April 10

"How can we help you? How can we help President Obama?"

--Fidel Castro, speaking to Rep. Laura Richardson (D., Calif.); image from

“A country has reached a point at which 84 percent of its people are in favor of building a wall along its borders.”

--David Hare, regarding Israel, in “Wall: A Monologue,” New York Review of Books: “The Israelis call it the gader ha'harfrada, which in Hebrew means ‘separation fence.’ The Palestinians … call it jidar al-fasl al-'unsun, which in Arabic means ‘racial segregation wall.’”

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Obama Abroad: An Assessment - Jeff Weintraub, Fleishman-Hillard Public Affairs: “Silvio Marcacci of FH Washington, D.C. thinks that 'Obama’s European trip is summed up in three words: smart first steps. In one week, he began to repair strained relations with traditional allies, made strategic overtures to Russia, Turkey, and the Muslim world, and shoehorned disparate international voices into a global economic recovery plan. His trip has exceeded expectations, and Americans agree: a CNN survey published on Monday shows 61 percent of Americans believe he accomplished a ‘great deal’ or a ‘fair deal’ during the trip, while 79 percent think other countries will now view the U.S. more favorably.' I’m with Silvio on this, and think that Obama advisor David Axelrod (who probably played a big role in orchestrating this week of public diplomacy) put it right when he told reporters a few days ago, 'You plant, you cultivate, you harvest.

Over time, the seeds that were planted here are going to be very, very valuable.' This is just the beginning of a long journey.” Image from

Not What We Had Hoped For - Investor's Business Daily: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the mullah-ocracy that runs the country have recognized weakness in the American executive branch and are rushing to exploit the situation. The U.S. is willing to talk? Then while it talks, we can act. We don't know how the Obama White House is conducting private diplomacy with Tehran. We're just hoping it's more forceful than its public diplomacy, which utterly fails to inspire confidence. It's a mistake to treat the Tehran regime as if it were a Western government."

Ken Tomlinson is back, recalling USIB expansion in Afghanistan - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: Comment by Elliott on the statement by Senator Kitt Bond that “During my December trip to Afghanistan I learned that 95 percent of the Public Diplomacy efforts the US Embassy is executing there are funded privately! This is ridiculous!": “This is great! At least to those of us of the fiscally conservative persuasion. Imagine 95 percent of the public diplomacy efforts of the US Embassy Kabul at no cost to the taxpayers!” Bond image from

Obama and American Muslims: Barack Obama’s speech in Turkey last week was a welcome message of clarity and warmth for Muslims everywhere. But there are domestic issues for American Muslims and Arabs that are very troubling - Nadia Hijab, Middle East Online: “Is it easier for the American administration to reach out to the 'Muslim world' than it is to deal with Muslims in America? Barack Obama’s statements in Turkey this week, welcome as they are, play out against a backdrop of increasing tension between his administration and Muslim American organizations. Unless these tensions are addressed quickly and effectively, they risk undermining his public diplomacy.”

The Pavilion Wars: The upcoming World's Fair should offer the chance to build a showpiece U.S. pavilion. But thanks to behind-the-scenes maneuverings and State Department incompetence, we may end up with a Chinese-funded pavilion—or no pavilion - Adam Minter, Atlantic Monthly: "[J]ust as the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (better known as the World Columbian Exposition) signaled the ascendance of the U.S. as a major industrial power, and the 1964 New York World’s Fair suggested U.S. technological superiority, 2010 seems primed to represent the rise of Chinese economic and political power in the 21st century. A no-show by the U.S. would convey as much about America’s diminished place in this new geopolitical order as does its ongoing run-up of Chinese-owned debt. Image from article: The empty plot where the U.S. pavilion is intended to go.

Cajun Music in Riyadh - John Burgess, CrossRoads Arabia: "The AP’s Donna Abu-Nasr reports for Saudi Gazette on a Public Diplomacy program in Riyadh: the Pine Leaf Boys playing Cajun and Zydeco music of rural Louisiana. The band appears to have been doing some international touring, but this trip, sponsored by the US State Dept., takes them to the Middle East, with stops scheduled in the UAE, Jerusalem, and the West Bank. No, it’s not politics: it’s ’soft diplomacy’. Programs like this are designed to entertain, of course, but also to show the complexity of American society. Not everything American is rap or Britney Spears, after all…" Image from

Obama is an intellectual giant - Debbie, Right Truth: "Fran Dresher told Sean Hannity on Fox News yesterday that 'Barack Obama is an intellectual giant.' That's Fran Dresher the actress, who wanted to replace Hillary Clinton at Senator of New York and says she may still run for a political office. She was appointed public diplomacy envoy for women’s health issues and did a four-country European tour of duty."

Brookings Institution: The Kennedy Serve America Act: A New Boost For Service - The Common Ground Blog: “Question to the Blogosphere: … Do you think that … PeaceCorps increase mutual understanding between nations, or are volunteers unable to impact the opinions of many people in the countries they adopt as their homes for two years? Do security concerns prevent Americans from going to the countries in which we need to promote public diplomacy and reconciliation efforts the most?" Image from

The Dirty Dozen: 12 New Policies That Undermine Civil Society - Jennifer A. Marshall and Katherine Bradley WebMemo #2389, Heritage Foundation: "7. Using Tax Dollars to Finance Abortion Abroad. On January 23, the President overturned a policy that prohibited the use of U.S. tax dollars for family planning organizations that provide abortions and abortion counseling overseas.
58 percent of Americans disapprove of this decision by the Obama Administration, according to a February 2009 USA Today/Gallup poll. U.S. taxpayers should not have to pay to export this controversial practice abroad, where it serves as poor public diplomacy for the nation's commitment to life and liberty." Image from

Public Diplomacy+Military Medicine=the Comfort - Gail Fisher, Mendstate-Health: Defense, Diplomacy And Development: "The intersection of public diplomacy (typically a Department of State activity aimed to influence foreign populations) and military medicine is most easily identifiable in what the Navy is calling Humanitarian and Civic Assistance missions--the Comfort, the Mercy and so on. Under the new Maritime Strategy, the Navy is tackling the problem of how to do medical interventions with a goal of fostering good relations."

The False Hope of the President's Public Diplomacy - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: “Public diplomacy … is the full spectrum psychological struggle of the early Cold War and not the hearts and minds campaigns of Beers and Hughes. … [W]e need an Under Secretary [for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs], or a facsimile with equivalent rank, that has the full and unabashed support of the Secretary [of State] to marshal resources and get the attention of the State Department bureaucracy, Congress, the Defense Department, and Combatant Commanders.” Wikipedia on Beers and Hughes. Image accompanying "False Hope" poem from.

MountainRunner's Guest Post: Public Diplomacy and LOLCats - Starbuck, Wings over Iraq: “While … it would be great if … government agencies coordinated their public diplomacy efforts, you have to also consider that American voices aren't just the voices of the government--America speaks with plenty of extra-governmental voices, which are even more empowered and louder through the Information revolution, and particularly the social networking of Web 2.0.”

Obama in Ankara: ‘Jews Have to See Palestinian Perspective’ - Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place: [In reply to comment by reader Mike:] “Diplomacy is conducted by many means. Have you not heard of 'public diplomacy?' It’s an entire & legitimate form of diplomacy that involves reaching out to pubic constituencies to get them to support U.S. interests.”

Kathleen's Latest Cause: S.O.L. or we will soon be S.O.L. - Kathleen Eagle, Riding with the Top Down: "My beef du jour has to do with language. I'm so tired of the press's willingness to use euphemistic terms fed to them by the people and institutions they're supposed to be 'keeping honest' that I'm screaming 'S.O.L!' Save Our Language! …

Terms like 'collateral damage' (civilians killed), 'de-populate' (kill off the animals in a given area), 'extraordinary redition' (kidnapping). Here's a good one: 'biosolids' (sewage). And how about 'public diplomacy.' That's propaganda, pure and simple."

Report on the Smith-Mundt Symposium - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: "The report on the Smith-Mundt Symposium of January 13, 2009, is available. Download the 437kb PDF here. Feedback is appreciated."

NYC Elections Board Hires Spin Doctors for $6.5 million - Rady Ananda, OpEdNews: “Earlier this month, B-M [Burson-Marstellar] hired Karen Hughes, the former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, as Global Vice Chair based in Washington, D.C. … According to Wiki, B-M's most notorious client is Blackwater USA, the mercenary group alleged to have murdered 17 Iraqi civilians last year." Image from

US Sleeps While Society, Values Get Undermined By Stealth Jihad - Herb Denenberg, The Bulletin: "[I]n an article by Andrew C. McCarthy titled 'Beyond Terrorism: The Islamic Threat Is Worse Than You Think' … [he] catalogs a long list of such concessions and accommodations [among] them: • The State Departments director of public diplomacy in the Middle East praised the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader 'as respected scholar … worthy of the deepest respect.' This was so even though this 'scholar' then as now had been banned from the U.S. for promoting terrorism."

Table of Contents - Rhetoric & Public Affairs Volume 11, Number 3, Fall 2008: "Reagan and Reykjavík: Arms Control, SDI, and the Argument from Human Rights: B. Wayne Howell Abstract: Following the October 1986 U.S.-Soviet summit in Reykjavík, Iceland, news media in the United States characterized the Reagan-Gorbachev meeting as a failure because President Ronald Reagan refused to compromise on his commitment to the development of a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). This essay examines Reagan’s rhetoric of public diplomacy surrounding the Reykjavík Summit and suggests an alternative characterization. Reagan used SDI to prod Mikhail Gorbachev toward liberalization and democratization of the Soviet Union, particularly in the area of human rights." Image from

NATO Archivist - CANADEM: "NATO INTERNATIONAL STAFF STAFF VACANCY N° A 08(2009) .... TITLE: NATO Archivist GRADE: A.4 1. SUMMARY ... 4. INTERRELATIONSHIPS The incumbent will report to the Chairman of the Archives Committee. For purposes of administration he/she will report to the Head, Archives and Information Management. The Archivist will liaise with the NATO Public Diplomacy Division on the public dimension of the NATO Archives and maintain close contacts with senior officers and heads of records and archives and information management services throughout NATO civil and military bodies.”

How to Boost a Car[e]er in International PR - Nina Keim blog – “General[l]y speaking, there are two ways to enter the world of international public relations: as a regional expert or a product expert. … Overall, it is important to keep a sense of humor.” Image from

RELATED ITEMS

It's Your Country Too, Mr. President - Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post: While Gordon Brown was trying to make his American DVDs work and the queen was rocking to her new iPod, the rest of Europe was enjoying a more fulsome Obama gift. Our president came bearing a basketful of mea culpas. With varying degrees of directness or obliqueness, Obama indicted his own people for arrogance, for dismissiveness and derisiveness, for genocide, for torture, for Hiroshima, for Guantanamo and for insufficient respect for the Muslim world.

Obama: The Extremists’ Nightmare - Joe Conason, Truthdig: While Obama returns home to remarkably strong and consistent support from most Americans, right-wing commentators relentlessly attempt to portray him as unworthy of trust and deficient in patriotism.

They dishonestly truncate his speeches abroad, slicing out his defense of the United States and his rejection of anti-American propaganda, while headlining his candor about our flaws. The remarkable popularity of Obama across the world is not an artifact of anti-American sentiment, but its opposite -- namely, the hope that America will again stand for liberal traditions of generosity and cooperation. Now he has made a beginning. Image from

At Home Abroad - Michael Sherer, Time: On his first overseas trip, Obama finds a world ready to work with him. Or at least ready to talk about it.

Obama's New Geopolitics: 10 Key Takeaways - William Bradley, Huffington Post: President Barack Obama's just concluded big international tour is part of a major reshuffling in geopolitics.

The Longest War - Aryn Baker / Loi Kolay, Time After more than seven years, the U.S. and its allies are still fighting in Afghanistan -- in a battle fueled by joblessness and poverty. Failure isn't an option

Ten Things You Can Do to Oppose the War in Afghanistan - Walter Mosley, Nation: The war in Afghanistan is a quagmire bordering on a catastrophe.

Obama's Afghanistan Problem - Alex Conant, Huffington Post: One might expect Obama to mount an aggressive campaign to educate and rally the public around his new Afghanistan strategy, just as he did for his economic stimulus and budget. But instead, he's doing the opposite.

Who’s using the military as a “global propaganda machine” now, AP? - Michelle Malkin blog: The Associated Press has really outdone itself.

Just look at this headline: Analysis: Obama achieves defining TV shot in Iraq. It’s a drool-drenched piece on Obama’s masterful “achievement” -- manipulating a politically expedient photo op with the troops in Baghdad. Image from

The Promise, and Peril, Ahead for Iraq: The parliament has learned how to use the power of the purse - Kimberly Kagan and Frederick W. Kagan – Wall Street Journal: Iraqis remain most interested in establishing a strategic partnership with the U.S. and the West. In the long run, this partnership will not be defined by the numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq but by the depth of our economic and political cooperation, diplomatic support, and strategic alliance.

Tens of Thousands Rally against US on Anniversary of Saddam's Fall - Juan Cole - Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion

Propaganda against an ally — a faulty engagement - Mashaal Javed, The News, Pakistan: Having considered Pakistan’s armed forces and the ISI as stumbling blocks in implementing its agenda, the CIA has started a vicious propaganda war, primarily targeting the ISI by maligning it to the extremes. This is a veiled attempt to make Pakistan and the ISI, a scapegoat for all of its ills and conspicuous failures in Afghanistan. The blatant propaganda against Pakistan Army and the ISI, as the two main targets coupled with the pressure being exerted through Obama’s Afghan-Pak policy, no significant progress towards handling of war on terror is possible. Image from

American Interests in Pakistan: Zardari serves them better than Sharif - Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Weekly Standard: President Obama has correctly noted that Pakistan should not be given blank checks; in the past, the United States often failed to gear its aid toward American strategic interests. Pakistan remains the critical country in the war against al Qaeda, yet too little aid has been directed toward counterterrorism or counterinsurgency operations.

Turkey's dangerous shift: But Obama blithely takes no notice of Europe's concern - Ariel Cohen, Washington Times: Washington should devote more attention to U.S.-Turkish relations. Strong bilateral security relations are particularly important for cooperation on the Iraq withdrawal, Afghanistan, dealing with Iran, and addressing a resurgent Russia. Image from

Obama's Dilemma: Israel's Threat to Strike Iran - Gareth Porter and Jim Lobe, CounterPunch: A recent statement by the chief of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Gen. David Petraeus, that Israel may decide to attack Iranian nuclear sites has been followed by indications of a debate within the Barack Obama administration on whether Israel's repeated threats to carry out such a strike should be used to gain leverage in future negotiations with Tehran.

A New Alliance with Europe? - the Editors, National Review: In 2007, President Bush, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and EU Commission president Manuel Barroso agreed on small steps to create a North Atlantic economic community. Might that not begin to solve intractable problems?

Why Europe Won’t Fight - Patrick J. Buchanan, Antiwar.com:We can’t give up NATO because, if we do, we would no longer be the "indispensable nation," the leader of the Free World. And, if we’re not that, then who are we? And what would we do?

North Korea Routine: History is repeating itself with a test launch - Robert Joseph, National Review: We need interceptors deployed in Alaska and California to deal with North Korea -- and in Europe to deal with Iran.

Korean Lessons: The response to Kim Jong Il should be more missile defense, not less - Clifford D. May, National Review

Requiem for the War on Terror: Goodbye GWOT, Hello OCOs - Ira Chernus, TomDispatch: Americans will pony up endlessly when we are at war. They are less likely to shell out so quickly for the proposed successor phrase to the Global War on Terror:

"Overseas Contingency Operations." Image from

Putting the “pro” in “Propaganda” - Steve, Noise is Information: A beautiful design by Matt Jones, with limited edition prints being sold as a fundraiser for the Creative Commons organization.