical terms, the expansion of Iranian power was substantial. Given Israeli fears over Iranian nuclear weapons, Obama found himself walking a fine line between possible conflict with Iran and allowing events to take their own course. This emerged as the foundation of U.S. foreign policy.

Where previously the United States saw itself as having an imperative to try to manage events, Obama clearly saw that as a problem. As seen in this strategy, the United States has limited resources that have been overly strained during the wars. Rather than attempting to manage foreign events, Obama is shifting U.S. strategy toward limiting intervention and allowing events to proceed on their own. ... The weakness in Obama's strategy is that the situation in many regions could suddenly and unexpectedly move in undesirable directions. Unlike the Cold War system, which tended to react too soon to problems, it is not clear that the current system won't take too long to react." Image from

American Music, Coast to Coast - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "I have been out of bloggy touch this week because I have been on the road with the auditions for the American Music Abroad program. As I have previously noted, the American Music Abroad program is the flagship cultural diplomacy program of the US State Department, which my organization American Voices administers. The program is the evolution of the famous Jazz Ambassadors program. We had received nearly 300 applications for the program, a record and more than double the previous year, of which the panel of judges selected approximately 40 ensembles for live auditions. This week we held the live auditions in New York, St. Louis and San Francisco. The ensembles that were invited to the live auditions were, frankly, amazing and represent the broad spectrum of the canon of American music. Over the week we heard auditions from groups representing Jazz, Hip Hop, Bluegrass, Hawaiian, Western, Cajun, Zydeco, Blues, and even genres as diverse as Indo-Appalachian blue grass. ... It is nice to know that I have a good job that appreciates my services and will let me continue to practice PD in the field and travel long and far."

Social media and national security‎ - Fergus Hanson, Government News: "Across the foreign and security policy spectrum, Australia and the United States share a great deal in common. On one foreign policy issue there is a virtual chasm between the two: ediplomacy. For the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), launching a single Twitter feed was agonising. The US State Department by contrast has almost 200 feeds and over 600 social media accounts worldwide. Where DFAT obsesses over guidance and the supposed risk of letting highly educated adults post one sentence messages, Washington has a more laissez faire approach. At a ‘Tweetorial’ I attended at the state department, training 50 diplomats on how to use Twitter, policy guidance 5 barely rated a mention, and participants—some of whom had never used social media before—were exhorted to give it a go, ‘you can’t go wrong’. Failing to adapt DFAT’s communications and public diplomacy strategy to 21st century realities is concerning, but there is an even bigger consequence. The fixation on the risks of social media has blinded DFAT

to the wider applications of new technologies to diplomacy. While DFAT hasn’t even established a dedicated ediplomacy unit, at State it has now spread beyond the 40 person Office of eDiplomacy. ... New technologies are commonly resisted by foreign ministries but it is now ten years since State established its Office of eDiplomacy. DFAT needs ediplomacy if it is going to continue to coordinate policy across an increasingly internationalised bureaucracy." Image from

Is it time to revive RFE Hungarian? [on article that appeared in The Washington Post] - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "The authors are certainly correct about avoiding the establishment of a 'bad news' station. So how is the goal of providing independent journalism to Hungary best accomplished? In 2012, Hungarians won't huddle around their shortwave sets. They probably don't even have shortwave sets. They might, in limited numbers, listen to a medium wave frequency from a neighboring country. The radio station would also be available via satellite and the internet, but this still would not attract mass audiences. A website (with the obligatory accompanying social media outlets and mobile version) might seem more suitable for the present media environment.

Again, the audience could be limited, especially because of the thousands of competing sources of information on the internet. Many Hungarians have access to satellite dishes. A channel on one of the popular European satellites could bring audiences larger than those for radio or internet efforts, but would also cost more than the other options. If it is a commercial channel that succeeds in selling advertising, those costs could be offset. Should this be an indigenous Hungarian effort, such as Klubradio using a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy and corresponding European organizations? On the other hand, the Radio Free Europe name does have stature, even if it also has a mixed historical legacy. The fact that RFE has been revived in Hungarian would itself send a message, inside Hungary and beyond. Of course, some member of Congress, perhaps forgetting that there ever was an RFE Hungarian Service, will slip in an amendment calling for the resumption of a Voice of America Hungarian Service, with the result being we will have both VOA and RFE broadcasts in Hungarian." Image from article

Smith and Mundt go to London: BBC adopts its own version of the domestic dissemination ban, BBC Worldwide press release, 22 Feb 2012 - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "'BBC.com today unveiled the latest of its new sections - Future – to offer audiences outside the UK a host of universal topics focused on future trends in the worlds of science, technology, environment and health. The new pages will be rooted in robust research to ensure they are informative yet entertaining and complement the technology, science, environment and health news pages already available on the site. At launch, Future will comprise of 12 columns, specially commissioned features from leading writers in science and technology... At launch Future will be supported by commercial partner LEXUS in America.'" [Elliott comment:] Not even Lexus spells Lexus LEXUS.

I went to BBC.com to find BBC Future, but saw no link, nor any mention of this new section. So remember this URL: bbc.com/future. The press release specifies "audiences outside the UK." Will BBC Future not be domestically disseminated? NB: James Cridland informs us that this is what is visible to UK internet users: BBC Future (international version) [']We're sorry but this site is not accessible from the UK as it is part of our international service and is not funded by the licence fee. It is run commercially by BBC Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BBC, the profits made from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. You can find out more about BBC Worldwide and its digital activities at www.bbcworldwide.com. If you are looking for health, technology, science and environment news in the UK, please visit: Health, Technology, Science and Environment.[']" Image from

NATO's Public Diplomacy Overload - Daryl Morini, atlantic-community.org: "Today’s NATO suffers from a public diplomacy overload rather than an image problem. Far from being a panacea to its democratic deficit, the dominant influence of public diplomacy strategies and their advocates on Allied decision-making is arguably part of the problem. ... But what, if anything, can the Alliance do to encourage closer identification among NATO members, and between respective national publics and the Alliance as a whole? At least three steps can help to increase public identification with NATO, none of which will be easy.

Firstly, NATO policy-makers need to review their overreliance on the public diplomacy instrument, to be sure that this Janus-faced policy enabler does not itself become a policy substitute. ... Secondly, the rhetorical balance of official NATO pronouncements between soft, values-based statements and hard power expressions of interest needs to be reexamined in favor of a blunter use of language. ... Finally, if NATO is serious about its espoused liberal-democratic values, then the Public Diplomacy Division should act concretely on these by persuading the Allied ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council to accept the introduction of regular (perhaps weekly) live sessions of Council meetings. ... Any public diplomacy initiative short of this bold display of transparency and democratic accountability is just recycling old wines in new bottles - nobody will buy it." Morini image from article

Watershed Interview on Brazil’s growing role in the world - Oliver Stuenkel, postwesternworld.com: "Brazil’s natural leadership role in South America is far from uncontested, and countries such as Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia and Chile reject Brazil’s claims that it can represent South America. Attempts by Brazil to exercise regional leadership have therefore not always been received warmly.

At the same time, several countries seek to copy Brazil’s economic strategy, and a strong and stable Brazilian economy has a positive impact on the entire region. This attractiveness and economic dynamism does in fact increase Brazil’s soft power much more than any kind of public diplomacy. Yet there is also a growing uneasiness about Brazil’s economic presence in the region, and smaller neighbors are increasingly concerned about whether Brazil’s rise will be a threat to their economies, or whether they will benefit from it. On this front, Brazil probably needs to do more to assure its neighbors of its regional commitment." Stuenkel image from article

Boko Haram, CIA and Conspiracy Theories‎ - AllAfrica.com: "'The Dee Cee 'Public Relations Firms' and the government 'Public Diplomacy' and the 'Think Tanks' are secretly paid with taxpayer money to repeat the cover-up narratives. The Underwear Bomber Conspiracy has now been added to the list of forbidden topics.'- Noam Chomsky (Deterring Democracy: The Underwear Bomber Conspiracy [.] Avram Noam Chomsky is not your typical rabble-rouser by any stretch of the imagination. He is also not the sort of intellectual to hides behind linguistic guile only to pass naked prejudice and premeditated slander for the truth, like some well-travelled pseudo-intellectuals have developed a habit of doing in Nigeria."

Abu Dhabi University launches new B.A in Mass Communication - zawya.com - "Abu Dhabi University [UAE] announced the launch of a new program in Mass Communication, which will be offered to students on both the Abu Dhabi and Al Ain campuses. The new B.A in Mass Communication, offers students the choice between three areas of concentration which are: Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, and Strategic Communication. ... Commenting on the program's diverse concentrations, Dr. Radwan Al Jarrah, Dean of ADUADU's College of Arts and Sciences said: '... The concentration on Strategic Communication incorporates courses on public relations, advertising, and audience research components and will qualify graduates to work as speechwriters, media strategists, crisis communicators, public diplomacy experts, non-profit leaders, advertising executives, and public relations professionals'."

A call to fund-raising and educational action - New Jersey Jewish News: "The Jewish Federation of Monmouth County’s much anticipated Community Action Day — taking place Sunday, March 11, at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft — will provide an 'experiential community engagement' opportunity, said federation board chair Dr. Stuart Abraham. The daylong event will include a campaign phonathon, a PJ Library family performance, a security preparedness training program, and a community briefing on the threat from a potentially nuclear Iran. ... The security preparedness training session ... highlights one of the ways federation is being proactive and adding value for its partners . ... The panel will feature [among others] ... Gil Lainer, consul for public diplomacy at the Israeli consulate in New York."

News Article about the jetBook Color in Russian Schools - ectaco-global.blogspot.com: "We stumbled upon an article today from Progorod11 - a Russia news site in regards to eTextbooks in classrooms with a big picture of the jetBook Color being used by a student and teacher. ... A translated portion of the article is below: Schools will test electronic textbooks: Students will be engaged with eReaders. In the near future, five classes in five schools in the Komi as an experiment will go from paper to electronic textbooks.Readers and netbooks will benefit students 6-7 classes.

In each class entitled to 36 devices, with a reserve, in case of the failure. Compare the parallels. 'Readers' have come to the school through participation in a federal experiment, Komi, 'Testing of various types of interactive multimedia e-books (IMEU) in secondary schools a number of subjects of the Russian Federation.' - The purchase of units spent about three million rubles, divided into technical and humanitarian Wow high schools, school № 1 Vylgorta, Lyceum of public diplomacy, and Syktyvkar Ezhva gymnasium № 1, - said the expert of the department of information Minobraza Komi Vitaly Olshanov. - What class will use the 'reading room', to solve the educational institution. Under the terms of a parallel experiment, the class will be taught by the traditional scheme, at the end of the year to compare the results." Image from

Speaker promotes diplomatic careers - Emma McKay, duclarion.com: "Retired senior foreign service officer Andrew Koss encouraged students to pursue a career as a foreign diplomat during a speech at the Korbel School of International Studies last Wednesday. 'I recommend a career in public diplomacy because it's the perfect combination of foreign policy and creativity,' said Koss. 'It's a chance to make a difference in the conduct of our country's diplomatic affairs.' About 40 students and faculty attended the event, which was the third part in Korbel's 2012 Public Diplomacy Series."

Kudankulam: The Empire strikes back! - blogs.rediff.com: "Daly [John Daly of Johns Hopkins University] it was ... who founded the journal known as The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, which all keen observers of the politics of Russia’s ‘near abroad’ would know, is a diligent flag carrier of the US’ public diplomacy on Russia and Central Asia."

Foreign waters - dailytrojan.com: "Ruben van Gendren (left), a research fellow at Katholieke Universiteit Beuven in Belgium, speaks to Matthew Ery (right), an almunus, at the Water Diplomacy: A Foreign Policy Imperative event on Monday.

The conference, sponsored by the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, addressed the issue of water scarcity in Third World countries." Image from article

Coming Soon - Kaffeeklatsch of Civilizations: "To the teeming tens of readers of my little corner of the blogosphere, I apologize for the temporary posting slowdown. I have a bit of manuscript work to do, but there are 2 posts in draft, one on public diplomacy and one on Iran, and I expect to have them live by the end of the week. Thanks for checking in and thanks for reading!"

RELATED ITEMS

The tweets that homeland security spooks look for - Rob Beschizza, Boing Boing: Joel Johnson found that the Department of Homeland Security's list of Facebook and Twitter search terms was not in an easily-available public format, "curiously embedded as an image of text" in a PDF to prevent indexing.

Image from entry

Senate study provides insight into radicalized U.S. Islamist, recommends more coordinated response - Mark Rockwell, The Internet and social media are integral ingredients in the rapid radicalization of homegrown terrorists, said a staff study by the Senate homeland security committee that recommended a coordinated government response to counter online radical propaganda and help communities intervene in the radicalization process. The report, released on Feb. 27 by the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was based on the close study of the personal writings of Zachary Chesser, the Bristow, VA man now serving a 25-year sentence for threatening the writers of the South Park television show, soliciting violent jihadists to desensitize law enforcement, and attempting to provide material support to Al-Shabaab.

GAO: Overlapping government programs cost billions - Ed O'Keefe, Washington Post: The report also identifies 18 ways that the government could save money. Among them: The State Department could reconsider requests to train and equip Iraqi security forces.

Afghanistan on edge: As recent violence over the burning of Korans shows, the U.S. mission there is fragile - Obama's acknowledging the offense to Muslim sensibilities was the decent thing to do and may have prevented an even worse backlash than the one that has cost four American lives so far. Meanwhile, the U.S. is gingerly exploring the possibility of a political solution in Afghanistan while reorienting its anti-terror strategy to targeted attacks on individuals.

Someday -- sooner rather than later, we hope -- U.S. troops will be gone and there will be less of an opportunity for clashes of culture like the conflict over the burning of the Koran. Image from article: U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker is seen during his swearing ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 25, 2011

A U.S.-Led Exit Strategy for Assad: An offer of immunity from prosecution for crimes against humanity if he left Syria would save many lives and deal a blow to Iran - Jane Harman: The U.S. should work with the Friends of Syria -- some 70 countries that met in Tunis on Friday to broker an immunity deal with the Assad regime. If Assad were allowed to leave with a guarantee of safe haven, the real work of encouraging a Syrian-led transition to a democratic and pluralistic political system could finally begin.

Arm Syria’s Rebels - Roger Cohen, New York Times: Get weapons to the Free Syrian Army. Train those forces, just as the rebels were trained in Libya. At the same time, mount a big U.N.-coordinated humanitarian effort centered on enclaves for refugees in Turkey, Jordan and elsewhere, establishing, where possible, safe corridors to these havens.

Israel says it won't warn U.S. before a strike against Iran - AP, USA Today: Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the likelihood that the U.S. would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack.

The U.S. has been working with the Israelis for months to persuade them that an attack would be only a temporary setback to Iran's nuclear program. Image from

NK cranks up propaganda ahead of milestone date - Kim Young-jin, koreatimes.co.kr: With just over six weeks to go before North Korea has pledged to become a “strong and prosperous state,” Pyongyang’s state-run media in recent days has been churning out reports of economic development to highlight progress ahead of the important date. The reports, which come in the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the birth of the nation’s founder Kim Il-sung on April 15th, have focused on what observers say are key symbols of the North’s efforts toward development, including its project to refurbish Pyongyang’s Mansudae district with high-rise apartments and cultural facilities. The Rodong Sinmun, the paper of the North’s ruling Worker’s Party, recently said that as of last week, workers had “mainly finished the framework of over 20 public buildings and buckled down to internal and external projects of the buildings” among a flurry of developments. Analysts say the project intends to show the people that progress is being made in quality of life.

IMAGE

--From DiploPundit, with comment: A Mongolian service member uses a sledgehammer to smash a concrete block off the chest of another serve member during a martial arts demonstration by Mongolian military forces at the Mongolian Day ceremony Feb. 18, at International Security Assistance Force Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to ISAF, Mongolia has been part of the mission since 2010, contributing more than 100 troops in Afghanistan. They are involved in the training of Afghan National Army in Kabul and providing stability and security to Afghan populations in the northern part of the country.