"I don't want 'constructive criticism.' I want praise."

--The late Auberon Waugh, cited in TLS (The Times Literary Supplement, March 6, 2009), p. 36; image from
"I've reviewed a great many books, and some I've reviewed so favourably I went and read them afterwards."
--What a critic can no longer boast about, according to J.C. in above cited TLS, p. 36
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
NEW BLOG: James K. Glassman Blog: Economics, Investing, Public Diplomacy, and More
Middle East: Obama draws lessons from Bush setbacks - Oxford Analytica: “Just two months into his term in office, Obama has undertaken a series of high-profile moves designed to signal that the region is a priority, including: granting his first interview in office to Al Arabiya television … and moderating the tone of US rhetoric towards Iran. This suggests that the president intends to reshape Washington's approach to the Middle East, without repeating his predecessor's tendency to exaggerate the likely scope and pace of change. …

More discussion of Obama's Nowruz message to Iran: Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Taliban Threat, James Morrison, Embassy Row, Washington Times: 'In his speech earlier this month, Mr. Haidari [Ashraf Haidari, political counselor at the Embassy of Afghanistan] said the [NATO] alliance has failed in three key areas by dispatching too few troops, failing to coordinate military and civilian reconstruction efforts and neglecting a ‘public diplomacy’ strategy to win the hearts and minds of Afghans.'

The Future of Public Diplomacy - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: “To be relevant in the modern struggle of minds and wills, the Secretary of State must have an empowered Under Secretary coordinating America's public diplomacy and global engagement. Failure to act risks not only the future of the State Department but America's national security in general.”
Foreign Policy: Sen. - Reinaldo Sanford: “Worldwide vox populi towards the U.S. is alarmingly low and while we [com]plain about this, our allies likewise as our enemies us[e] public diplomacy such as cultural centres to hike thought of themselves around the cosmos. … Interrogation to the Blogosphere: How can public diplomacy assistance hike existence view of the United States? How is the Obama disposal different from the Shrub disposal therein respect? What would you view an American cultural Centre abroad? Is cultural imperialism, for instance the globalisation of McDonald 's, American pop, and American movies, a descriptor of public diplomacy? What can the average American brawl to attempt to increase contact and understanding between themselves and aliens?"

Diplomacy in an Age of Faith: The United States is a religious nation, but neither scholars of U.S. foreign policy nor its practitioners have taken religion very seriously - Thomas F. Farr, Catholic Education Resource Center: “Various strategies for engaging Muslims have been floated and withdrawn, from the ill-fated Shared Values Initiative to the Muslim World Outreach program. … Assessing the performance of the departing public diplomacy czar, Karen Hughes, the political scientist Robert Satloff observed that she saw her job as increasing U.S. poll numbers, not engaging in Islam's war of ideas. … The problem is rooted in the secularist habits of thought pervasive within the U.S. foreign policy community. … The IRF Act created an office in the State Department, headed by an ambassador at large, to monitor religious persecution around the world, to issue an annual report on religious freedom, and to produce an annual list of the worst persecutors. …

The Bottleneck at State – Charles J. Brown, Undiplomatic: “Inside the State Department, you can’t know who does what without a scorecard. Every position/bureau has a one- to three-letter abbreviation — even the Secretary, whose office is called 'S' inside the building. There are six undersecretaries, each of which also has a single letter abbreviation: Political Affairs (P); Management (M); Democracy and Global Affairs (G); Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (R); Arms Control and International Security (T); and Economic Affairs (E). … So why am I telling you all this? Because nearly six weeks into the Administration (and four months since the Obama transition team started work), four of the six positions — G, R, E, and T — all remain unfilled.” See also (1)(2)

News from the Book Tour - Juan Cole, Informed Comment Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion: "Here is a response to a point I made [see above entry] in my talk at the Prose and Politics bookstore on Monday night in DC. I had complained that there are no Arabic-language centers for the study of America at any university in the Middle East. There is some American studies, but mostly done in English in English departments. And, key works like the writings of Thomas Jefferson have not been translated. I proposed that some chairs be endowed. Bazar Dispatch suggests that US efforts on media and public diplomacy have ignored the key task of informing people of the region about America."
American universities beckon Brunei students - Azaraimy HH, Borneo Bulletin: “In a bid to offer an insight into studying in America, the US Embassy in Brunei yesterday hosted a special live video teleconference from the US Department of States in Washington DC with Zul Fakhri Maidy, a Brunei student currently studying in the United States. … Zul Fakhri was joined by a panel from the US Department of States which included Rhonda Ferguson-Augustus, a Public Diplomacy Officer at the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.”
Public Diplomacy and the Universal Language – Paul Rockower, Levantine: “In Cultural Diplomacy class today, we were discussing Music as Diplomacy. … First, we had an interesting presentation by Erin about ‘The King and I,’ and how it is essentially a form of cultural imperialism. … Then we had another interesting presentation by Linda about the NY Phil playing in North Korea. …

Nowruz and Cultural Diplomacy – Cultural Heritage News: “Given the importance of Nowruz and its extensive cultural role among various Eastern nations, it can be utilized as a parameter for establishment of intercultural discourse. The potentials of Nowruz can be utilized more than ever for forging cooperation with other nations within the framework of Iran cultural diplomacy. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been mulling a proposal made by UNESCO National Commission in Iran in 2004 (international conference of countries celebrating Nowruz held in Tehran) to globally register this international heritage. It is hoped that this task will be fulfilled in 2009.”
Israel's new Cultural Diplomacy: Israel looks to change its image abroad - Gil Shaham, Cultural Diplomacy News:

An Israeli foreign minister who won’t wear velvet gloves - Alan Philps, The National: “Following the Gaza invasion, Israel is losing the support of Turkey, a key regional ally, and in parts of Europe it is increasingly seen as apartheid-era South Africa on the Mediterranean. The Israeli foreign ministry might as well scrap its multimillion dollar cultural diplomacy initiative.” Image from
Dubai hosts Global Art Forum - Middle East Online: “The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) organised Thursday a series of seminars and panel discussions. … [including] … a dialogue of 'Cultural Diplomacy from the Arabic Perspective, Constructive Dialogue with the West' with the participation of Cynthia Schneider; an expert in cultural diplomacy, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution, a professor of diplomacy and culture at Georgetown University, Washington, Zaki Nusseibeh and Dr. Sami Al Masri with Szanto acting as a moderator.” See also
Cultural diplomacy: the ends and the means - Thanh Nien Daily: "The notion of cultural diplomacy works both way. It means using culture to promote the country’s image and using diplomatic missions to promote the country’s culture."
The value of culture - Polish Market: “Our greatest value is people, the great creators of Polish culture ... said Rafał Skąpski, president of Polish Cultural Foundation, director of the Polish Publishing Institute (PIW) in conversation with Maciej Proliński."

de Institute for Liberty and Democracy – Allison Doolittle, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: “[T]he Institute for Liberty and Democracy. This NGO was quite good at PD. The ILD was founded by the Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto. His book, the Other Path, outlined the value of tapping into the informal economy as an alternative to 'The Shining Path,' or Sendero Luminoso. At ILD, I was impressed by a series of concrete grassroots PD efforts used in a campaign to formalize assets in the early 90's in Peru.”
New York Police Muslim Chaplain's Darker Side - IPT News: “NYPD Muslim Chaplain Khalid Latif has received lavish praise from the press, and even from a part of the US government. However, closer examination raises some disturbing questions. … Going even further, on September 18, 2008 the State Department's America.gov, part of the Department's Public Diplomacy thrust, had headlined, 'Imam Khalid Latif Builds Communities of Faith and Diversity,' which presents a Latif 'deeply committed to interfaith dialogue and community service as integral parts of what it means to be Muslim in a modern, multicultural world.' The State Department subsequently reprinted the article in what it described as 'the richly illustrated book Being Muslim in America.' A more pertinent question concerns his commitment to free speech.”
Strategic Communication: Report of the Defense Science Board – admin, Strategic Communications: “Now available in print to the general public, this book is a reprint of the 2004 report of the Defense Science Board on developing a global strategic communication strategy to fight the war on terror. This work is a formative document on strategic communication and is a fundamental requirement for the student and practitioner of public diplomacy, public affairs, international broadcasting, psychological operations, and information operations.”
Applications for W2W America 2009 are now available - nukta77: "'Women2Women - Jordan' will tentatively take place from July 5 - July 13, 2009 in Jordan. … A fee of $500.00 (USD) will be charged to each admitted student. … Those chosen to take part in the conference had to have demonstrated interest in leadership development, the democratic process and public diplomacy. The conference is our effort to empower young women to become future leaders.”
RELATED ITEMS
'Guardian' slammed for 'Hamas propaganda' - Jonny Paul, Jerusalem Post: Jewish groups have accused the Guardian newspaper of marketing Hamas propaganda and constructing falsehoods, after three stories over two days accused Israel of perpetrating war crimes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.
The War Hasn’t Been Tried: Nothing will be possible in Afghanistan without a fight - Rich Lowry, National Review
Against Surge Logic: Why do we need another surge in Afghanistan? Because we've done nothing but resort to surges in the past - Matthew Yglesias, American Prospect:

The Case for a Middle Path in Afghanistan - Ilan Goldenberg, Huffington Post: The president could choose to go all in. He could choose a minimalist strategy. Or he could opt for something in the middle. The president has no good options, but the best option is to pursue a middle of the road approach for at least the next 12-18 months. If it proves to be ineffective, the president should then move to a minimalist strategy.
CT or COIN? Obama must choose this week between two radically different Afghanistan policies - Fred Kaplan, Slate:

These Colors Cannot Run... Afghanistan - Norman Solomon, Common Dreams: With chillingly familiar echoes, goes the perverse logic of escalating the war in Afghanistan. "Strategic patience" -- more and more war -- will be necessary so that those who must die will not have died in vain.
Pain Iran Can Believe In: Diplomacy has no chance without tougher energy sanctions - Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal
Bush's 'folly' is ending in victory - Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe: Six years after the war in Iraq began, it is ending in victory. As in every war, the price of that victory was higher than we would have wished. The price of defeat would have been far higher.
Military Translators at War: Why interpreters serving with US troops in Iraq are revolting - Bruce Falconer, Mother Jones: The more than 2,000 Arab Americans currently working for the US military as contract linguists in Iraq are marked for death.

Watershed Moment on Nuclear Arms – Editorial, New York Times: President Obama must reaffirm his campaign pledge to transform American nuclear policy that is still mired in cold war thinking.
To lift the US economy, lift sanctions on America's foes: Profit, not patriotism, keeps companies afloat - Bryan R. Early, Christian Science Monitor

1 comment:
Thanks for the link. I've linked back to you here: http://consul-at-arms2.blogspot.com/2009/04/re-bottleneck-at-state.html
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