April 12

“'I’ve come to the region nine or ten times,' Admiral Mullen told the [Afghan] clerics.

Mr. Holbrooke jumped in.

'And each time, things have gotten worse.'

Admiral Mullen, Mr. Holbrooke, and all the clerics laughed.'"

--New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

How effective was Obama in Europe? - Guy W. Farmer, Nevada Appeal: "President Obama and his lovely wife Michelle were greeted like rock stars in Europe, but that doesn’t mean their trip was entirely successful from a foreign policy point of view.

Acting as his own best public diplomacy specialist, our new president said some of the right things and made many new friends for the U.S. But that’s only part of the story. … The Obamas … [are] off to a good start on an international charm offensive. Now the president needs to concentrate on policy.” Image from

President Obama’s Trip – A Sign of Transatlantic Unity? - Swoop: "Obama’s first major international foray was a success in terms of public diplomacy but left the Administration’s policy agenda with a lot to hope for."

Public Diplomacy can't be a pig in lipstick - McCaffray, Understanding The Middle East And Islam: “Public diplomacy (done right, for example not sending anyone remotely like Karen Hughes ever again to the Middle East and remembering that there are actally several agencies meant to handle FP (State, USAID, Trade … and not just DoD) is extremely important, but so are actual policies. To quote the many brilliant politicians as of late, you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.” Image from

Introducing the PD Chief Count-Up Clock - Steven R. Corman, COMOPS Journal: “[W]e are still awaiting the appointment of a new Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Perhaps the problem is that the task of filling the PD post has simply fallen off the radar screen. I mean, we all know how things can slip between the cracks when busy people get busy, right? As our own modest effort to help keep the process moving, we here at COMOPS.” Image from

Voinovich's View: "To Re-engage an Awakening Bear?" - Senator George V. Voinovich – American Chronicle: "Over the last decade in the United States Senate, I have been actively involved in crafting America´s foreign and national security policies. I used my status as a five-year member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to conduct oversight of U.S. foreign policy in the most critical parts of the world including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea. I also played a leadership role in strengthening and enlarging the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance; advancing United Nations (U.N.) reform; strengthening U.S. public diplomacy; promoting lasting peace and stability in Southeast Europe; and combating global anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of intolerance."

Notice of Open Public Hearing – TMCnet: “SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. … The April 30 hearing will examine China's external propaganda and international public diplomacy efforts, China's efforts to exert influence on U.S. institutions and public opinion, China's espionage and intelligence operations directed at the United States, and China's cyber espionage directed against the United States." Image from

New wave of advice about Radio/TV Marti - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: “Satellite television and the internet will be more popular than shortwave as … newer media develop, probably on the black market, in Cuba. Then Radio/TV Martí will have a more difficult problem of competing, not with the moribund Cuban media, but with all the Spanish-language satellite channels and websites available to the Hemisphere. Perhaps these competitors, collectively, can do the job Radio/TV Martí had always set out to do, but at no cost to the US taxpayers.”

Kirkuk Power-sharing Agreements in Limbo - Geoff Ziezulewicz, Stars and Stripes: "Kirkuk province didn't participate in elections earlier this year, as its future continues to be debated in the Iraqi parliament. Numerous deadlines on these decisions have passed, most recently March 31. Elections might take place here this summer. … Sri Kulkarni, a public diplomacy officer with the State Department's Provincial Reconstruction Team, estimates the population to be between 45 percent and 55 percent Kurdish, 25 percent and 35 percent Arab and 10 percent to 15 percent Turkmen, with a smaller Christian population." Limbo image from

Hijacked Ship Back in Port, Its Captain Still a Hostage - Nick Wadhams, Time: “The U.S. ship whose crew overcame a band of pirates off the coast of Somalia docked in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on Saturday, its sailors relieved to be safe but distraught over the fate of their captain, who remains captive in a lifeboat at sea. … 'These guys have been through a hell of a situation, and their boss is still floating in the middle of the ocean,' said Mark Zimmer, the public diplomacy officer of the U.S. embassy in Kenya for Somalia."

In Somalia, Lawlessness on Land Leads to Lawlessness on the Seas, The Horn of Africa – jturitto, Peace, Conflict, and Security in East Africa – ”Additional warships to police the waters off the coast of Somalia do little to change the anarchistic environment that allows piracy to thrive. … To reverse the wave of anti-Americanism, the U.S. should use public diplomacy. U.S. counterterrorism policy and support for the Ethiopian invasion stirred anti-American sentiments among the local population. The U.S. can counter these and more radical sentiments by developing Somali radio programs … . There are more than 200,000 Somali refugees in the U.S. that can run these programs. Instead of launching cruise missiles, the U.S. can launch radio waves.” Image from

Japan should ‘reinvigorate’ Burma policy- BBNN-Asian News: "New York-based Human Rights Watch implored the Japanese government to consider reforms that would support and safeguard human rights worldwide, saying that its method of 'quiet diplomacy' shied away from vocal condemnation of destructive governments. Japan should adopt a mixture of private and public diplomacy in its dealings with authoritarian governments, said Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW."

Soft Power Your Way Out O' This One China!!! – Jamesome, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy: “I predict a significant say-do gap for China (already there in many ways) and an immense set of population pressures that the U.S. does not have to deal with. China is rising, but it will have a longer way to fall when it trips up. Speculating, just speculating.”

På musikalsk diplomati-turne til Zimbabwe - Søren Møller, Politiken.DK: “Det er alt sammen rigtig nok, men det er også mig i min egenskab af offentlig diplomat! Som man også kan se, har jeg glemt mit diplomattøj og min mappe og jeg har heller ikke læst statskundskab eller været ansat i udenrigsministeriet.

Så hvad handler den form for offentlig diplomati så om, eller Public Diplomacy, som det hedder i USA, der opfandt begrebet i 60’erne. En diplomat er en person, der kan bede dig om at gå til helvede på en sådan måde, at du faktisk ser frem til turen, siger debatøren Caskie Stinnett. Det synes jeg beskriver diplomati meget godt, men det er ikke Public Diplomacy. Lande med et Public Diplomacy bruger kunstnere indenfor film, musik, sport og andre sociale og kulturelle aktiviteter, til at skabe forståelse mellem mennesker fra forskellige kulturer på gadeplanet og øge deres indbyrdes forståelse af hinandens kulturer og deres værdier. I Danmark er Public Diplomacy forholdsvis nyt." See also; image from

DFA, Lanao gov’t conduct mobile passport processing in Marawi - Ali G. Macabalang, Manila Bulletin: "The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in partnership with the provincial government of Lanao del Sur, conducted another phase of mobile passport processing service for prospect hajj travelers from the province and this city in a joint venture initiated by Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong, Jr. … The first phase of the joint venture had served more than 2,000 applicants for the 2008 hajj to Mecca, while the latest stage has processed an estimated 4,000 passport applicants from April 1 to 7, according to a record obtained from Sherifa Kadil-Adiong of the provincial information office. … ‘In a nutshell, the joint venture has saved thousands of Lanao del Sur residents from extra costs, time and effort travelling to Cagayan de Oro or Manila to renew or apply for new passports. It is also a manifestation of public diplomacy to bring the DFA closer to the people,’ [Philippine Consul General to Saudi Arabia Mohd. Noordin Pendosina N.] Lomondot said."

RELATED ITEMS

End of the Clash of Civilizations - Editorial, New York Times: On his visit to Turkey last week, President Obama made important progress toward recalibrating America’s relations with the Islamic world. The president steered away from the poisonous post-9/11 clash of civilizations mythology that drove so much of President George W. Bush’s rhetoric and disastrous policy. Image from

Back in the Utopian States - Oliver North, Washington Times: The O-Team's Euro-expedition may have set a new foreign fantasy record. Actions speak louder than words -- no matter how flowery the rhetoric.

How Do You Say Faux Pas in Austrian? - Kathleen Parker, Washington Post: Did he or didn't he -- the president of the United States, that is -- bow to Saudi King Abdullah in a deferential greeting? And, if he did, is it of great -- or any -- consequence? Obama was probably trying to be respectful and, it appears, may even have lost his balance a little. On a bright note, he didn't throw up on the king, as George H.W. Bush managed to do upon the Japanese prime minister's lap during dinner. Image from

Civilians Reassert Themselves in U.S. Foreign Policy - Dexter Filkins, New York Times: In the nearly eight years since the 9/11 attacks, the foreign policy of the United States has often appeared to be an exclusively military affair, if not always conducted by men with guns then practiced by civilians not shy in reminding their foes that they had force at their disposal. The diplomats, for the most part, watched from afar. The reassertion by civilian leaders is being led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has promised to restore the State Department’s centrality in the making of foreign policy. She has a long way to go.

Obama Protects CIA Torture Memos: Hope Abandoned

- Chris Floyd, CounterPunch. Image from

Pakistan: US Drones have killed 687 Innocents - Juan Cole, Informed Comment Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion

Zionism and Israel- Issues and Answers (FAQ): Questions and answers about Zionism, Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian (Palestine-Israel, Middle East) Conflict - Zionism and Israel FAQ: Ideologically, anti-Zionist ideas, including Jewish religious and Marxist anti-Zionism are tinged with racism. Anti-Zionist positions are based on anti-Semitic ideas and assumptions, and often substitute "Zionists" for "Jews" in propaganda that is otherwise identical to anti-Semitic propaganda.

Help Iran go nuclear: A proposal to provide reactors to the United Arab Emirates could be the prototype of a deal between the U.S. and Tehran - Sonni Efron, Los Angeles Times: Broke and busy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. lacks the will and wherewithal to force Iran to forswear the bomb, and sanctions haven't cowed Tehran. The only realistic way to deter Iran today is to offer it something it might genuinely want. Would advanced nuclear energy, normal relations with the U.S., an end to sanctions and less tension with its neighbors be enough to interest Tehran? Image from

Meeting the neighbors: At the Summit of the Americas, Obama has the chance to offer leadership without unilateralism - Editorial, Los Angeles Times

End the embargo on Cuba: The United States cannot afford to maintain its embargo of Cuba, or its reckless immigration policy - Elizabeth Morrow, Boston Globe

Lifting the veil on a North Korean obsession - Adrienne Mong, NBC News: Films, of course, have long been a keen interest of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Il.

Although the medium was the preferred propaganda tool in North Korea even before he succeeded his father Kim Il-Sung, the younger Kim is widely credited with keeping the industry alive and thriving. Image (from article): A poster for "Souls Protest," a film some have dubbed North Korea's "Titanic."