July 3

“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”

--Charles de Gaulle; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Clinton: Iran Protests Are An "Internal Matter" - Omri Ceren, Mere Rhetoric: "I'm getting the quote via Voice of America. Nothing like using the US's flagship public diplomacy outlet - the one that gave hope to hundreds of millions of anti-Communist dissidents - to sell out pro-democracy protesters." Image from

Israel’s Options on Iran - Max Boot, Contentions, Commentary: "John Bolton has a compelling and courageous analysis in the Washington Post today, making the case that Israel should bomb Iran’s nuclear installations and do so quickly. He argues that diplomacy has no chance of working, leaving only one serious option on the table if Iran is to be prevented from going nuclear. He adds a new and important point: ['] Significantly, the uprising in Iran also makes it more likely that an effective public diplomacy campaign could be waged in the country to explain to Iranians that such an attack is directed against the regime, not against the Iranian people. [']"

News & Views Roundup & Editor’s Comment: July 2 - War in Context: "[L]et’s humor Bolton’s imagination a little and suppose that the Israeli strike he’s picturing goes stunningly well and Iran’s nuclear program is crippled with minimal loss of life. What happens then inside Iran? How much traction is Bolton’s public diplomacy campaign going to get — that is, the message that the bombs were aimed at the regime, not the people? The answer is simple: the regime will have its own public diplomacy campaign. Do you support your nation or are you in sympathy with the Zionist-entity and its American supporters?" See also (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7). Image from

Special Briefing by Farah Pandith, Special Representative to Muslim Communities – posted at Hillary Clinton Forum: "MS. PANDITH: Well, there are – listen, you very well know that the public diplomacy arm of the State Department has for decades been engaging with ethnic communities around the world. They use a lot of different mechanisms, whether it’s exchanges or it’s town halls or it’s roundtables or it’s developing and convening meetings with likeminded thinkers that are innovators and entrepreneurs, whether it’s creating a community project to work on a specific event, whether it’s creating a network that didn’t exist before. I think it’s really – it really is important for us to listen to what is needed and to be the arm that actually helps facilitate."

Obama, a stickler for pronunciation - Politico.com: "As president, Barack Obama takes care to get pronunciations correct — from heads of state and foreign nations to the director of a small nonprofit in Jersey City. …

Those efforts don’t just signal respect to outsiders, but shows employees inside the government, specifically at the State Department, noted Mike McCurry, a former Clinton press secretary, 'that the president takes detail seriously.' 'And that has a positive impact on morale in our own government,' McCurry said, 'an added benefit to the clear benefit to public diplomacy.'" Image from

New COIN in the Realm ... - Matthew B. Stannard, San Francisco Chronicle: "[Defense Secretary Robert] Gates is an unabashed booster of the State Department and the Foreign Service who has turned heads by repeatedly calling for the State Department -- the DoD's traditional rival -- to get a bigger budget. (There are more people serving in military bands, he is fond of noting, than there are Foreign Service officers.) A core of old Cold Warriors steeped in Mutually Assured Destruction and detente surrounded by young Turks chatting about cyberwarfare and public diplomacy -- that's the panel Gates has formed to advise him and the military on future policy."

Sison: We Are Proud to Support Lebanon's Economic Strength, Key Institutions – Naharnet: "U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison said during a celebration of the 233rd anniversary of the United States' independence that her country is proud to support the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces. … Among the invited guests were those who work with USAID, the Middle East Partnership Initiative and Public Diplomacy on projects such as small business development, leadership training, civil society promotion, transparency, and combating trafficking in persons." Sison image from

Tongan national becomes first Pacific Fulbright scholar in over a decade – Fiji Daily Post: "27-year-old Tongan national Siale Bain-Vete has been chosen as the Pacific’s first Fulbright scholar in more than a decade. He was chosen after a competitive process for the Fulbright Scholarship program announced by the U.S. Embassy in Suva in 2008. Three more South Pacific Islanders will also receive Fulbright Scholarships for study this academic year. A mainstay of America’s public-diplomacy efforts, the Fulbright Foreign Student Program brings citizens of other countries to the United States for Master’s degree or Ph.D. study at US universities or other appropriate institutions."

A Changing Foreign and Security ...Policy Debate - Political Research and Studies: "Recognize that public opinion counts in contemporary Turkey. … In this respect, Turkey has moved solidly in the European mainstream. This argues for greater attention to public diplomacy and the engagement of a wider range of new civilian elites within Turkey."

Kingdom, Sweden team up to promote green diplomacy -Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News: "Saudi Arabia will be a partner of a major European initiative called Green Public Diplomacy, which calls for intensified efforts to create green environment, control pollution on a global level, adopt environmental-friendly technology and encourage journalists to write more on environmental issues, according to Swedish Ambassador Jan Thesleff."

Saudi Dress Up Time – Katharine, A World Not Our Own: "Today a group of DoS interns and I went to the Saudi Arabian Embassy for a 'tour.'

… Slipping in a Public Diplomacy question, to a man I wasn't sure would know what PD was, I asked how the embassy was reaching out to the American public to present Saudi Arabia to the public? I was right to be unsure, as he basically told me they hired an outside firm to do 'all that stuff'.. it wasn't handled inside the actual[...] embassy.[']" Image from

Does terrorism still matter? - Ali Abdullah Wibisono, The Jakarta Post: "A responsive (even preemptive) public diplomacy mechanism that can be continually utilized to assist efforts in ideological counter-terrorism … is crucial in terminating the recruitment process of terror networks."

MFA Reports - B. Khuder, Montsame: "In the international relations, non-traditional threats have appeared along with existence of old threats. In connection with this, an importance of many-sided diplomacy is increasing. ... It has been hard to imagine the art of diplomacy without the Public Diplomacy. These changes can not be ignored by Mongolia in her diplomatic activities." Image from

Coming Soon – Public Diplomacy Journal: "The Public Diplomacy Journal staff is working hard at revamping the site and coming back with a brand new design, new features that will foster user interactivity, and a continued commitment to high quality commentary on Public Diplomacy. We will announce the official launch of our revamped site in the coming weeks."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ON TWITTER
(July 2 PM-July 3 PM)

Samwise: RT @redman13: Steinberg on public diplomacy: old model of radios must be adapted to modern technology which can reach many more #aif09 about 2 hours ago from TwitterFon

redman13: Steinberg on public diplomacy: old model of radios has to be adapted to modern technology which has potential to reach many more #aif09 about 2 hours ago from mobile web

davidchasey: @amonck THX 4 the link: "one of my absolute favourite blogs now on twitter @kaedotcom international broadcasting + public diplomacy" about 3 hours ago from web

bettyferreira: Social media technologies as they pertain to public diplomacy http://ow.ly/g6XS about 6 hours ago from HootSuite
PoliticFan: A Tale of Two Posts » Public Diplomacy http://bit.ly/2S2L0t about 9 hours ago from twitterfeed

CharlieBeckett: Great diplo blog RT @amonck #followfriday one of my favourite blogs now on twitter @kaedotcom international broadcasting + public diplomacy about 12 hours ago from web

amonck: #followfriday one of my absolute favourite blogs now on twitter @kaedotcom international broadcasting + public diplomacy about 12 hours ago from TweetDeck

RELATED ITEMS

A 'Cairo moment' for Obama in Moscow? When he visits there next week, he should counter Kremlin propaganda by speaking directly to Russians about America's real desires - Paula Schriefer, Christian Science Monitor: As of now, no major speech to reach the hearts and minds of the Russian-speaking world is planned, but it should be part of the president's agenda during his visit to Moscow. Russians,

and the vast majority of their neighbors, suffer from a freedom deficit comparable to that experienced by all too many inhabitants of the Middle East. Propaganda has also capitalized on anti-Bush sentiment to tarnish the ideas of freedom and democracy and to present these values as incompatible with Russian traditions and culture. Image Russians dancing from

Chronicles of the Good War: Waging the propaganda war - Marcion, Daily Kos: After some debate about the best P.R. strategy to spin continuing incidents of killing of civilians by American forces, the Pentagon released a deviously written "unclassified executive summary" of the report on the May 4th killing of about 100 Afghan civilians. This was timed to coincide with the announcement of an impending shift in counterinsurgency tactics, requiring commanders to verify whether any civilians are present in a target zone. If there are, US forces are to disengage, instead of calling in airstrikes, unless the soldiers are in imminent danger. However, this new policy does not apply to Pakistan, where last week US airstrikes killed about 80 people at a funeral, mostly civilians, a new record in America’s undeclared war in Pakistan.

Donors Find a Home in Obama's Ambassador Corps - Jonathan Weisman and Yuka Hayashi, Wall Street Journal:

Of the Obama administration's 55 ambassadorial nominees so far, 33 -- or 60% -- have gone to people outside the foreign-service ranks, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That ratio is almost certain to tilt back toward career diplomats as dozens of the remaining posts are filled. Courtesy MC. Image from

Chinese Fireworks Display – David Brooks, New York Times: James Fallows of The Atlantic, who has lived in China for the past three years, says that many of the most anti-American statements from Chinese officials are made to blunt domestic anxiety. Many, many Chinese leaders were educated in the U.S. and admire or at least respect it.

On the Offensive: Can commanders in Afghanistan tell the president the truth about troop shortages? – Editorial, Washington Post: According to polls, most Afghans still favor the presence of American troops.

Did Twitter Save Brand America…? - alexaizenberg, Iron Mountain in a Concrete Jungle: By following the conversation on Twitter, we saw American citizens showcasing US ideals in 140 characters, with RTs, links, photos and genuine care for the cause of freedom… without Twitter it would not come to be, and the Iranians would not be able to see the willingness to collaborate and unite in cause, as long as that cause is just. Because of the flat world and the access to open. Image from