September 27

“But back to the war of ideas and to the importance of not being too U.S.-centric. Think of it this way: we're Coke; they're Pepsi. Our job is not to get people to drink Coke in this instance, but to get people not to drink Pepsi.”

--Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs of State James Glassman

“once upon a time in Russia there really was a carefree, youthful generation that smiled in joy at the summer, the sea and the sun, and chose Pepsi."

--Russian author Victor Pelevin regarding Generation P, for Pepsi

NEW BOOK

Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service
Harry W. Kopp, Charles A. Gillespie

SITES OF INTEREST

The site "Life After Jerusalem: The Adventures and Musings of an American Indian, Public Diplomacy-Coned Foreign Service Officer" lists some 80 Foreign Service-related sites, including by Foreign Service officers, ranging from "A For Adventure" to "World Chump."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Reliance on Soft Power: Reforming Public - Diplopundit – “If the [State] Department is to attract and retain first-rate PD officers, then it needs to demonstrate that career Foreign Service Public Diplomacy officers, not political appointees or Fifth Avenue marketing hacks, will be regarded as capable of holding senior Department positions. And State could start the broom in its Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bureau ('R') as a brilliant example.”

Twenty Questions for the Debate Tonight - Charles J. Brown, Undiplomatic: Among them: What would you do, as President, to make the State Department more effective, and to give it the resources it needs to succeed? Do you support reestablishing the US Information Agency or a similar construct to coordinate and strengthen our public diplomacy?

James K. Glassman to Speak at Luncheon Oct. 3 - National Press Club: James K. Glassman, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, will speak at a luncheon on Friday, Oct. 3, on “The New Age of Public Diplomacy.” Since taking up his position in June, following confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Glassman has been leading the government’s efforts to win a war of ideas to combat violent extremism, and his speech will outline his views on how best to achieve this goal. Cost of the luncheon is $16 for National Press Club members, $28 for guests of members, and $35 general admission.

Meg Whitman for Governor of California? - PurpleSlog: The Future Will Be Kludged: “As for Gov. Schwarzenegger, his next role, should he choose to remain in government I would suggest one of these [including] ... Deputy Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Influence Activity (to reinvigorate the US Effort).”

Mind Control in the 21st Century – Skydrifter, Burning Babylon: "The elements of government Public Diplomacy, military Public Affairs and Psychological Operations play a key role in the endeavor of 'information operations,' ideally reinforcing each other. In theory, they are separate functions, with unique missions. 'Public Diplomacy' is intended to be an interagency effort, theoretically only directed at the influence of foreign audiences. That arena employs the use of over-the-border’ information dissemination, whether radio, TV or the Internet. The world of government-sponsored 'Psychological Operations' uses specific techniques - designed (in theory) to uniquely influence non-U.S. audiences."

NATO and Public Diplomacy: The Need for the Alliance to Tell its Own Story - Alexis Crow, RUSI, UK - “One thing … is certain: the re-emergence of Russia as a country which challenges the existing status quo has placed NATO in the hot seat. Once again, this is a battle of ideas, and NATO is back to its original business. Now, more than ever, NATO members need to engage in a sustained public relations campaign, and explain the continuing story of the Alliance to its voting publics.”

RELATED ITEMS

The Debate on Foreign Policy: Barack Obama and John McCain don't differ as much as they may lead voters to believe – Editorial, Washington Post

Debate Floor, from BagnewsNotes

In debate, Obama and McCain differ sharply on foreign policy: Each says the other has been wrong about Iraq and Afghanistan. The economic crisis shadows the debate - Mark Z. Barabak and Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times

Obama Wins on Foreign Policy: He Stood up to McCain, and He Had a More Realistic Vision of the World - Fred Kaplan, Slate

The time has come for a final report on the 43rd president of the US: The man who set out to reinforce unbridled American power has weakened it in all three essential dimensions - Timothy Garton Ash, Guardian - As for the decline in American soft power, that is something for which George Bush was directly to blame. His arrogance, his unilateralism, his insensitivity, his long-time denial of the need for urgent action on climate change: all fed directly into the plummeting credit of the US around the world. It would have been a different story with a different president.

Behind the Lines: Ahmadinejad's media blitz, and polls apart - Calev Ben-David, Jerusalem Post: There's no question that Ahmadinejad views the Western media as a useful vehicle to challenge US policy toward Iran in the field of international public opinion, to justify his nation's nuclear ambitions and further his campaign to delegitimize the existence of the state of Israel.

MILF questions Marines' propaganda movie in Sulu - GMA news.tv, Philippines: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) questioned Saturday what it called a "cheap propaganda" ploy by the Philippine Marines to win children's support through Sunday movie showings. An article on the MILF website said parents of the children branded the effort as "cheap propoganda out to win the hearts of tender minds in the ongoing war in Mindanao."

Bush's third war: U.S. attacks inside Pakistan mark an escalation that may bedevil the next president - Andrew J. Bacevich, Los Angeles Times: As U.S. operations inevitably produce a stream of noncombatant casualties, they will exacerbate anti-Americanism in Pakistan.

U.S. Raids on Pakistan: Violations of Sovereignty - Brian Cloughley, Counterpunch

Support to Pakistan distorts Asia's balance of power - Selig S. Harrison, Boston Globe: The time has come to make US military aid to Pakistan compatible with US strategic goals in India, which is eight times larger and a rising global power important to the United States militarily and economically.

AMERICANA

Sarah Palin's Beauty Pageant Swimsuit Competition Footage (VIDEO) – Huffington Post
















Superstars Dolls. Photo from MSN Entertainment