February 2

“The inscrutability of history remains the salvation of human freedom and of human responsibility. The failure of prediction permits us to act as if our choices make a difference.”

--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The Wall Street Journal (September 20, 1993); cited in Richard Holbrooke, To End a War p. 80

“Say I’m a banker and I created $30 million. I should get a part of that.”

--One banker to The New York Times.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Obama on Al Arabiya – Editorial, Boston Globe:


"Skillfully, sagely, Obama was informing his audience that he is open to dialogue - and that any state interested in promoting peace is welcome to participate."

Debating the Ban on Domestic Propaganda - Diane Farsetta, PRWatch.org, Center for Media and Democracy: A detailed, in-depth coverage of "the recent public diplomacy conference was organized to critically reconsider Smith-Mundt. Many presenters supported changing the Act; specifically, removing or watering down its restriction on domestic dissemination." On Smith Mundt, see.

'Hard power budget' for State? - Michael O'Hanlon, Washington Times: “The Bush administration did a reasonably good job in some areas of the so-called ‘150’ budget, beginning to strengthen the Foreign Service and some aspects of public broadcasting … . But the neglect had gone on for so long beforehand that much remains to be done. … The following … of hard power aspects of the ‘150’ budget would benefit from the indicated increases in their annual budget [:] … Public diplomacy efforts including increased scholarships: $800 million.”

Pentagon Recommends 'Whole-of-Government' National Security Plans - Walter Pincus, Washington Post: ”Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has formally adopted the concept that national security planning and budgeting cannot be done by the Pentagon alone, according to the Defense Department's newly released Quadrennial Roles and Missions Review Report. … The Pentagon document recognizes that there already are interagency groups that work when needed to plan unified actions on national security problems. But it calls for establishing a more permanent framework that includes ‘commonly understood strategic concepts, operational principles, relationships between agencies, and roles and responsibilities.’ One example of existing informal cooperation, according to the Pentagon, is taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘We are committed to using our operational and informational activities and strategic communication processes in support of the Department of State's broader public diplomacy efforts,’ the document says. But it talks of expanding that partnership to ‘better enable the U.S. Government to engage foreign audiences holistically and with unity of effort.’"

Is the military invading the State Department? - Christian Brose, Foreign Policy: “I am all in favor of the idea behind 'smart power' -- better aligning the tools of diplomacy, defense, and development. More resources are essential, but pouring more money into the State Department and USAID as they are currently constituted will not create better outcomes. Much of the good work done at State is done despite the fact that the institution all too often limits individual initiative and plays to the lowest common denominator.”

Afghanistan and Pakistan's "Salvador Option" - Tom Burghardt, Pacific Free Press: “Ominously, part of the money doled out to 'Military Inc.' by the Pentagon is for what United States Special Operations Command (USSOC) calls Foreign Internal Defense (FID) a key pillar of Special Forces' Unconventional Warfare doctrine. … Citing the requirement for a robust 'informational instrument,' FM 3-05.202 avers: Effective use of public diplomacy, public affairs activities and PSYOPS are essential to a FID program. Accurate portrayal of U.S. FID efforts through positive information programs can influence worldwide perceptions of the U.S. FID programs and the HN's desire to embrace changes and improvements necessary to correct its problems. (FID, op. cit. p. 1-3).”

Press Release: Findings from Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds Project - DIP's Dispatches from the Imagination Age: “After a year of research across the Internet and four continents, Dancing Ink Productions' Rita J. King and Joshua S. Fouts, senior fellows at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, have released the findings from the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project. The project was funded by a grant from the Richard Lounsbery Foundation.

The findings include a trilogy of actionable reports including policy recommendations on the potential use of virtual worlds for public diplomacy to be submitted to the Obama Administration; a mini broadcast quality documentary produced in collaboration with Ill Clan Animation Studios; and a graphic book chronicling the journey. By releasing three versions of the report Fouts and King hope to make accessible what is still a very new medium. Digital versions of the findings can be found here.”

Dear Mr. President, China is Listening – Internet & Democracy: “Make sure you give some time to this great piece by Rebecca MacKinnon, a former Berkman fellow and currently an indispensable inside-source on China, freedom, internet censorship, etc. Her open letter to Pres. Obama on the value of the internet in re-defining U.S.-China relationships hits it exactly on the mark, especially in suggesting that a new post-”Radio Free Asia” kind of public diplomacy is necessary to engage the Web 2.0 generation of Chinese fervently using blogs, Skype and Twitter. (On the theme of revamping public diplomacy, see my piece about James Glassman.)”

Hoops Rule: The President and the Hard Court - Derek Shearer, Huffington Post: “Basketball is more social--an urban game--and it has become a truly global sport. … Having a US President who is a serious hoopster is great public diplomacy--but the man needs a decent place to play. The current outdoor court on the White House grounds doesn't cut it.”

NATO members hold conference on security co-op - Mathaba.Net, UK: ”Jean-Francois Bureau, assistant secretary-general of NATO for public diplomacy, said in his part that all security-related issues security-related issues required international cooperation. Bureau said, ‘We need to strengthen security and stability in Europe, which lived through deep crises in the last two decades’, adding that they could not allow Europe to divide once again.”

Judith McHale - New Undersecretary for PD? – Softer Power: “Little has been made of the potential naming of Judith McHale to the role of Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy at the State Department in the last week. Perhaps it’s because only Al Kamen has heard inklings of it, and no nominee has been sent to the Senate. Whatever it is, media coverage has been scant in the wake of issues with Tom Daschle, Timothy Geitner, and other things that have dominated the media’s attention. … [O]ur Undersecretary for PD needs to display both the patience and conviction to serve as the face and inter-agency advocate for this crucial effort. Judith McHale will have a hard time convincing me that she can do a better job than any foreign service officer, PD scholar, or individual whose career success was not dictated by ratings shares and revenues, but by learning and compromise.”

Hughes to speak at GOP club, Feb. 5 - Lake Travis View: “Karen Hughes, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State, will speak at the joint Austin and Lakeway Republican Women’s Clubs meeting, on Feb. 5, at the Hills Country Club.”

RELATED ITEMS

Americans Should Proudly Speak Up For The USA - Domenick J. Maglio, The Tampa Tribune: It is easy to understand why foreigners dislike the USA. Night after night on our own and foreign television and in the press, America is portrayed as a violent, prejudiced and greedy nation that has accumulated wealth and power through exploiting foreign nations. Citizens must do their duty to explain to others the facts about America.

The international broadcasting of the Super Bowl - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

The Return of Realist Interventionism - Leon Hadar, Antiwar.com:

And then there is America's "soft power," pumped-up by the sex appeal of Mr. Cosmopolitan Cool himself, which might win the hearts and minds of Muslims everywhere. Realpolitik in the Obama Age could prove to be a painful cost-cutting exercise as Washington readjusts to the realities of the post-neoconservative era. In that case, imperial retrenchment could prove to be the default choice of the new president.

China’s new propaganda machine - Nicholas Bequelin, Manila Times: China is about to embark on a multibillion-dollar media expansion overseas, including the establishment of a 24-hour English language all-news channel modeled after CNN. These are only the most recent steps in a methodical strategy for Chinese state media to “go global” and make “the voice of China better heard in international affairs” -- a plan set in motion by President Hu Jintao immediately after his accession to power in 2002. Beijing might be right in thinking that improved “external propaganda” will provide an additional weapon to fight back against its critics, but ultimately it will come at the expense of something far more important: the soft and persuasive power that can only come with a free, unbiased media that informs rather than misleads.

What The Hell Just Happened In Iraq? – Andrew Sullivan, Atlantic:

“[T]he mere fact of the elections - that they occurred peacefully in an Arab Muslim country and that they suggest a real mechanism for the expression of popular political will: this is an achievement of which Iraq and the US military can be proud, and which, frankly, I did not dare expect.” Includes other media reactions to the elections.

Why Are We Getting All NIMBY on Gitmo? - Leslie Savan, Nation: But why, in the first place, do politicians insist that these tortured and uncharged prisoners are less welcome on U.S. soil than nuclear waste? And why do the media so eagerly accept that premise?

Quit Digging in Afghanistan – Alan Bock, Antiwar.com: The U.S. has no interest in what kind of government rules Afghanistan so long as it isn't harboring al-Qaeda bases, which should lead to a decision that this goal has been achieved and it's time to withdraw all U.S. forces and let the Afghans run Afghanistan.

Four Keys to Success in Afghanistan - Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post:

The war in Afghanistan is not going well; almost all trends aremoving in the wrong direction. But we still have time to focus, improve ourstrategy, calibrate our means. It will help immeasurably if we keep in mindthe basic objective of U.S. policy: "Our primary goal is to preventAfghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists toattack the United States and its allies," Defense Secretary Robert Gatessaid last week. That is an admirably clear statement.

Waiting for the Nukes Team - Michael Crowle, New Republic: While Obama was unusually quick to roll out his top advisors on the economy, global warming, and key foreign policy issues like Afghanistan and the Middle East, he's been slow to staff up the jobs that will be dedicated to guarding America from nuclear terrorism and other WMD threats.

A Serious Problem: Obama and the ayatollah – Malcom Rifkind, International Herald Tribune: Any rapprochement between the United States and Iran is going to be gradual and modest. Thirty years of deep hostility has been the result of real conflicts of interest that will take time and patience to address. But the rewards of success, not just for both countries, but for the Middle East and for the international community would be very great.

Turkey's Turn From the West - Soner Cagaptay, Washington Post: If Turkish foreign policy is based on solidarity with Islamist regimes or causes, Ankara cannot hope to be considered a serious NATO ally.

Obama Should Engage Russia at Highest Level - Vladimir Frolov Moscow Times:

The Obama team is trying to figure out how to establish a proper channel to Putin without Obama's direct involvement.

Putin to the West: Take Your Medicine And don't go socialist – Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com: We've truly entered a Bizarro World universe, where up is down, right is left -- and the Russians, of all people, are now lecturing us about the virtues of free enterprise.

America Faces the Music in Davos - William Pfaff, Truthdig: The immediate disaster, evident at Davos, is that the American economic model of deregulated market capitalism, dominant today in the U.S. and the rest of the industrial world, cited as a vehicle of human progress, proves under examination to have been in significant part an affair of swindle, personal enrichment, looted Third World nations, international and national crime conspiracies, bank robbery and Ponzi schemes, criminal real estate practices, environmental and institutional rip-offs, and official corruption.