September 29

"In September 1939, the U.S. Army was smaller than the Belgian army.”

--Historian Geoffrey Wheatcroft

Image from: The Belgian Army at the outbreak of WW2


VIDEO

Al Qaeda's Approval: James Glassman of the State Department says that bin Laden is losing the Arab street. (Sept. 24), Wall Street Journal

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

In Afghanistan, hit 'em where they aren't: MacArthur's tactic worked in WWII. It could work again - F. Jordan Evert, Christian Science Monitor: In Afghanistan public diplomacy must accomplish on an intellectual level what protection and good governance achieve at the elemental level. Soldiers and advisers do not need to engage in a "war of ideas." Rather, they must expose the insurgents' ideology of fear, violence, and repression -- an ideology that offers Afghans no hope for the future. Public diplomacy is the responsibility of every soldier and adviser working at the local level. They should use education and support to enable Afghans to bolster their own unique conceptions of open markets, transparent politics, and international engagement.

U.S. Korea-US Alliance Hinges on US Election: Experts - Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times: Edwin J. Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank, said it is important both countries begin the evolution from a singularly focused mission of the Korea-U.S. alliance of deterring North Korean aggression to a more robust values-based relationship that looks beyond the Korean Peninsula. To that end, he suggested, both countries initiate a public-diplomacy effort to secure extended public and legislate support for the new alliance framework.

Donkeys, Elephants, Crocs and Delicious Yogurt! - Joshua Fouts, DIP's Dispatches from the Imagination Age: “For the past few weeks one of my daily must-reads has been a new project by Larry Pintak who runs the Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research at the American University in Cairo. It's a blog called, 'Donkeys, Elephants and Crocs: Egypt Blogs America.' The project has taken eight Egyptian bloggers and sent them to the US to blog about the presidential election. What's developed has been a fascinating level of insight and understanding about what it means to be us. When we first launched the USC Center on Public Diplomacy in 2003, my notion as director, was that US public diplomacy could best be improved by doing more to let the world know we were listening to them, rather than telling them about us.”

Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media: Vol. IV No.20: 9/12-9/25, 2008

Dubai’s Dubious Debut – jimjams, Headline Hollywood: The oil rich government of Abu Dhabi has committed a $1-billion-plus fund to make movies and digital content via Abu Dhabi Media Co., a government controlled entity. Using a newly formed subsidiary called Imagenation, Abu Dhabi made its first deal with Participant Media, a U.S. company well known in the Middle East for producing the Islamic terrorist friendly flick, “Syriana.” According to the Khaleej Times, Dubai seeks to establish “a strong regional and global media presence through successful implementation of public diplomacy.”

Nuke deal not bound by internal laws of any country: Expressindia.com: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the Indo-US nuclear deal will be guided only by the 123 Agreement and not by the “internal laws” of any country, in line with the guiding international principles. Mukherji was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on "India and Nepal: Partners for Democracy and Development," organised by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.

軟權力：世界政治的成功之道作者/楊名豪 - wonderverge: Mentions public diplomacy.

PSYOP Regimental Blog - Lawrence Dietz, psyopregiment: Today’s environment has made it clear that while the USG may have strict lines separating public diplomacy, strategic communications and PSYOP -- the world does not. It is more than very likely that tomorrow’s PSYOPers will have to be part entertainer, part news journalist and media savvy across the spectrum of new media from international or regional TV to highly micro-focused web/pod costs and the ubiquitous mobile phone.

A great weekend! - DiplomatDoc: “I play [tennis] with a group that includes the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the Embassy, an attorney from Wisconsin who now works at the Embassy in the area of public diplomacy, an executive from Chevron who oversees natural gas production facilities in Bangladesh, and three business people from the U.S. who are engaged as project leaders for various NGO’s here in Bangladesh. Dr. Mike Morris is now joining the U.S. State Department Foreign Service and will provide care to members of U.S. Embassy staffs abroad.

RELATED ITEMS

Obama's three challenges - James Carroll, Boston Globe: Gangster themes define American manhood, from HBO to hip-hop to "hard power" foreign policy. The gentle Obama is out of step with all of this.

Connecting geopolitical dots - Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times: In their campaign pronouncements, both John McCain and Barack Obama are in favor of taking troops out of Iraq to put them into the Afghan war against Taliban. Some call it doubling down, throwing good money after bad.

Is This a 'Victory'? - Peter W. Galbraith, New York Review of Books: We hear again and again from Washington that we have turned a corner in Iraq and are on the path to victory. If so, it is a strange victory. George W. Bush has put the United States on the side of undemocratic Iraqis who are Iran's allies. John McCain would continue the same approach.

Bombings in Baghdad Kill 34, Wound 100; Arab-Kurdish Violence in Diyala - Juan Cole, Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion: The situation in Iraq is dire, and the discourse about Iraq in the presidential campaign is often disconnected from reality.

Iraqis stand up – Editorial, Boston Globe: A new Iraq is coming into being, and it will not need or want a foreign army of occupation on its soil.

An Arms Race We’re Sure to Lose - Gary Milhollin, New York Times: Sanctions have not kept Iran from developing its nuclear program. The next U.S. president must do better to convince the mullahs that they are better off without it.

Talk Isn't Cheap With Iran - Michael B. Oren and Seth Robinson, Wall Street Journal: The U.S. can communicate with Iran, but as a power and not a supplicant, and with leverage as well as words.

The Troubled North Korea Deal - Editorial, New York Times: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice must persuade her boss, President Bush, to quickly take North Korea off the terrorism list. If the North fails to meet its commitments, it can be put back on the list.

A little taste of North Korea - Donald Kirk, Asia Times: In North Korea you get a sense of a regime that’s on edge, uncertain and seething with newly kindled rage at the US and South Korea after an all-too-brief era of optimism about prospects for reconciliation -- and denuclearization.

Pakistan, the Media and the Politics of Nuclear Weapons: The Unspoken War - Anthony Dimaggio, Counterpunch: If American political elites refuse to challenge America's dangerous initiatives in Pakistan, there is little reason to expect that the media will do so on its own.

When Geopolitics Meets Principle: The U.S.-India Nuclear Proliferation Deal - David Krieger, Counterpunch: By providing nuclear materials and technology to India, the U.S. will be assisting India to develop a larger nuclear arsenal than it already has developed. Thus, the U.S. will be in violation of its non-proliferation treaty obligations.

Medvedev Pressed on Reporters – Moscow Times: The Committee to Protect Journalists on Friday urged President Dmitry Medvedev to allow several foreign reporters barred from the country to return to work in Russia.

Brzezinski Talks Bases: Interview: The former national security adviser on the Bush Pentagon's spending binge: "Do we really need that for our security?" - Michael Mechanic, Mother Jones: Brzezinski: “I have been struck by the pervasive frequency of highly patriotic, pompously patriotic-sounding ads for defense industries, usually accompanied by deferential salutations to our men and women who are heroically sacrificing their lives in our defense, but sponsored by the defense industry."

Newspaper-insert DVDs on 'radical Islam' stir up swing states: Distribution of the controversial Clarion Fund documentary is pegged to 9/11, not the presidential election, the group says. Some see a 1st Amendment issue - DeeDee Correll, Los Angeles Times: Millions of copies of "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" were delivered over the last few weeks to homes in states whose votes will be critical in the presidential election, and more will be distributed through early October.

The Motion Picture is still the Most Powerful Propaganda - The New Digital Cinema: A fear-mongering motion picture called Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against The West, is being distributed free on DVD in newspapers throughout election battleground states in an effort to scare voters into voting for McCain.

Vietnam’s propaganda posters on show in Spain - VietNamNet Bridge: A total of 42 propaganda posters, drawn by Vietnamese painters during the 60s-90s period of last century, are showcased in Spain’s capital of Madrid from September 26, 2008 to January 11, 2009.

Propaganda Art Has Eaten Itself - R J Evans, Socyberty: Time was you had to be a properly trained artist to produce propaganda art. Sometimes known as agitprop, this form, honed to perfection in the twentieth century has been hijacked by the Photoshop brigade among others. Fortunately, the results are often hysterical but nevertheless can still be thought-provoking.

Condi Gets Nails Done, Creates Hysteria - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog: I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: From As the World Burns: "Just this morning, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was talking to the Associated Press in New York about the frustrating ongoing negotiations with Iraq regarding the governance of U.S. soldiers deployed there. How to top that off? From a reader: 'Condi Rice is getting her nails done RIGHT NOW at Lovely Tender nails on w 72nd street between columbus and amsterdam.' Do not approach! Secret Service will frag your ass! Update! Commenter Clarence Rosario sends photographic evidence (after the jump), and notes, 'We boo'd her pretty soundly.'"

AMERICANA

From: Art For Obama: Authenticity and Purity of Race and Patriotism - BagnewsNotes