June 6

Power above powers, O heavenly eloquence,
That with the strong rein of commanding words
Dost manage, guide, and master th' eminence
Of men's affections, more than all their swords:
Shall we not offer to thy excellence
The richest treasure that our wit affords?

--Samuel Daniel, Musophilus: Containing a General Defence of Learning (1599); Daniel image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Improving U.S.-Muslim Relations: Obama's Other Audience - R.S. Zaharna, Foreign Policy in Focus: "While people across the Arab and Islamic world comprised the president's target audience,

ultimately the U.S. public is pivotal for making that outreach succeed. Despite the promise of a new beginning, American prejudice against Arabs and Muslims has the potential to undermine the effectiveness of U.S. public diplomacy and Obama's bold outstretched hand." Image from

Diplomacy - Will, The League of Ordinary Gentlemen: "I have grave doubts about Obama’s ability to actually convince the Muslim world to see things our way, but diplomacy is an incremental process, and it shouldn’t take an associate clinical professor of law to see that focusing entirely on the failures of Islamic countries in a speech at a major Islamic capital is a pretty counter-productive approach inter-state relations. Most of the objections to the speech raised along these lines strike me as people searching for a way to attack Obama for acknowledging America’s faults, as if there is no place for self-criticism in public diplomacy. This is not only inconsistent with the give-and-take of international relations - who, after all, wants to endure endless lectures harping solely on their own faults? - it’s also downright baffling. As with Obama’s so-called 'apology tour,' there seems to be an assumption among certain quarters on the Right that presidents should never criticize the United States abroad."

Obama's Cairo speech broke new ground in ties with Muslims - US diplomacy expert - Khabrein.info: "President Barack Obama's speech in Cairo broke new ground in the relationship between the United States and Muslims worldwide, said US public diplomacy expert Dr. Kristin Lord, vice president of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank. … Lord and CNAS President John Nagl are the authors of a new report released on Friday entitled, 'Beyond Bullets: A Pragmatic Strategy to Combat Violent Extremism.' The report calls on the United States to re-commit to countering violent extremism by employing an approach that is sustainable, properly resourced, grounded in bipartisan political support, and bolstered by a dense network of partnerships that engages actors inside and outside of government." Image from

Interview: Obama's Message to Muslims Resonates, But Challenges Await Interviewee: Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations Interviewer: Robert McMahon, Acting Editor, CFR.org - Council on Foreign Relations: "You mentioned the hope for the beginning of a new dialogue. Obama said this must be a 'sustained effort to listen to each other and trust each other.' When you get into practicalities, it's either a flurry of transformational diplomacy in the Muslim world or stepped-up public diplomacy. How do you see that coming into practice? It's an integrated strategy. I think there are many different factors that go into it -- transformational diplomacy, public diplomacy, moving forward on the peace process, implementing some of the specifics that the president laid out on the education of women and economic development. All of those things are going to go into this dialogue. Now the question is how the Muslim and Arab world reciprocates."

Obama's new beginning with the Muslim world – Editorial,
Los Angeles Times: "On the issue of democracy, Obama also made strides toward overcoming a double standard for friends and adversaries in the Muslim world. Without specifically condemning allies such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt, he nonetheless spoke forcefully for free speech, rule of law, government by consent and other human rights they often deny. Beyond this, the president's agenda included equal rights for women, economic development and halting the spread of nuclear weapons. In a global public diplomacy campaign, the government translated the speech into 13 languages, posted it on the Web in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and English, and made it available on cellphones as well as the Internet. The question now, of course, is how to turn words into deeds, and how to ensure that U.S. deeds in the far reaches of Afghanistan and Pakistan don't undermine Obama's reconciliation goals." Image from

Breaching The Firewall - Alvin Snyder, CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "U.S. government international communicators shifted into max overdrive from both sides of that protective 'firewall,' to report on what may become known as one of the great White House public diplomacy efforts ever: President Obama's June 4 address from Cairo, Egypt to the Middle East and beyond. The speech was unquestionably both a news event and a public diplomacy activity, so there are times when the mythical 'firewall,' to protect the independence of government international journalistic endeavors, may be ethically breached. This was one of them. … A week before all this, the White House announced its 'new Global Engagement Directorate (to) leverage diplomacy, communications, (and) international development...'. Many of us were uncertain whether this meant 'public' diplomacy, as the word 'public' was omitted from the White House statement, so one could not be certain that the White House intended to coordinate public diplomacy efforts from there.” Image from

Engagement Is The New Public Diplomacy Or The Adventures Of A Euphemism Of A Euphemism

- Nicholas J. Cull, CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "It now seems that while the Obama White House is applying itself to the business of public diplomacy, it is leaving that terminology behind. The preferred term seems to be 'engagement'." See also. Image from

Statement by Jeffrey Felton at Confirmation Hearing: Nominee for assistant secretary of state testifies before Senate panel – America.gov: Felton: "If I am confirmed, I would dedicate myself to the security, morale, and professional development of NEA [Near Eastern Affairs] personnel. This would include a determined commitment to equal opportunity to maximize the diversity and talent of our team. It also would include efforts to ensure our representatives abroad have the skills and training they need, with special focus on the areas of foreign language and public diplomacy -- essential tools for our effectiveness in the region."

Twittering and Public Diplomacy – John Brown, Notes and Essays: "[H]ow useful the 'no-blah-blah-blah' 140-character Twitter limitation can be in promoting the US overseas, the task of the so-called office of 'Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs' at the State Department, is a matter of serious consideration."

What next for Michelle: Kwan carves a deep edge toward her future- Pete Murray, Blazing Blades: "Shortly after coming to D[enver]U[niversity] Michelle was selected by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to become America's first Public Diplomacy Envoy working with Karen Hughes, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs in what she describes as 'the ultimate internship for international studies.' … Many thought her diplomatic duties would close with the changing of administrations in Washington. But she recently met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss continuance of her role as Public Diplomacy Envoy. This will surely benefit her greatly while continuing her education as she has been accepted to the graduate international affairs program at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy." Image from

Children of Anbar receive new “Arabic Libraries” - Dorian Gardner, fightin6thmarines: "KARMAH, Iraq – As children stood peering over short walls and massing in front of Al Khaloud School in Karmah, Iraq, Marines dismounted their vehicles and unloaded 68 sets of Arabic books to provide the children with a new Arabic library, May 24, 2009. … 'We ordered as many [books] as we could take for the province because we knew it was a good thing,' said Leslie Sabbagh, Public Diplomacy Officer, embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team. 'We ordered 240 sets, ranging from 145 to 200 books per set, and distributed them throughout the Iraqi Province.'”

NATO sponsors cultural diplomacy in the Balkans - NATO Latest News:

"With the support of NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division, the Estonian NGO KinoBuss travelled throughout southeastern Europe from 14 to 26 May, teaching hands-on animation techniques and digital filmmaking to youngsters in the region." Image from

China’s Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Impacts on U.S. National Security: Hearing Before The U.S.-China Economic And Security Review Commission One Hundred Eleventh Congress First Session April 30, 2009 - United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission: "The first panel of the day examined the Chinese government’s propaganda directed to foreign audiences, and the extent to which this might affect U.S.-China relations. Dr. Nicholas J. Cull, professor of public diplomacy at the University of Southern California, opened the panel with a discussion of China’s public diplomacy, which he defined as 'the process by which an international actor conducts foreign policy by engaging a foreign public.'”

The Beijing Olympics as a Turning Point? China’s First Olympics in East Asian Perspective - Susan Brownell, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus: "Global scrutiny of China in 2008 was much greater and it does appear that this pressure had effects. The domestic pressure for greater media freedom and government transparency has increased over the last year, not just because of the Olympics, but also because of the Wenchuan earthquake and the tainted milk scandal. Vibrant debates about China’s inability to effectively communicate a national image to the outside world are now going on, and large government investment is being made in foreign communications and public diplomacy." Image from

Obama, Change & The Quest For Peace In Sudan: Opening Remarks: By Dr. Hashim El-Tinay, Founder/CEO, IPQI-SSF National Press Club [NPC], Washington, DC, May 26, 2009 – ThePeaceQuest: El-Tinay: “Through our citizen and public diplomacy and people-to-people dialogues all is possible.”

Deputy Resident Country Director (MALI), MC-0301-03 Employer: Millennium Challenge Corporation - Roberts Wesleyan College: "Vacancy Announcement: … The DRCD will help to prepare analytical, background, and public diplomacy materials, and assist with meetings and events, including outreach."

RELATED ITEMS

Obama in Egypt – Jaxonia: The reception in the region’s non-Islamic nation, Israel, and among bloggers everywhere who see relations between the Jewish and Muslim states as the key to Middle East peace.

Weekend Opinionator: Obama in Cairo, as Seen From Tel Aviv - Tobin Harshaw, New York Times

Mideast, Islamic countries react to President Obama's speech – USA Today

In Obama's speech, a new approach to Middle East: candor

-- The president didn't announce any policy changes but sought to challenge his listeners' preconceptions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor; image from

The view from Al-Quds Al-Arabi - Rob, Arabic Media Shack: Everyone and their brother in America is talking about what they think the impact is. But in my view, we have to track down actual responses from influential Arab intelectuals.

Psychological Operations week at Fort Bragg - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

America's fading legacy in the Pacific: U.S. influence in the region is waning as the efforts, contributions and sacrifices made by so many during WWII are forgotten - Craig Hooper, Los Angeles Times: In the Solomon Islands, despite the fact that less than 2% of the population has online access, the local U.S. diplomatic presence has dwindled to a "virtual" Internet embassy. In these unconnected regions, a few granite diplomats may yet prove a better long-term investment than an unusable high-tech showpiece.

Jim Jones's Team - David Ignatius, Washington Post: The biggest puzzle was how Obama would work with Clinton. But so far, that process has been surprisingly smooth. The two typically have a private weekly meeting, usually on Thursdays. Clinton has been a model deputy, maintaining a heavy travel schedule and avoiding anything that would undercut the president. "All that stuff people warned about, the 'team of rivals,' that hasn't happened," says the White House official. Jones image from