February 6

“This year, the Pentagon will employ 27,000 people just for recruitment, advertising and public relations — almost as many as the total 30,000-person work force in the State Department.”

--Chris Tomlinson, "AP Impact: Pentagon increases spending on public relations, raising concern about propaganda," Associated Press; image: The Pentagon Composter

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Glassman 2.0 – Joshua S. Fouts, DIP's Dispatches from the Imagination Age: “Everytime I read an interview with James K. Glassman, until recently the US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy, the more I wish President Obama had kept him in office. …

About the only substantive criticism I have heard about Glassman's qualifications for chief public diplomat is that he endorses the so-called ‘War of Ideas’ as a philosophical tenet, which aims to underscore the ideological differences between the US and al Qaeda. … . In Public Diplomacy, where understanding communication and, more importantly, how to communicate with foreign publics is one of the core measures of success, understanding how the communication dynamic has changed becomes critical. Glassman fundamentally understood that the rules had changed and that government, if it is to succeed in its job, needs to step outside its comfort zone and experiment.”

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! - Dan Nexon, The Duck of Minerva: “Indeed, some of the best work on anti-Americanism suggests that most hostility towards the US centers on its policies, not its ‘values.’ Let's hope we can put behind us disastrous fad for public-diplomacy-as-superficial-branding that marked the Bush years, and focus on adjusting US policies where appropriate, and doing a good job of explaining them when we can't.”

Public Diplomacy, Citizen Diplomacy - Judah Grunstein, World Politics Review: "Public diplomacy has become a buzzword over the past few years, particularly with regard to outreach to public opinion vis à vis the U.S. in the Arab World. President Obama's inaugural address and subsequent interview with Al Arabiya are notable examples of how seriously the new administration is taking the matter. But what about the Arab world's public diplomacy vis à vis American opinion of it? If the English-language Website of the League of Arab States -- better known as the Arab League -- is any indication, it doesn't seem to be a very high priority. … [P]ublic diplomacy would be more effective if it were operating as a two-way street. … I'll also mention a recurring thought I've been having lately about the public diplomacy discussion, namely the absence of citizen diplomacy from a lot of it.”

Must See TV: Making Alhurra watchable - S. Enders Wimbush, Weekly Standard: “Arabs with quiet sympathies for American values and culture described repeatedly how Alhurra could and should become a hard-hitting niche station, not in direct competition with al-Arabiya and al-Jazeera, but as an alternative that intelligently targets critical elites and opinion shapers. Such an Alhurra would quickly become a potent transformative instrument. … The next time President Obama or Secretary of State Clinton address the Arab world, a powerful Alhurra should be their obvious choice for broadcasting America's message.”

GAO report cites small audiences for Radio/TV Martí's $34 million budget -

Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Digital Diplomacy Report - Joshua S. Fouts, Rita J. King, Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds: “The Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project specifically endeavored to consider how the Internet can lead to a greater firsthand understanding of Islam for policymakers, diplomats, and people worldwide, and to explore how the Internet allows people to experience the culture of Islam in a manner conducive to substantive dialog between cultures.” Report at. IMAGE: avatars of Joshua Fouts and Rita King

The Tweet Heard Round the World - Allison Doolittle, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: “Twitter provides a challenge with just 140 characters to communicate messages but an opportunity in PD because it allows for personalization and real time diplomacy with global audiences.”

A stronger, divided Iraq? - Heather A. Davis, Penn Current: ’Contrary to what most people think, I say if you withdraw American military support and presence from Iraqi cities and subsequently from Iraq as a whole, what you’re doing is preventing the Baghdad government from becoming too powerful and therefore a threat to both Iraq’s people and to the neighbors,’ says [Brendan] O’Leary, the Lauder Professor of Political Science. ‘If you really don’t want things to disintegrate after you leave ... the answer to that is a decentralist pluralized federation. You have détente with Iran and you have public diplomacy with Turkey.’”

United States embarks on three-pronged plan - Fulya Özerkan, Hürriyet, Turkey: “The Turks' perception of the United States gradually began changing after the November 2007 meeting of the Turkish prime minister and then-U.S. President George W. Bush who declared the PKK a common enemy, but public diplomacy is still not at full speed and links between the Turkish and American public are loose, according to Keskin [Arif Keskin, an Iran expert at another Ankara-based think tank Eurasian Strategic Studies Center].”

Building a US-Latin Partnership: President Obama should work for swift passage of the Colombia and Panama free trade deals and toward a U.S.-Brazil FTA - Ray Walser, Latin Business Chronicle: “While there is anti-Americanism in the Western Hemisphere, there remains an abundant hunger for the American brand. The new Adminis­tration, drawing on a commitment to public service and to the revitalization of a service ethic, should work to recapture and revitalize what is best in the United States. President Obama and his team should work to develop a strategic communications plan to closely coordinate democracy promotion and public diplo­macy, making sure the Departments of Defense and State and the National Endowment for Democracy carefully define a strategy, work together, and remain on message.”

Defense changing to better Coordinate with State, but... - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: "Yes, we all want Defense to cede leadership and ownership of strategic communication and public diplomacy to State, including Defense. We know that American public diplomacy wears combat boots, from the militarization of foreign policy to dominating strategic communication to contractors.

However, while Defense may try to push responsibility onto State, the reality remains that State must be capable of taking on responsibility. This includes having an informed and capable leadership. At its bare bones it it means having any leadership at all. But we cannot forget the role of Congress in this required shift. State must gain the confidence of Congress before money and responsibility is transferred from Defense to State."

CompuSchmooze Podcast #28: A Conversation about Using Social Media in Public Diplomacy, with David Saranga, Israel's Consul for Media and Public Affairs [January 1, 2009] – admin, New communications Review

Analysis: The effective public diplomacy ended with Operation Cast Lead - Hirsh Goodman, Jerusalem Post: “An examination of Israel's public diplomacy for Operation Cast Lead reveals an ironic disparity between a carefully planned and implemented wartime media policy on the one hand, and the net result on the other hand, which has been extremely damaging for Israel's international image and standing. … Though the public diplomacy machine ran smoothly before and during the operation, the shocking post-war situation in Gaza was largely ignored by those responsible for Israel's public diplomacy.”

British Council closes in Tehran - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

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Iranian Government Says It Will Increase Blocking of Web – Internet & Democracy

AP Impact: Pentagon increases spending on public relations, raising concern about propaganda - Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press: As it fights two wars, the Pentagon is steadily and dramatically increasing the money it spends to win what it calls "the human terrain" of world public opinion. In the process, it is raising concerns of spreading propaganda at home in violation of federal law. The fastest-growing part of the military media is "psychological operations," where spending has doubled since 2003. SEE ALSO

Been There, Done That in the Middle East: Unresolved hatred, terrorism—and the next war - Victor Davis Hanson, National Review:

So, for now we watch for a new “Mitchell Plan,” another conference somewhere, more billions in aid, new names for old terrorist organizations, and more pious speechmaking at the U.N. Then soon the next administration will come in to power, with the next peace plan, the next new envoy -- and the next new war.

Guantanamo's manipulators leading the new jihad: Release of prisoners raises questions - Walid Phares, Washington Times: Al Qaeda has detention tactics and a post-detention strategy. The United States must catch up with the terrorist forces. It should have developed counter strategies for both stages, with or without Guantanamo. Unless proven wrong, facts show a failure in both stages.

Right Directions: Change for the better in Iraq, hope for Afghanistan - Clifford D. May, National Review

Endgame? What Endgame? Afghanistan: A war without end - Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com:

It's the same old game, only with different players. Instead of Iraq, it's going to be Afghanistan and Pakistan. But, one has to ask – why? What's the rationale, this time?

Pakistan's Prospects - Bobby Ghosh, Time: The challenge for special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Holbrooke, says Christine Fair, a South Asia expert at the Rand Corp., "is to thread two needles at the same time ... He has to get the Pakistani army to step up the fight against extremists, even as he's telling the generals, 'Sorry, guys, we're making the civilians your bosses.'"

Will Obama act to end Darfur tragedy? - Raj Purohit and Howard Salter, Baltimore Sun: Will the new president seize the moment and show a willingness to engage key allies, such as France and the United Kingdom, along with strategically important countries such as China, South Africa and Egypt, to bring an end to crimes that have shamed the global community?

From Russia, kind words and a punch in the nose - Ellen Barry, International Herald Tribune:

Relations between Russia and the United States last year reached their lowest point since the fall of the Soviet Union, and dialogue between the two governments had basically halted. In that sense, Obama will have to deal with "the tail end of the Bush legacy," including bitter memories of the war in Georgia last summer, said Sergei Rogov, director of the Institute for USA and Canada Studies in Moscow.

An alternative to NATO membership - Karl Kaiser, International Herald Tribune: NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine is not a realistic possibility, no matter what the Atlantic alliance may say about their potential in principle, as it did at the last two summit meetings. Reopening conventional arms control in Europe offers a chance to address the concrete security problems of Georgia and Ukraine (as well as of other European countries) and become part of a hopefully constructive redefinition of the West's relationship with Russia.

Building a New Policy for Latin America: Killing the Monroe Doctrine - Saul Landau and Philip Brenner, CounterPunch: President Barack Obama could swiftly improve U.S. relations with Latin America by announcing the death of the Monroe Doctrine and then presiding over its funeral. Such a statement would cost him little domestically, and win him praise and appreciation throughout Latin America and much of the world.

America’s ‘Strong Commitment to Error’ - William Pfaff, Truthdig:
The institutional incapacity of the United States international policy establishment to change course is perhaps the biggest of all the problems faced by President Barack Obama.

Testing 1-2-3: Biden predicted Obama would be tested by our adversaries. He was right - William Kristol, Weekly Standard: Is our new commander in chief fully aware how dangerous the world can get, and how fast, when America is weak or distracted?

AMERICANA

Whack Off While You Work: My Co-Worker Pleasures Himself at The Office, and HR Doesn't Care - Dear Prudence: Advice on Manners and Morals, Slate

Dali, The Great Masturbator