September 13

“Ya know, Charlie, there's one thing that really gets my goat, Charlie. When I'm having a conversation with another person, and there's nobody else in the conversation, Charlie, and that person keeps repeating my name.”

--Ya know something that really bugs me, Charlie?, Matty Boy, Lotsa 'Splainin' 2 Do, regarding Charlie Gibson's ABC interview with Sarah Palin

“Added to arrogance, callousness and brutality was downright ineptitude.”

--Historian Niall Ferguson, on Hitler’s Empire

IMAGES

The Bush Years poster features a dapper Jack Abramoff, boingboing

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

9/11 and the War of Ideas - Jean Fievet, ABC News London: After laying a wreath in London to commemorate the British victims of 9/11, U.S. Ambassador James K. Glassman gave a speech to a small group of invited guests about America's image overseas. Glassman was speaking seven years, almost to the hour, after the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center. As the new undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, he’s now the man in charge of America’s strategy to defeat terrorism by winning the war of ideas. The 9/11 attacks meant that an aggressive ideological counteroffensive was needed: what the State Department calls, for want of a better expression, a ”War of Ideas.”

Overseas US Citizen Electoral Diplomacy - Avuncular American: An expatriate view of America and the world from Europe by former diplomat Gerald Loftus: “I came home from Radio Judaica just in time to catch the BBC World 'HARDtalk' interview with US State Department public diplomacy chief James Glassman. Glassman gave it his best, and he came across as frank, willing to admit mistakes and the next-to-impossible task of putting lipstick (no, I won't use that phrase, McCain and Obama beat me to it)... the next-to-impossible task of rendering Bush foreign policy palatable to the outside world. Glassman spoke about putting a structure in place to wage the 'war of ideas,' though beyond the loaded (for conservatives) idea of 'freedom,' there wasn't a whole lot in evidence in this half hour program.”

A Global Narrative for Public Diplomacy - Craig Hayden, Intermap: “ [P]olicy rhetoric is a resource that constructs as much as reflects the policy milieu. The question remains, how do we make our rhetoric perform the kind of end-goals we want for a public diplomacy policies in such a way as to unite allies behind a common purpose, rather than to highlight the parochial imperatives of rhetoric for a national audience?”

Sticking pins in the BBG voodoo doll - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "VOA and RFE/RL, though funded by the same government, are archrivals. They would never admit it, but each is wholeheartedly and enthusiastically devoted to the compete and utter elimination of the other. The rationalization of U.S. international broadcasting cannot be brought through the back door by reducing VOA services to websites. The BBG [Broadcasting Board of Governor] must stand up and speak out for a real consolidation into a single organization, capable of producing the correct mix of content and media to suit each target country, and of adjusting that mix as conditions in the target country change. The BBG should promote this to the next administration, to Congress, and to all interested publics… . Back during the decades that VOA was under USIA, USIA pulled VOA in the direction of policy advocacy, while VOA's audience and its own newsroom wanted an objective, balanced news service. This left VOA as the platypus duckbill of international broadcasting, its mammal part doing the news, its bird part doing propaganda."

Model Interactive Website Touted As Replacement for Voice of America Radio to Russia Attracts No Comments from Users – Ted Lipien, Free Media Online Blog: FreeMediaOnline.org has obtained a copy of the “VOA Russian Options Paper,” which claims that VOA Russian Service can have a successful Internet-only presence in Russia. This claim is astounding since no other major government broadcaster has dropped its radio programs and opted for Internet-only strategy in targeting an audience of another world power ruled by an authoritarian government.

Sen. Lieberman’s Not-So-Straight Talk on Public Diplomacy - Angela Trethewey and Joe Fai, COMOPS Journal: ”[H]ere is our offering: The good/evil morality play isn’t doing anything for our image, as 7 years of experience has shown. It’s time to drop it and try something else. Our 'don’t hate me because I’m beautiful' message isn’t working either. Like [sic] Jim Glassman says, it’s not about us, it’s about them. The sooner we recognize that, the better. Happy talk and spin about how it’s really not all that bad might be good for a political campaign, but it’s a recipe for disaster in a public diplomacy campaign. You can’t solve your problems until you recognize them. It’s a problem when we let our own perceptions of safety and potency go unscrutinized.”

'Special Report' Panel On How the Candidates Would Approach Terrorism and Whether Clinton Would Have Been a Better Vp Choice – FOXNews: Mort Kondracke, Executive Editor, Roll Call: “If you look at the rhetoric of both sides, both McCain and Obama are in favor of using a combination of hard power and soft power. You kill the bad guys, or kill the alligators and drain the swamp at the same time. And you extend aid and do public diplomacy and police work and you do intelligence and you do financial stuff and you do military…”

McCain, Obama largely agree on anti-terror issues: Rhetorical attacks by the presidential candidates mask a consensus. But analysts say both are lacking in details on the subject – Hillary Clinton Club: Both McCain and Obama vow to engage in more public diplomacy and "soft power" tactics that emphasize winning the hearts and minds of those leaning toward extremism and anti-American beliefs.

Newsletter: Public Diplomacy in Europe, June 2008 - U.S. State Department Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Washington, DC

The Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab media, VOL. IV NO. 19, August 29-September 11, 2008

Federation honoured with classical concert - Sun St.Kitts/Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis: Internationally renowned pianist, Roman Rudnytsky, of the United States entertained an appreciative crowd at a piano recital held under the distinguished patronage of St. Kitts/Nevis Governor-General Sir Cuthbert Sebastian. Rudnytsky, who has performed in more than 80 countries worldwide, told the gathering that he has been to St. Kitts several times before and always enjoys return visits. His stay here is facilitated through a public diplomacy program offered by the US Embassy in a bid to expose individuals from different countries and region to positive facets of American culture.

This Week in Germany: This newsletter is brought to you by the German Information Center, dedicated to fulfilling the public diplomacy mission of the German Embassy by offering Americans a window on modern Germany. The opinions and material contained herein, however, do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the German government.

Survey reveals Turkey a loner, summit disagrees – Turkish Daily News: A global security conference was held in Istanbul yesterday. Stefanie Babast, the acting deputy secretary of NATO Public Diplomacy, said, “Multilateralism and international cooperation are key and individual countries cannot tackle global problems on their own. Turkey cannot act alone in international matter.”

RELATED ITEMS

Does killing Afghan civilians keep us safe? Western airstrikes target terrorists, but innocents are caught in the crossfire - Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann, Los Angeles Times: Civilians in Afghanistan have been caught in the crossfire for too long. Over-reliance on airstrikes is counterproductive in the battle for Afghan hearts and minds. President Bush's announcement this week that he will send nearly 5,000 additional troops to Afghanistan is a good way to start ameliorating this situation, but it is not enough.

A Grim Anniversary: Seven years later, Al Qaeda still lives -- and its new host is a nuclear-weapons state - Michael Hirsh, Newsweek: The Pakistanis, including many in the military and ISI (its intel service) are becoming more anti-American as the Bush administration embraces their mortal enemy, India, with a technology-rich new strategic partnership.

Quagmire, Phase 2: The Invasion of Pakistan – William Pfaff, Truthdig: Pakistan public opinion seems largely against “America’s war” being fought inside Pakistan.

What Americans Must Ask Themselves: U.S. Designs on Pakistan - Ayesha Ijaz Khan, Counterpunch: Anti-Americanism in Pakistan has reached record highs and even those Pakistanis who are left-leaning and actively lobbying for an end to the brutality of terrorism are concluding that America’s primary interest lies in destabilizing Pakistan and not in putting an end to terrorism.

Europe’s Problem – Editorial, New York Times: Russia cannot be allowed to redraw Georgia’s (or anyone else’s) borders by force. Until the Europeans stand together -- and with the United States -- against Moscow’s bullying, Russia’s leaders will feel little pressure to change their behavior.

On China: A New Approach to All of Asia - Thomas M. Donnelly and Rachel Kleinfeld, New York Times: Pushing the candidates on the issue of China’s rise ought to be a focus of future presidential debates. China’s status as a great power is perhaps the central question of 21st-century international affairs, arguably more important than Islamic extremism, Russian revanchism or nuclear proliferation. And China’s role is inseparable from those other issues.

What Is the Bush Doctrine, Anyway? - Dan Froomkin,
washingtonpost.com: Jacob Weisberg, in his book "The Bush Tragedy," actually identified six Bush Doctrines: Bush Doctrine 1.0 was Unipolar Realism (3/7/99--9/10/01); Bush Doctrine 2.0 was With Us or Against Us (9/11/01--5/31/02); Bush Doctrine 3.0 was Preemption (6/1/02--11/5/03); Bush Doctrine 4.0 was Democracy in the Middle East (11/6/03--1/19/05); Bush Doctrine 5.0 was Freedom Everywhere (1/20/05-- 11/7/06); and Bush Doctrine 6.0 (11/8/06 to date) is the "absence of any functioning doctrine at all."

What Bush Doctrine? Sarah Palin Was Right To Be Confused. There Isn't One - Timothy Noah, Slate

The Sorrow and the Pity: When It Comes To Foreign Policy, Sarah Palin Doesn't Know What She's Talking About - Fred Kaplan, Slate

Is George W. Bush the Worst President in US History? – Ivan Eland, antiwar.com: Bush's War on Terror has also undermined the cherished American system of government by unconstitutionally suspending habeas corpus; enhancing government surveillance of the American public, including unconstitutional spying without court-reviewed warrants; practicing torture; and distorting the constitutional checks and balances by expanding the authority of the already imperial presidency. Yet it could be argued that several other presidents have done worse things.

YouTube bans terrorism training videos - AP, USA TODAY