December 23

"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. ... We think that ultimately they will come around to Coke; that is to say, come around to principles of freedom and democracy. But in the meantime, we want them to stay away from Pepsi — that is to say, violent extremism."

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

Comment to article by Patricia Kushlis, "War of What Ideas? Whose Ideas? What War?" - James K. Glassman, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Whirled View:

“Patricia H. Kushlis, in her December 21 post, says she is ‘no fan’ of the phrase ‘war of ideas.’ Welcome to the club. I have raised similar objections since I became Under Secretary back in June. First, the term has an inappropriate bellicosity. Second, it implies a sort of Manichean, us-vs.-them viewpoint that does not reflect the nature of our approach to public diplomacy – which is broadly inclusive and encouraging of a grand global conversation. Unfortunately, no one has come up with a good alternative to the phrase, even though we've repeatedly asked. No matter. I have started using ‘global strategic engagement,” or GSE, which is sufficiently anodyne but which carries little meaning.’ When I say ‘war of ideas,’ what I mean is an engagement involving ideas rather than an engagement involving bombs and bullets. The phrase is meant to contrast the tools of public diplomacy – that is, images, words, and peaceful deeds – to the tools of warfare. This is same way, I take it, that Vice President-Elect Joseph Biden used the phrase shortly after 9/11: ‘No matter how powerful our military is, we will not be powerful if we lose the war of ideas.’"

Strategic Communication Revisted - Nate, Patterns R' Us: "My office is in charge of reviewing large portions of the Department of Defense allocation to Information Operations, Strategic Communication, and Psychological Operations, which all must adhere to this law regarding what information can be disseminated and to whom.
If the US ever has a chance to win the War of Ideas against Islamic Extremism and global terrorism, tweaking the Smith-Mundt Act will have to be part of the overall plan. … The Smith-Mundt Act was necessary for its time and prevented the US government from getting into the propaganda business in a big way. But the fears that it was enacted to address have largely faded into history and the information environment in which we fight is radically different than in 1948. Thus any long term solution to the War of Ideas with Islamic Extremism will have to include an amended or updated version of the US Information and Education Act of 1948.”

Smith-Mundt Symposium Update - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: A few quick announcements and reminders related to the upcoming Smith-Mundt Symposium.

How The Incoming Administration Can Avoid A Foreign Policy Nightmare - Edward M. Roche, OpEdNews: “By ceasing operations in Afghanistan, the U.S. will hand a propaganda victory to the Taliban, but the long-term effect will be to lessen the appeal of anti-U.S. sentiment in fundamentalist recruitment efforts…. If the incoming administration from the start continues to get further bogged down [in Afghanistan], overseas partners will see ‘more of the same’. The new direction needed will remain a mirage. If instead it cuts with the past, U.S. public diplomacy will meet more favorable winds for sailing.” ILLUSTRATION: Henry Fuseli. The Nightmare, exhibited 1782.

Banking on Brookings – Foreign Policy Association: Public Diplomacy and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election: “The latest report on how to improve America’s public diplomacy has its merits, but overall it inspires deja vu. We’ve been in this place before, trying to figure out how the world’s most influential culture and most powerful government might finally achieve a public diplomacy organization that operates at the same level. The Brookings Institution report, for all its wise observations about the problems with U.S. public diplomacy, fails to offer a new or particularly viable prescription.”

Public diplomacy moves ahead: State Department turns to Web 2.0 tools to win the hearts and minds of people worldwide - Ben Bain, fcw.com

The Diplomacy of Social Networking - Arcane Code:

"One of my Twitter friends, @C_Collins, pointed me to a posting on the American Foreign Policy Council’s website where someone was taking a state department employee, specifically the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy one Colleen Graffy, to task for her use of Twitter.”

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Mrs. Goli Ameri, to Speak on Public Diplomacy at UCLA - Press Release, PR-USA.net

RELATED ITEMS

ROTC pays extra for learning languages - Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY:
Desperate for officers who speak Arabic, Mandarin and other foreign languages, the U.S. Army is doling out monthly stipends to entice ROTC cadets in college to learn languages spoken in hot spots around the globe.

Goodbye to Guantanamo? With just four weeks till Obama's inauguration, the Bush administration's military commissions are supposed to be history. So why does the government act like they'll continue past January 20? - Stacy Sullivan, Salon

Bush Doctrine: Half a bad rap - Daniel Gallington, Washington Times: President Obama needs to make it very clear that he will preempt an attack on our vital interests at home or abroad if he believes it's about to happen - this however he describes the standard of proof he needs to make the decision.

Blowback: Shoe thrower exposes Bush's arrogance -- Using humor to shrug off the incident shows how little regard the president has for the opinions of those most affected by administration policies - Dorian de Wind, Los Angeles Times

Clinton Moves to Widen Role of State Dept. - Mark Landler and Helene Cooper, New York Times

Let's Confront North Korea on Human Rights: The Helsinki process provides a model for Obama - Jay Lefkowitz, Wall Street Journal

Incoherent Empire: The Case for Getting Out of NATO - Doug Bandow, Taki’s Magazine: America and Europe should continue to cooperate on issues of shared interest. But it is time for Washington to turn European security over to Europe.

Saakashvili: Multi-Million Anti-Georgian Campaign Ongoing - The Financial -- According to Civil Georgia, President Saakashvili said on December 22, that “hundreds of millions are being spent on anti-Georgian propaganda.”

One Whopper ... and Hold the Ugly-American Sauce: Burger King Campaign Shows Off American Provincialism at Its Worse - Chris Abraham, Advertising Age: The Whopper Virgins documentary reveals as much about the provincialism of Americans as it does possibly about the "primitives" they're documenting.

Condi's Biggest Regret Really Probably That She Doesn't Get to Keep Her Fabulous Presents - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: “... Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raked in at least $316,000 in gem-encrusted baubles from the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia alone, making her one of top recipients among U.S. officials of gifts from foreign heads of state and government and their aides in 2007. … Rice … won't be able to enjoy the gifts as they have been turned over to the General Services Administration and government archives in accordance with federal law, which bars officials from accepting personal presents in almost all circumstances.”

AMERICANA


"George Hickey sent th[is] image [....] taken at a downtown Seattle shopping mall at Christmas last year. Based in the area, he specializes in photographing street protests and political theater. This group has performed the same exercise three years in a row, emulating hooded Guantanamo prisoners engaged in the act of shopping. As George writes: 'The agenda is to remind Christmas shoppers, as they indulge in consumerism based on a supposedly sacred holiday, that war crimes at Gitmo are being committed in their name.'"

--From BagnewsNotes