December 29

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"A Low, Dishonest Decade"

--Wall Street Journal columnist Thomas Frank, regarding the past ten years

"the noughties."

--A characterization of the 00’s that seems to have caught on in Britain

"what seems destined to remain a nameless decade"

--Columnist Anne Appelbaum, on the early 21st century

WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON OUR DECADE?

If you can think of a name for our nameless decade, why not send a suggestion via the "comments" section of this blog?

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Iran on Fire - James Carafano, heritage.org: “Protests against the regime in Tehran and its heavy-handed treatment of dissidents are growing. One of two things is going to happen. The regime is going to collapse or the mullahs are going to clamp down even harder and the government in Tehran is going to become more extremist and more dangerous.

The problem is that the White House is not well-prepared for either outcome. This administration is certainly not ready to engage with the people of Iran and nurture and support their quest for freedom. As Heritage’s expert on public diplomacy Helle Dale pointed out during protests after the national elections President Obama ‘carefully positioned himself on the fence between the alleged winner, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the candidate supported by Iran’s hundreds of thousands of protesters, Hossein Mousavi, the message from the U.S. government has been muted.’ Even if the White House was prepared to act it has done nothing to build the tools to do so. The administration has made virtually no progress in updating the government’s public diplomacy tools and the White House has show no interest in democracy promotion programs for Iran.” Image from

A New Paradigm for Engaging Somalia - Abukar Arman, Newstime Africa: “As was learned from the Iraq war, if you draw the devil in the walls long enough, the devil will eventually appear in person. Claim that Al-Qaida has found a base in Somalia long enough and that will surely become the case in due course; and that could ignite new problems and disasters in Somalia. If there is any wisdom to be gained out of this young 21st century it has to do with the costly lesson that 'hard power' (mainly military, technological, and economic) alone cannot sustain peace or political influence. Any effort intended for effective political problem-solving and conflict-resolution must be made of a mix that includes 'soft power' (public diplomacy, humanitarian and development aid, strategic educational campaigns, political and/or economic pressure). China uses this latter approach to expand its political influence around the world.”

Whether it's AQ or not, nobody in Arab media cares – Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy:

“Al-Qaeda's attempted acts of terrorism simply no longer carry the kind of persuasive political force with mass Arab or Muslim publics which they may have commanded in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Even as the microscopically small radicalized and mobilized base continues to plot and even to thrive in its isolated pockets, it has largely lost its ability to break out into mainstream public appeal. ... [COMMENT BY BLOG READER:] Again, I'm wondering what you are up to with a post which states so much of the obvious? Is this public diplomacy or something? You trying to convince US policy hacks that they need to forget about terrorism and focus on Gaza, or something? That does seem to be the driving force between most of your posts, and it has been for years, but why not just come out and say so? Why set up all these straw men?” Image from

A Classy American Show in New Shanghai – Patricia Kushlis, Whirled View: - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View: When I was in China in October, “I attended a performance by the Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem Alumnae Ensemble. ... If this were the Soviet Union when the US government had funds to send its top performing arts groups to Moscow, Leningrad and beyond, it is quite likely that such a trip would have not only had the imprimatur of the State Department or the US Information Agency but also been financed and arranged by it. ...

A follow-on trip which took 14 of the group to four other cities in China including Wuhan and Hubai was, at least, funded – and arranged by – the State Department and the US Mission in China. The Cultural Affairs Officer from the US Consulate General in Shanghai accompanied the singers ... . For a group that was considered high enough quality to perform during President Obama’s inaugural, this, it seems to me, is the minimum the federal government could and should have done. US government sponsored international arts programs – from the ill-named Art in Embassies program that confines paintings by American artists to Ambassadorial drawing rooms and hallways to selection of and funding for traveling American musicians and performers [-] needs to be rethought, redesigned, restructured and ultimately recapitalized.”

Afghanistan: NATO Treads SILK For Cyber Defence - Prakash Joshi, IDN InDepthNews Analysis That Matters: “NATO has been treading safely the Virtual Silk Highway (SILK). Named after the Great Silk Road trading route linking Asia and Europe, the cyber network was initiated in 2002 under the NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme that NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division (NATO-PDD) is managing. ’Experts are discussing plans for using the SILK-established networks for applications such as cyber defence and earthquake response,’ says a report posted on NATO website.

A critical role for the purpose has been assigned to VIZADA Networks of Norway and the Turkish Computer Emergency Response Team as well as the Geological Research Centre in Potsdam, Germany. The NATO C3 Agency and the Public Diplomacy Division of NATO have completed the signature process of the Letter of Agreement in support of the ‘SILK-Afghanistan’ project, another NATO report said on Dec. 21. ‘This is a significant step towards expanding broadband Internet connectivity for higher education throughout the provinces in Afghanistan.’ ... An expansion of the SILK network to Afghanistan has brought connectivity to 15 academic and governmental institutions in Kabul and will soon incorporate universities in seven Afghan provinces. NATO has invited IT experts from Afghan universities to participate in discussions on future steps, including the formation of a new supervisory board for the expansion project ‘SILK-Afghanistan’, says the report.NATO-PDD, through its Science for Peace and Security Programme, is assisting the Afghan authorities in paving the way for developing their educational system.” Image from

Cultural Relations Opportunity: A Few Weeks Left to Apply to TN2020 - Joshua S. Fouts, The Imagination Age: "Andrew Kneale just Tweeted that the British Council's Transatlantic 2020 Initiative (known as TN2020) is accepting applications for only another three weeks.

TN2020 a great opportunity for anyone with an interest in cultural relations or cultural diplomacy, not the least of which is an opportunity to be affiliated with the world's premiere cultural relations organization."

Mas gordo en Mexico – Paul Rockower, uscglobalhealth.blogspot.com: "While traveling through Mexico, it is hard not to notice the ubuiquity of cola. Signs are everywhere for ‘Tome lo bueno,’ have a coke. In part, soda is so popular because there isn´t always access to clean drinking water. But soda consumption also seems to be part of a socialized norm, albeit an unhealthy one.

Back to the overall problem of obesity in Mexico, the Mexican government has realized it has a problem and has begun carrying out a domestic public diplomacy campaign to get its citizens to lose weight. In 2008, the Calderon government announced the national campaign ‘Vamos por un Million de Kilos,’ Let´s lose a million pounds. ... That Mexico is aware of its weight problem and is carrying out a public diplomacy campaign is a good first step, but it will take some serious work to shed the added kilos and socialize a real lifestyle change.”

Deep in the heart of Mayastan – Paul Rockower, Levantine: “I was leaving Mayabad. Wanting to get off the gringo trail, I opted not to take the gringo shuttle to Coban, but rather via various buses and combis. ... Another 2 hours passed, as we passed sleepy little pueblos and people walking on the side of the highway, carrying baskets on their heads and babies slung to their backs in bright woven fabrics. ... I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and smiled with traveler´s glee as I chatted with la gente and did good public diplomacy work on behalf of the US. You wouldn´t believe what pd a gringo without a gringo accent can do”.

Obama Administration Hangs Rosenthal Out to Dry for Criticism of Oren - Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: " Richard Silverstein says: December 28, 2009 at 2:48 PM George Bush appointed Karen Hughes as a sort of anti Islamophobia czar and called her a public diplomacy officer.

Of course the ploy didn’t work because she had no serious policy to sell, not to mention she was ignorant about the Middle East and Islam.” Image from

RELATED ITEMS

USC offers America 101 for foreign students: A special 12-week class helps students from overseas adjust to life and lingo in L.A.

- Larry Gordon, latimes.com: To succeed academically, the theory goes, foreign students must also adjust culturally and socially to their new surroundings. These are some of the topics: What are tailgate parties? What are baby vegetables? To whom should you give Christmas gifts? Is it an insult to call someone a couch potato? When should you call police in emergencies? Image from

Explosive in Detroit terror case could have blown hole in airplane, sources say - Carrie Johnson, Washington Post: Authorities said there was no reason to suspect Nigerian student Umar FaroukAbdulmutallab of dangerous activity until his father visited the embassy in Abuja on Nov. 19. The next day, under a program called Visa Viper, mandated by Congress to ensure all terrorism-related information is promptly reported to Washington, the embassy sent a cable saying the father was "concerned that his son was falling under the influence of religious extremists in Yemen," a State Department official said. The State Department, under existing procedures, passed the Viper information to the National Counterterrorism Center for entry in its terrorism database. Neither the State Department nor the NCTC, officials said Monday, checked to see if Abdulmutallab had ever entered the United States or had a valid entry visa -- information readily available in separate consular and immigration databases. "It's not for us to review that," the State Department official said.

Forecast for repressive regimes in the 'Teens' - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, the focus of U.S. foreign policy for the past decade, looks more and more like a major nuisance

-- albeit one that keeps coming at us in different forms from different countries -- rather than a coherent threat. Image from

U.S. and allies must detain Afghan prisoners - Max Boot, Washington Post: The United States, Canada and other nations need to overcome their squeamishness about detentions.

Iran’s War on Its People - Editorial, New York Times: President Obama is right to remain open to dialogue with Iran and to continue looking for a peaceful resolution to the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. He is also right to condemn the violence against Iranian civilians and to place the United States on their side, as he did in his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize and in comments on Monday.

Iran's turning point –

Editorial, Washington Post: More than ever, the Obama administration and other Western governments must tailor their policies toward Iran to reflect the centrality of the Green Movement's fight for freedom. While diplomatic contact with the regime need not be broken off entirely, by now it should be obvious that it cannot produce significant results -- and might serve to shore up a tottering dictatorship. Image from

Obama denies crotch bomber conspiracy – Editorial, Washington Times: Terrorists work through highly dispersed, decentralized cell structures that are designed to be difficult to track. Investigators probably won't find an operations order signed by Osama bin Laden directing an attack on Flight 253, but it is easy to connect the dots. Minimizing the threat won't make it go away. As recent history has shown, it may embolden the terrorists to keep trying.

AMERICANA: Weekly World News on Google Books