October 12

"Nazi articles of faith amounted to grotesque fantasies about how the New Order would function, and they couldn't possibly survive prolonged, or even relatively short, clashes with reality.”

--Andrew Nagorski, reviewing Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe by Mark Mazower

"That's not the way the world really works anymore. We're an empire now, and when we act we create our own reality."

--A senior adviser to George W. Bush (2002) as quoted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, who met with the adviser in the summer of 2002, after, in Suskind’s words, “I had written an article in Esquire that the White House didn't like about Bush's former communications director, Karen Hughes”

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Senator Jim Webb reads blogs? - Shawn Powers, Intermap: "[Senator Webb] did register his strong disapproval of the DOD’s decision to enlist an additional $300 million of support for 'media services' (formerly known as information and psychological operations) from four U.S. private contractors. Criticisms of the plan were logged here at Intermap, on Matt Armstrong’s MountainRunner, and at Marc Lynch’s Abu Aardvark. Simply put, some of the smartest minds in PD noted this to be one in a long line of bad decisions to move US PD efforts back into a Cold War mentality of communications that will simply not work in today’s increasingly networked and transparent society. ... Simply changing the name of propaganda from information and psychological operations to media services makes not a fooled Arab citizenry. Credibility is a prerequisite to any effective public diplomacy initiative, and the DOD’s communications work in Iraq is part and parcel of why US PD efforts more broadly lack credibility in the region."

Webb Urges Halt To U.S. Propaganda In Iraq – Bog Geiger, BobGeiger.com: “Webb has previously raised the issue [of DOD contracts that would pay civilian defense contractors $300 million to produce pro-American news stories, entertainment programs and public service advertisements inside Iraq] to both Gates and Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the Department of Defense (DoD) using ‘general appropriations accounts’ for such efforts because they avoid routine congressional scrutiny and award lucrative contracts to companies performing quasi-military functions such as Blackwater. … Webb, who … sits on the Armed Services Committee, has [also] sent a … letter to [Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl] Levin requesting hearings at the start of the new Congress to discuss the entire issue of the DoD's ‘strategic communications programs’ and the civilian contractors used to support them.”

U.S. Military Plans Polls and Focus Groups in Iraq: Helping Iraqis Rebuild Is a Goal - Walter Pincus, Washington Post: “The U.S. military is planning a large polling and focus-group operation in Iraq over the next three years to help ‘build robust and positive relations with the people of Iraq and to assist the Iraqi people in forming a new government,’ according to a proposal seeking private contractors for the program. The $15 million-a-year initiative will supplement the military's $100 million-a-year strategic communications operation, which aims to produce content for Iraqi media that will ‘engage and inspire’ the population.”

Yes, Its Important – Rob, Arab Media Shack: “Nobody likes a used-car salesman, but that’s how US public diplomacy is perceived on the 'Arab street,' as long as the Government and the think-tank crowd refuses to acknowledge that the Palestinian cause is actually something important. … I’d go as far to say that Public Diplomacy is a waste of time unless the diplomats have something new to preach to the Arab street. As long as policy stays the same, the most sophisticated campaigns are destined to fail and public opinion polls will register wide dislike of the US. By contrast, if the policies changed, you could have a four-toothed redneck from rural Mississippi running Public Diplomacy and it would be a success.”

Al Qaeda killing more Muslims than ‘infidels’ Khalid Hasan - Daily Times, Pakistan: “[A]t a one-day conference on Al Qaeda organised by the Foundation and the New York University Centre for Law and Security … Lawrence Wright of New Yorker magazine … said the US needs better public diplomacy in the world of Islam and it needs to become culturally sensitive to Islam and Muslims. He noted that the US has made little effort to reach out to moderate Muslims. He said US embassies in Muslim countries are like prisons and those who work there have little contact with the people who live in those countries. He also called for the closure of Guantanamo. ‘The United States should not be at war with Islam,’ Wright said. ‘We have made a terrible job of defining America to the Muslim world,’ he added.”

Iran’s letter to Solana shows dissatisfaction with 5+1 - Tehran Times Political Desk: “Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on October 6 accused the six major powers of 'unreasonable behavior' over Tehran’s nuclear program. … Professor Alireza Davari said he believes it was the wrong time to send such a letter and it should have been written during the Caucasus crisis. ‘Undoubtedly, sending such letters is potentially positive and can be assessed within the framework of public diplomacy. However, I believe, the time for sending and publishing this letter was not correct. This move should have been made during the Caucasus crisis.’”

Israel and the Palestinians: Ending the Stalemate - Caroline B. Glick, posted on Doc's Talk: An attempt is made to tell the truth, present corroborated facts and mix in a bit of opinion from time to time based upon sound analysis: “The U.S. likewise must stop falsely proclaiming the moderation and anti-terror credentials of senior Fatah officials. Such statements, which are contradicted in both the statements and actions of men like Palestinian President and Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister and former Hamas finance minister Salaam Fayyad, undermine U.S. efforts to wage a credible public diplomacy campaign against terrorism. They send a counterproductive message that there is such a thing as ‘good terrorism’ which contrasts with ‘bad terrorism.’

America’s Cultural Heritage and Green Diplomacy – ELIAMEP: "ELIAMEP and ELLINIKI ETAIRIA, Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage organized a lecture followed by discussion delivered by Ms. Colleen Graffy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy on 'America’s Cultural Heritage and Green Diplomacy.'

Our Historical Tasks at the Primary Stage of Socialism and Several Issues Concerning China’s Foreign Policy - Wen Jiabao, posted on Chinese Premier, Russia - Premier: Building prosperous China: Wen Jiabao -- “We should conduct public diplomacy in a more effective way. We should inform the outside world of the achievements we have made in reform, opening-up and modernization in a comprehensive, accurate and timely manner. At the same time, we should be frank about the problems we have. We should be good at using flexible and diversified ways in conducting public diplomacy programs. We should use persuasive ways to communicate with the international community to ensure that our message is effectively put across.”

Obama Menangkan ‘Pemilu’ di Kedubes AS - Augusta B Sirait, Twilight Shines: Mention of public diplomacy.

October 2, 2008 - On the Register! - Stephanie K., The Year of Living Unpredictably: “Law degree. Check. Bar exam. Check. Cross-country move. Done. After that? Life is a blank canvas - I'm in Limbo Land while I wait for the Foreign Service to go through its long, tortuous screening process and (hopefully) hire me and send me to farflung embassies around the globe. That process could take a year (give or take a few months). Today, my name officially went on the State Department's candidate register. So the countdown begins. I have 18 months to get off this list and into an A-100 training class. A new class starts every two months, and usually accepts 70-90 people. The register is sort of like a waiting list, except that your rank doesn't depend only on when you join the list. It also depends on your Oral Assessment score, and how it compares to other people in your cone. [There are five cones: Political, Economic, Public Diplomacy, Consular, and Management.]”

RELATED ITEMS

The shadow of Gitmo: The next president must act to help America reclaim its principles – Editorial, Los Angeles Times: Guantanamo has eroded America's reputation, embarrassed its allies and embittered its enemies. Everyone remaining at Guantanamo should be either released or put on trial with the assurance that an acquittal will not be followed by a return to confinement.

The Rule of Law in Guantánamo – Editorial, New York Times: A federal judge in Washington has struck an important blow for the rule of law by ordering that 17 detainees be freed from Guantánamo Bay. But the Bush administration is fighting the ruling to avoid having the case become an open window into the outlaw world of President Bush’s detention camps. They are not enemy combatants, legal or illegal, nor are they terrorists. Their detention -- along with the detention of others held at Guantánamo without charges or real hearings -- has gravely injured the nation’s tradition of due process and its international standing.

Bush's Crucial Handoffs - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The Bush administration (remember them?) has an opportunity to build some bridges in foreign policy that could help the next administration, whoever is elected. Its goal shouldn't be to bind its successors but to preserve options -- and to prevent deterioration of America's position during the interregnum.

The ‘New Multilateralism’ - William Pfaff, Truthdig: French president Sarkozy argued for a summit called by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to create new security institutions “from Vladivostok to Vancouver,” replacing those of the Cold War with what he called a “new multilateralism.” The formula is sure to enrage today’s Washington establishment, but possibly would be of interest to Barack Obama. PHOTO: William Pfaff

Kosovo blunder goes to court – Editorial, Boston Globe: Much of the resentment President Bush brought upon America can be traced to his contempt for international institutions and the legitimacy they may confer. International institutions have reason to feel the same way about Bush's decisions. On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly agreed to Serbia's request to have the International Court of Justice in the Hague determine whether Kosovo's secession from Serbia is legal. Seventy-seven countries voted in favor of the request. The United States was among only six countries that voted against it.

Danger Ahead for the Most Dangerous Place in the World - Sumit Ganguly, Washington Post: We need a stern, serious international effort -- led by the United States -- to put Pakistan back together again, reform its institutions and reorder its priorities.

Delisting North Korea - Victor Cha, Washington Post: In return for being taken off the blacklist, the North has apparently agreed to immediately resume disablement of its bomb-making facilities (rather than reversal). If North Korea keeps its word, John McCain or Barack Obama should inherit a situation in which U.S. and international nuclear experts are on the ground in North Korea learning more about Kim Jong Il's nuclear secrets while slowly disabling and degrading his nuclear capabilities. In this regard, Bush's decision was not a Hail Mary -- it was another yard gained in a slow ground game.

The Next Threat To Israel On U.S. Campuses – Moshe Phillips, Israel e News: “Pro-Israel campus activists in the U.S. will soon face a tough new front on the battlefield of ideas. A controversial Left-wing think tank is now planning a far reaching effort to equate campus activism against Jihadism to anti-Semitism and to blame Israel for Jew hatred. As if life for Zionist student activists in America weren't challenging enough already … The Boston, Massachusetts based Political Research Associates (PRA) advertised a help wanted posting nationally last month for a ‘Campus Antisemitism & Islamophobia Project Lead Investigator.’”

Repression In Uzbekistan: The EU ticks a box - Galima Bukharbaeva, International Herald Tribune: The European Union held a seminar on media freedom in Uzbekistan at the beginning of this month. The propaganda machines in Tashkent and Brussels might try to spin this media freedom seminar as a sign of real regime improvement. But any journalist living in freedom would report it differently.

Le Clezio -- who's he? This year's Nobel laureate for literature is little-known in the States. Perhaps this is evidence of our bias. Or maybe it's a product of the Swedish Academy's willful dismissal of U.S. writers - David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times: Le Clezio does seem intriguing; an "irregular" resident of Albuquerque -- he has taught, on and off, at the University of New Mexico -- he is fascinated by the notion of borders, both real and metaphorical, and has written nonfiction about the American Southwest and Mexico.

Not Quite Ready To Dump America - Jim Hoagland, Washington Post: What the world seems to await is better American leadership, not its elimination.

Are We Rome? Tu Betchus! - Maureen Dowd, New York Times: The decline and fall of the American Empire echoes the experience of the Romans, who also tumbled into the trap of becoming overleveraged empire hussies.