January 8

“Look at the conditions in Gaza: more and more, it resembles a big concentration camp.”

--Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace

"We have never had it so good … The hasbara effort is a well-oiled machine."

--Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Gideon Meir in 2006

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Outgoing US Cultural Affairs Official Touts Social Networking Website - Kevin Matthews, UCLA International Institute, CA: “At a lecture cosponsored by the Burkle Center and student groups, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Goli Ameri introduces

ExchangesConnect, a social networking website intended to bring a 'new generation of digital natives' into conversation around the globe. Her bureau will also fund Indonesian dance performances on campus in spring.” PHOTO: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Goli Ameri (left) chatted with UCLA student body president Homaira Hosseini, members of Los Angeles-based consular corps, and others following her talk on Monday.

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and National Endowment for the Humanities Launch International Tour of "Picturing America" Exhibition - Media Note, Office of the Spokesman, US State Department: “Mrs. Laura Bush today announced the launch of the international tour of 'Picturing America,' sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Thus far, over 35 U.S. embassies around the world have requested the exhibition, which offers international audiences the opportunity to experience history’s common thread of humanity and to better understand America through the eyes of great American artists. …

The announcement by Mrs. Bush today at Blair House in Washington, DC, was part of a celebration of the Global Cultural Initiative, hosted by Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker, Chief of Protocol, in cooperation with James Glassman, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Mrs. Bush launched the Global Cultural Initiative on September 25, 2006, to build on and mobilize the vast talents and resources of America's cultural institutions in support of international cultural diplomacy.”

Guantánamo prison 'could close quickly' if Britain takes inmates - Richard Beeston, Times, London : “Britain has been asked formally by the Bush Administration to take Guantánamo terrorist suspects in an effort to close down the controversial detention centre in Cuba within weeks. Robert Tuttle, the outgoing US Ambassador to London, told The Times yesterday that diplomatic efforts were at an advanced stage. … As for the role of the US Ambassador to London, Mr Tuttle admitted that much modern diplomacy was conducted directly by leaders and foreign secretaries. His greatest achievement was the public diplomacy conducted to improve America's image in Britain. He said that while George Bush may be unpopular, history would judge his policies in Iraq, and in particular his aid to Africa, more favourably.”

The Trivialization of Public Diplomacy – Jeff, Politics and Press: “When Edmund Gullion, Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, coined the term ‘public diplomacy’ in the mid sixties it’s unlikely he thought the best way to carry out such a program would be to send American sports figures around the world. But that is how it has seemed to have evolved during the Bush presidency. … Furthermore, the recent use of Twitter as a public diplomacy tool is simply a victory of style over substance. Surely we are at a point where we can begin to rebuild the cultural, educational and artistic exchanges and programs that over the years have slipped into disuse.”

Zawahiri can't believe his luck – Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: “U.S. public diplomacy (whether in its 1.0 or 2.0 varieties) has been as absent as has been American policy -- a disaster that I'll be picking up in later posts.”

U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors Silenced Voice of America Radio in Ukraine One Day Before Russia Halted Gas Supplies to Europe - ted, FreeMediaOnline.org & Free Media Online Blog: “In yet another show of incredibly poor judgement combined with bad timing and ulterior bureaucratic motives resulting in a major waste of U.S. tax dollars, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a bipartisan body responsible for U.S. international broadcasts, had silenced Voice of America (VOA) radio programs to Ukraine one day before Russia halted natural gas deliveries to Europe. … In July 2008, the BBG had halted Voice of America radio programs to Russia just 12 days before the Russian military forces attacked Georgia. The former BBG chairman, neoconservative Republican James K. Glassman, who now serves as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, ignored urgent requests from the Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) who on behalf of the Senate Appropriations Committee had directed the BBG not to terminate broadcasts to Russia and other countries without free media. … James K. Glassman … is well known for his boundless enthusiasm for the Internet and pro-democracy online video contests, which he describes as Public Diplomacy 2.0. He is equally enthusiastic about the use of private consultants to carry out U.S. government operations, including public diplomacy, and several years ago he co-authored a book 'DOW 36,000,' predicting that the U.S. stock market would be at that level by now.”

First delete c:*.* - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: “So there are separate transition teams for international broadcasting and for public diplomacy. This is more encouraging than the impression I had from previous writings. The only presidential involvement in U.S. international broadcasting should be the nomination of members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Content issues should be behind the BBG firewall. It is the job of public diplomacy to 're-cast America's image abroad,' while international broadcasting reports the news with as much credibility as it can muster.”

Alhurra Locates The “Arab Street” - Alvin Snyder, Public Diplomacy Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: “The much maligned Alhurra, the U.S. government's Arabic TV service, is now a ‘go-to’ news channel in Iraq, one of the largest TV markets in the Middle East of more than 28 million population. … [T]his should be taken into account by the Obama transition team, which is looking into ways to shore up U.S. government broadcasting abroad. Building upon the success of Alhurra Iraq would be a good place to start.”

Photographic Exhibition of America's Jazz Ambassadors on Display in Russell Senate Office Building Rotunda: PRNewswire-USNewswire -- "Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World, a groundbreaking photographic exhibition organized and circulated by Meridian International Center in Washington, DC, will be on display in the Rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building between Tuesday, January 6 and Friday, January 23, 2009. Jam Session chronicles one of America's most successful cultural diplomacy programs. Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and others served as cultural diplomats between the 1950s and the 1970s, transcending national boundaries, and making friends for our country." On "The Real Ambassadors," see.

The Usa-World Trust Is An Idea Whose Time Has Come - Mitchell Polman, Public Diplomacy Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: “In short, we need to put the 'public' into public diplomacy. That is not the case now and it would still not be the case if we re-created the old USIA. Given that Americans have a tendency to view government as the last solution to any problem, it is peculiar to me that so many Americans feel that public diplomacy is something that only the government can take the lead."

You’ve Just Been Appointed U.S. Middle East Envoy…Now What? - Nissim Dahan (Israel/USA), Mideast Youth: “And so, if you get a call, in the middle of the night, from President Obama, informing you that you have just been appointed U.S. Middle East Envoy; what would you do to bring peace to the Middle East? Here are a few suggestions [among them:] … . Work to inspire Palestinians with a Vision of Hope, and support that economic effort with Public Diplomacy Programs which are specifically designed to prop the vision up and to carry it forward.”

Following Up on the Smith-Mundt Symposium’s Media Roundtable – Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: “Two days ago (already) was the media roundtable pre-event in advance of the Smith-Mundt Symposium that will take place next week, January 13, 2009. … On the panel were Rear Admiral Greg Smith of CENTCOM, David Firestein from the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, George Clack of IIP, and me. Jeff Grieco from USAID was unable to attend. Overall, I think the event went well. Although, for the most part the mainstream media failed to show, except for Adam from Congressional Quarterly, making this event predominately a blogger roundtable. … In the meantime, some reactions from the bloggers (in no particular order): Two Agenda Items for Next Week’s Smith-Mundt Pow Wow by Steve Corman; Getting Past Smith-Mundt by Craig Hayden; Talking Smith-Mundt by Pat Kushlis; Smith-Mundt and Muzak by Tim Stevens.“

NATO's 60th calls for change - James Jay Carafano, Washington Times: “The U.S. … ought to press for an unambiguous division of NATO/EU responsibilities, one that leaves NATO the supreme role in trans-Atlantic security. The EU should serve as a civilian complement focusing on constabulary missions (like combating piracy) and non-military 'soft power' (such as election monitoring and public diplomacy). The EU excels in these functions, but not at defense.”

Militants in Southern Lebanon Fire Rockets Into Israel - Margaret Coker in Jerusalem, Farnaz Fassihi in Cairo and Jay Solomon in Washington, Wall Street Journal: "Israel showed little urgency Wednesday in its public diplomacy, despite growing international pressure to end the conflict."

Israel caving to pressure, or isolating Hamas? - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air, MD: ”’Officials here said a high-ranking Israeli delegation was scheduled to arrive in Egypt Wednesday to discuss the possibilities of a cease-fire in the Jewish state’s 12-day assault on the Gaza Strip, significantly ratcheting up Israel’s public diplomacy as pressure to halt its offensive grows.’”

Relations Between Israel and EU Improve Despite Street Protests - Gil Ronen, Arutz Sheva, Israel: “According to Robin Shepherd, a senior research fellow at the London-based Chatham House, ‘Israeli public diplomacy in advance of the assault was well prepared.’ Livni's rapport with French President Sarkozy and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on trip to Paris December 31 was 'unusually warm, with smiles and kisses even as she said there would be no cessation of bombing.'"

Mubariz Ahmedoghlu: "The diplomatic results of 2008 on the resolution of the Karabakh conflict are positive for Azerbaijan" - Today.Az: “According to [director of Political Innovations & Technologies Center Mubariz] Ahmedoghlu, public diplomacy which is spoken of too much, is more harmful for the conflict resolution than helpful.”

“Peacetalk: An open letter to the new GRP Government of the Republic of The Philippines] Panel negotiating peace with the MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] - Bong Montesa, Minda News, Philippines: “My unsolicited advice: immediately after the reconstitution of the new panel, go up to the mountains, close the doors, be silent and discuss the 5BQ first. The rest, i.e. negotiating strategy, strategic communications, constitutional and legal review, coalition building, public diplomacy, can follow.”

RELATED ITEMS

Gaza media update for 7 January 2009 - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Twilight Zone/A different drummer, Gideon Levy, Haaretz: This is the time for a media that reports the whole truth, not only our one-sided propaganda truth. This is precisely the time to inform the public about the whole picture, on both sides of the border, however harsh it may be, without blurring it, without hiding anything, without sweeping the horror under the rug.

Holocaust Denied: The lying silence of those who know - John Pilger, Antiwar.com: Israel’s hasbara (propaganda) campaign has been relayed through a mostly supine, if intimidated western media, notably in America, that says Hamas is a terrorist organization devoted to Israel's destruction and to "blame" for the massacres and siege of its own people over two generations, long before its creation.

Media Eyeless in Gaza at Key Moment - Ali Gharib and Jim Lobe, Antiwar.com: US mainstream media ignored a key Israeli military attack on a Hamas target that some Palestinians claim marked the effective end of the ceasefire between the two sides and set the stage for the current round of bloodletting.

Despite the Bloodshed, Israel is Failing: What Kind of Security Will This Barbarism Bring Israel? - Saree Makdisi, Counterpunch: Ordinary people around the rest of the world are seeing the version of events in Gaza that gets filtered through the editing suites, the cutting rooms, the editorializing of foreign media, and that, in the case of the US, finally makes it to their living room largely (if not entirely) sanitized, and packaged to them in two-minute sound bites by correspondents posted safely outside of Gaza and inside Israel.

Israel's Aim: To Make the Gazan Prison Even More Secure - Jonathan Cook, Antiwar.com: Israel is again pursuing its favorite mode of diplomacy: unilateralism. According to officials quoted in the local media, it wants a deal that is approved by the United States and western governments but passes over the heads of Hamas and the Palestinians.

The lessons of Gaza - Andrew J. Bacevich, Boston Globe: Israel's return to Gaza constitutes a tacit admission of strategic failure now stretching back four decades. As Barack Obama prepares to take office, that record of failure deserves careful consideration.

The Gaza blame game: Some common mistakes by Israelis, Hamas and the Bush administration - Rosa Brooks, Los Angeles Times

The Gaza Boomerang - Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times: Aaron David Miller, a longtime Middle East peace negotiator for the United States, suggests in his excellent new book, “The Much Too Promised Land,” that presidents should offer Israel “love, but tough love.” So, Mr. Obama, find your voice. Fall in tough love with Israel.

An Unnecessary War - Jimmy Carter, Washington Post: The hope is that when further hostilities are no longer productive, Israel, Hamas and the United States will accept another cease-fire. The next possible step: a permanent and comprehensive peace.

Neoconservatism dies in Gaza: The recent Israeli offensive has put the final nail in the coffin of the Bush administration's Middle East fantasy - Juan Cole, Salon: The biggest danger facing the United States is that there will be no true "Clean Break" -- that the neoconservatives will somehow find a way to survive the Bush administration, and continue to influence American foreign policy.

At War, Not at War: A Gaza cease-fire might be negotiated but it certainly won't bring anything remotely like peace - Martin Peretz, New Republic: The I.D.F. has presented Obama with an opportunity to help pacify the area in a way that will advance a modest peace rather than sustain a volatile, if sometimes low-level of continuous military ping-pong. SEE ALSO: “Israel … is doing the United States a favor by taking on Hamas now.”--William Kristol, writing in The New York Times; “The Israelis have done Mr. Obama a favor by striking back at Hamas.”--Review & Outlook, The Wall Street Journal

When in Doubt, Bomb Afghanistan: America's Other Glorious War - William Blum, Counterpunch:

As everyone knows, none of the alleged 9-11 hijackers was an Afghan; 15 of the 19 were from Saudi Arabia; and most of the planning for the attacks appears to have been carried out in Germany and the United States. So, of course, bomb Afghanistan. And keep bombing Afghanistan. And bomb Pakistan. Especially wedding parties (at least six so far).

U.S. action on Darfur: The Bush administration’s airlift of equipment to U.N. peacekeepers is welcome, but it may be too little, too late – Editorial, Los Angeles Times

Treading Softly in the Philippines: Why a low-intensity counterinsurgency strategy seems to be working there - Max Boot & Richard Bennet, Weekly Standard: The "soft and light" approach -- a "soft" counterinsurgency strategy, a light American footprint -- is a model that has obvious application to many countries around the world where we cannot or will not send large numbers of troops to stamp out affiliates of the global jihadist network.

Strengthening Our Japanese Alliance:

Why the United States should sell the F-22 to its most important Asian ally - Dan Blumenthal, Weekly Standard

Change stirring in Cuba - Georgie Anne Geyer, Washington Times: One hates to be optimistic about Cuba and the United States after so many misunderstandings and so much suffering between them, but my feeling is that, with Raul's more reasonable temperament, that's a "maybe" that may be closer and more possible than we think.

Holbrooke Just in Time - Stephen Schlesinger, Huffington Post: President-elect Obama named Richard Hobrooke as one of his top foreign policy advisors. Let us hope that both our new president and our new Secretary of State will hand over to Holbrooke some of these pressing conflicts to apply his own personal brand of resolution.

AMERICANA

"Amount of money earned by a married U.S. Army sergeant with children per day in Iraq in 2007: $170

Amount of money earned by a Blackwater military contractor per day: $600

Number of U.S. military deaths as of Jan. 7, 2009: 4,222

Average cost of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle: $3.166 million

Cost of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad: $592 million

Cost to conduct the war per month: $12 billion

Amount the Bush administration estimated the war would cost from start to finish: $60 billion"

--Vincent Rossmeier and Gabriel Winant, "W. and the damage done: President Bush inherited a peaceful, prosperous America. As he exits, Salon consults experts in seven fields to try to assess the devastation," Salon

IMAGE


--Nude Protesters From Spain Are All About Animal Rights (SLIDESHOW), Dave Burdick, Huffington Post