January 9

“Everything is organized by a police force that gives me the creeps ... . Some downright brutal types among them. They would obey any order.”

--Hannah Arendt, in a letter to Karl Jaspers, describing the courthouse crowd at the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem (1961)

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Don't squander worldwide feeling of hope for America

- Keith Reinhard and Parag Khanna, Athens Banner-Herald: “The United States must have a strategic, cohesive and comprehensive public diplomacy effort. How? First, fix the public diplomacy function within the State Department. … Second, we need a nimble new tech-savvy, nonprofit organization that more readily can combine public- and private-sector expertise and resources in areas such as new media and state-of-the-art communications. This organization needs to be outside the State Department in order to attract nongovernment actors who could help repair America's damaged reputation but who may not want to be officially associated with U.S. foreign policy.”

Another committee appointment for Staten Island's Rep. Michael McMahon - Judy L. Randall, Staten Island Advance: "Rep. Michael E. McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) today was named to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. … McMahon [stated]: ‘One of the unique opportunities for me on this committee will be the ability to work with Sen. Clinton in her new role as secretary of state for President Obama, to rebuild American public diplomacy and alliances throughout the world. There is a lot of work that needs to be done over the next two years.’”

The Art of PSYOP – Lawrence Dietz, Psyops Regimental Blog: “PSYOPers at all levels will need to increase not merely their global awareness, but their ability to absorb new cultures quickly and to create PSYOP products that reach the myriad of new audiences at all operational levels. Hopefully Secretary Designate Clinton will support the Public Diplomacy mission in tandem and partnership with DoD and that the Obama Administration will enlist talent from the commercial, academic and perhaps even the retired sector to shape the new information engagement environment.”

An Opportunity for Obama: An Opening to Cuba? - Wayne S. Smith, Counterpunch: "End Restrictions on Academic and Educational Travel. … Close TV Marti. … TV Marti should be cancelled, and in fact so should Radio Marti; rather, we should go back to programs on the VOA.” On radio Marti, see.

FEMA on Twitter - Alyssa Rosenberg, GovExec.com, DC: “I like Twitter as a way to keep an eye on what some friends and colleagues are thinking at any given moment. But as a reporter, I think it would drive me insane to be limited to 140-character answers.

Far and away the best interviews are the ones where I get to talk to a source, and we're both interested, and we're both willing to go off on a lot of tangets, and the source is willing to think out loud. Not so much 140 characters. More like 1,400 words. I think Twitter can be a valuable transparency tool, as when the State Department uses it to open up the stops on a public diplomacy mission. But it may not be an ideal tool for good press conferences.”

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's Interview on CCTV's News Weekly Program – Press Release, MFA China: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi: “I believe we should pay more attention to things like security diplomacy, economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy and public diplomacy. … We … feel that today's diplomacy is different from that of the past. We should pay more attention to the voice of the people. … China's diplomacy is people's diplomacy and represents the interests of the people. In this way, our diplomacy will enjoy greater popular support.”

Secretary-General names two new senior UN envoys - Australia Western Sahara Association: “Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his intention to appoint Christopher Ross of the United States as his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara … [Mr. Ross] takes up his new assignment following a long and distinguished career with the United States Department of State, where he focused especially on Middle Eastern and North African affairs. … After retiring in 1999, Mr. Ross returned to active service to help coordinate United States public diplomacy towards the Arab and Muslim worlds (2001-2003).” PHOTO: Christopher Ross

RELATED ITEMS

Gaza media update for 8 January 2009 - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy


Propaganda War Rages Online - Jonathan Serrie, FOX News: As the military conflict in Gaza heats up, so does the propaganda war. Both sides are using social networking websites to get their message out to as many people as possible.

Analysis: A propaganda war can be disproportionate too - By Saseen Kawzally, Menassat: If there is obvious disproportion in the number of victims caused by either side, the Palestinian side is equally at a disadvantage in the online war being waged by Israel over Gaza. The Israeli military became the first national army to set up an official YouTube channel, featuring its own military videos. Pro-Palestinian hackers are firing "virtual Qassam rockets" into a predominantly pro-Israeli cyber-world, and they are having about as much effect as the real Qassam rockets being fired at Israel by Hamas.

Gaza war also waged online - David Poort, Radio Netherlands: The Israeli army includes a well-oiled propaganda apparatus. Women are the gender of choice for spokespersons because of their supposed softer image. And foreign journalists are bombarded with emails and text messages providing news coverage from an Israeli perspective.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Coordinating Propaganda/Media Campaign - E Verteta's Weblog: Journalists who attempt to present fair coverage of the Israeli attacks on Gaza are being barraged with e-mails from Israel supporters accusing them of “buying into” Hamas propaganda and “supporting terrorism.” The accusations are backfiring against Israel with many journalists comparing notes and realizing the e-mails are part of a coordinated Israeli propaganda and intimidation effort.

Israeli image wounded in global media: Israel battered in Gaza propaganda war – AFP, Al Arabiya News Channel

The Propaganda War Against Israel – nicedeb: There is a propaganda war being fought, and as usual, the good guys are losing. The usual terrorist tactic of using civilian shields is having the predictable result, with the predictable outcry from a gullible public.

Israelis sure outdo us in the propaganda dept. – HelenWheels, Just Ain’t Right


Endgame in Gaza - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post: The one-step-from-madness gangster theocracy in Gaza is teetering on the brink. It can be brought down. For the Bush State Department, in its last significant act, to prevent that with the premature imposition of a cease-fire would be not just self-defeating but shameful.

Obama Will Back Israel - Bill Boyarsky, Truthdig: Standing by Israel means standing up for its continued existence as a Jewish state. Hamas and its allies want every Jew in Israel dead or gone. That’s what the Gaza war is about, and that’s what Obama has promised won’t happen.

How the U.S. Should Be Involved in Gaza - Matthew Yglesias, American Prospect: Any administration willing to publicly chastise an Israeli government will inevitably wind up ruffling some feathers and taking political heat for it, but it will almost certainly be for the Israelis' own good.

Can Israel Survive Its Assault on Gaza? - Tim McGirk, Time: A new Administration in Washington has a chance to be both supportive of Israel and honest with it.

The needless Gaza tragedy – Editorial, Boston Globe: Egypt, France, and Turkey deserve the utmost support from Washington as they try to broker a cease-fire and a durable truce in Gaza.

Hard Lesson for Israel - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post: The war against Hamas is proving -- once again -- that the Middle East's extremist movements cannot be eliminated by military means. If the incoming Obama administration absorbs that lesson, it will have a better chance of neutralizing Iranian-backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and of eventually brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.

Obama's Silence - Tom Hayden, Huffington Post: Obama’s silence regarding Gaza, he must know, is extremely costly. As the bombs fall on Gaza children and civilians, his credibility comes under greater question.

Obama's Afghan challenge: As the British and Russians found, military victory in Afghanistan can be elusive - Rajan Menon, Los Angeles Times: Obama has no good choices in Afghanistan. Expect the good war to be a long and costly one.

An American City on the Euphrates: US as Iraq's Friend or Overlord? - Doug Bandow, Antiwar.com: The best strategy for the Obama administration to improve history's assessment of the US would be to initiate a hopefully smooth and certainly speedy exit from Iraq. In that way Americans would demonstrate genuine friendship with the Iraqi people.

Finally, an urgency to aid Zimbabwe - Alexander Noyes, Boston Globe: In the last few weeks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Security Council regarding Zimbabwe, and the United States and Britain announced they would no longer support any power-sharing agreement that left Robert Mugabe as president. The cholera epidemic provides the international community with an opportunity to act and protect the citizens of Zimbabwe.

Quid Pro Clinton? Potential conflicts of interest could haunt President-elect Obama - Editorial, Washington Post: While Mr. Clinton's fundraising has been an appearance of a conflict waiting to happen with his wife a senator, it will only get worse and more troublesome once Ms. Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state.

Innovative Propaganda - Greg Eisenbach, Grassroots Innovation: The Wall Street journal reported today that Gazprom, the Russian Government's natural gas company, has set up a website to explain the argument with Ukraine over natural gas. Hopefully a YouTube video with Russian speaking groundhogs (sub-titled of course) dancing to Janet Jackson music is not next.

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