September 6

"It's hard work. It's not easy. It doesn't happen overnight."

--George W. Bush, regarding Afghanistan

"The insurgency in Afghanistan didn't just happen overnight. . . . This will not be quick, nor easy."

--Barack Obama; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Public Diplomacy: Image vs. Reality – James K. Glassman Blog: "The good news is that while recent Pew polling shows that Pakistanis like America less this year than last, the surveys also show that support for Al Qaeda and the Taliban has plummeted over the past 12 months. Some of the credit for that decline should go to U.S. public diplomacy and the efforts of the Pakistani government and civil society, but most of it, clearly, goes to the violent extremists themselves. Their attacks, such as the bombing of the Marriott in Islamabad, have helped turned Pakistanis overwhelmingly against them. … Even though American favorability in the UK is now near 70 percent, the Scots and Brits dissed Hillary Clinton and Obama by releasing the only man imprisoned in the bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockbie." Image from

Public Diplomacy in West Africa - Ren's Micro Diplomacy:

"Plans are in the works for an anti-extremist public diplomacy campaign in West Africa." Image from

U.S. Asserts Hemispheric Hegemony in Honduras - MSM Monitor: This Blog is/was dedicated to exposing the lies of AmeriKa's Main Stream Media: "Latest related: Whatever Happened in Honduras? And there are two notes here: 1) the lack of coverage of Honduras shows you it's an approved coup. There is no daily carping like with Iran and their election. Also note Afghanistan and the casual approach to that fraud, and 2) the U.S. supported this one on the sly so the public diplomacy kabuki is really distasteful to a thinking American."

Self-Censorship About Putin at Condé Nast GQ Magazine, Limited Coverage by U.S.-Taxpayer Funded Broadcasters – Ted Lipien, Blogger News Network: "In past years, U.S.-government-funded radio stations Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) would have provided quick translations of newsworthy articles which were censored in Russia. Their funding, however, has been greatly reduced in recent years by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a Federal agency managed by a group of bipartisan political appointees, who used the savings to pay for controversial radio and television projects in the Middle East ordered by the Bush Administration. Independent studies and surveys found these projects, such as Alhurra Television, to be both ineffective in attracting a wider audience and journalistically substandard. One such study conducted by The University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School determined that Alhurra TV has been a failure. The BBG tried to keep the Center on Public Diplomacy report secret but was eventually forced by Congressional and media criticism to make it available on its website." Image from

For talking to to Alhurra, Saudi prisoner's sentence is extended from death to death plus five years - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Lt. General Caldwell Examines the Use of Social Media – OS, The Interagent: "Lt. General William Caldwell

recently published a paper in Military Review's May-June edition. Entitled "Learning to Leverage New Media: The Israeli Defense Forces in Recent Conflicts," the document provides an insightful anlaysis into the use of new media in information warfare, using two recent Israeli wars (Lebanon in 2006, Gaza in 2008) as case studies. I had the opportunity to meet LG Caldwell at a conference on public diplomacy in West Point in '06. At the time, he was the spokesperson for Multi-National Force - Iraq; today, he is the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center. Both then and now, LG Caldwell understands the 'non-kinetic' aspects of warfare and recognizes their importance." Caldwell image from

Quite an Accomplishment - Jennifer Rubin, Commentary: "[T]he public sees the reaction of the Arab states, listens to Palestinian pronouncements that they will never recognize a 'Jewish state,' and now views Israelis’ predicament in a more sympathetic light. (In this regard, some of the credit certainly goes to Bibi Netanyahu, who has conducted some effective public diplomacy while fending off an increasingly hostile American approach.)"

Gordon Brown's damning character flaws have been laid bare: Evasive, indecisive and unpersuasive - how can such a Prime Minister govern, asks Matthew d'Ancona – Daily Telegraph: "General Gordon's Big Rhetorical Surge had been sabotaged in advance by the resignation of Eric Joyce, PPS to the Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth. Scarcely a mortal blow, it is true. … The fact that Mr Joyce is little known is neither here nor there. What matters … [is] his identification of a spectacular failure of public diplomacy."

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Erich Kunzel: A personal remembrance - Janelle Gelfand - news.cincinnati.com: "Over nearly 18 years of covering Kunzel’s shows, I’ve interviewed the music man in his office at Music Hall, in his living room, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and onstage at Carnegie Hall. If his entertainer persona was blustery and extroverted, I came to know that, in person, he was soft-spoken, thoughtful and gracious. …

His 89 Telarc albums made the Cincinnati Pops the most widely heard American orchestra on the air, and maybe, on the planet. Even before he took the orchestra to China in 2005, the Chinese were big fans because of CDs such as 'A Disney Spectacular.' On that China tour, Kunzel was all business, leading news conferences in each city, toasting dignitaries, and displaying grace under the pressure – even when TV cameras showed up a day early to tape a concert that would be seen by 1.4 billion Chinese. It was cultural diplomacy of the best kind, and Kunzel was visibly proud to be 'an ambassador for the city of Cincinnati, the state of Ohio and the country called the U.S. of A.'” Kunzel image from

Walt & El Grupo: New Doc Explores Disney's WWII Diplomacy – Steve Fritz, newsarama.com: "Mr. Roosevelt [FDR] came a calling, with a proposition that in the long run, did an incredible amount to reset the Disney empire. He proposed putting Disney and a number of his crew on a flight to South America, to meet and parlay with the talent down there. ...

On September 11, [Ted Thomas’] documentary Walt & El Grupo will be getting some reasonable distribution. It’s not just a tale for animation buffs. It’s also an incredible side note on the history of World War II, both for how an animator and his young compatriots did their more than their share to fight the good fight. … 'The big picture is the value of cultural diplomacy,' Thomas states. 'I don’t know if you’d expect me to say that, but I will tell you why. That’s because art and politics are often in opposition to each other, but they are the only things that really last in any culture.' Image from article: August 17, 1941: Walt Disney, his wife Lillian, and colleagues step off the plane in Rio de Janeiro at the start of a nine weeklong trip through Latin American countries.

Local arts leaders surprised, pleased at choice of Cockrell - Dan Goddard, San Antonio Express - "Only slight twinges of envy could be detected in local cultural leaders' reactions to former Mayor Lila Cockrell deciding to put her reputation and considerable political clout behind the San Antonio Museum of Art's plans to build a $9 million Latin American Art Center. Cockrell, 72,

announced Wednesday that she will be the director of marketing and development for the Museum of Art. … '[T]the Latin American Art Center really grabbed my attention. … [T]he art center could become an important institution for cultural diplomacy,' Cockrell said, as workmen hammered and sawed while preparing her new office at the Museum of Art." Cockrell image from

Hosseini to helm Iranian Culture Ministry Tehran Times: "Mohammad Hosseini was appointed the 8th Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance after the approval by Iran’s Majlis on Thursday September 3. … Last week, Hosseini presented his programs under the title of 'Lofty Art and Culture' to the majlis. … A part of his program reads … ‘we should institute a cultural diplomacy to assist in the promotion of art and culture.’”

Bringing Goodness to Rwanda – Michael Posner, Globe and Mail: "It's taken the better part of a year, but Toronto's Volcano Theatre is finally going to make it to Rwanda. After 11 months of assiduous fundraising and gifts of 250,000 Aeroplan miles from generous donors, the company's much-acclaimed production of Michael Redhill's Holocaust drama Goodness leaves for Kigali and Butare next month.…

Volcano artistic director Ross Manson, who also directed the play, had long hoped to take the project to Rwanda. But cuts made last year to PromArt, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's $4.7-million cultural-diplomacy program, put that plan in jeopardy. Now, after months of becoming what he calls 'the poster child' for the Harper government's arts cuts, Manson says he's just $10,000 short of the roughly $90,000 needed to gain liftoff." Image of play performed by Volcano from

RELATED ITEMS

Afghanistan isn't Obama's Vietnam – yet: There are differences between the two wars, but history could repeat itself if the president doesn't find ways to make the civilian side of the Kabul government work - Doyle McManus, latimes.com: The most important number to watch may not be Obama's troop increase but the "civilian surge" of advisors, aid workers, agricultural experts and anti-corruption investigators who are also moving into the country. Richard C. Holbrooke, the diplomatic heavyweight who's running the civilian effort, calls the approach "smart power." "We need to stop talking about 'smart power' as if we had it," said Anthony H. Cordesman, a civilian scholar. Image from

The Afghanistan Abyss - Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times: Sending more American troops into ethnic Pashtun areas in the Afghan south may only galvanize local people to back the Taliban in repelling the infidels. The solution is neither to pull out of Afghanistan nor to double down. Rather, we need to continue our presence with a lighter military footprint, limited to training the Afghan forces and helping them hold major cities, and ensuring that Al Qaeda does not regroup.

Pentagon denies vetting journalists in Afghanistan (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

In Afghanistan, Let's Keep It Simple - Ahmed Rashid, Washington Post: The Obama administration can come out of this quagmire if it aims low, targets the bad guys, builds a regional consensus, keeps the American public on its side and gives the Afghans what they really want -- just the chance to have a better life. There is no alternative but for the United States to remain committed to rebuilding a minimalist state in Afghanistan. Image from

Bankrupting the Taliban: Dry up the narcotics revenue that funds terror – Oliver North, Washington Times

Heritage fellow praises Saudi-owned Al Arabiya - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Iran: We've beaten Israeli propaganda – The Sydney Morning Herald

On Language: Channeling – William Safire, New York Times: When a Congolese student asked Hillary Clinton what her husband thought of a Chinese loan offer to Congo, she bristled and snapped: “My husband is not secretary of state. I am.” She went on to emphasize, “I am not going to be channeling my husband.” Although the awkward moment was quickly smoothed over by agreeing that the question had been mistranslated, The Associated Press reported that the official State Department translation read, “What does Mr. Clinton think through the mouth of Mrs. Clinton? ... ”

No wonder she took offense at such an imputation of channeling. Ambassador and special envoy Richard Holbrooke, when asked about how to measure success in Afghanistan, cited “the Supreme Court test for another issue: we’ll know it when we see it.” That referred to Justice Potter Stewart’s concurrence in the 1964 Jacobellis v. Ohio that “hard-core pornography” was hard to define, but “I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.” Image from