January 22

"For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America."

--George W. Bush; image from

Gates’ Trust-Building Task In Pakistan Hits A Bump - NPR: “Pakistan’s army delivered a tough message Thursday to the Obama administration: No new military offensives against al-Qaida and the Taliban for at least six months. The announcement came as Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a visit to Islamabad for talks aimed at cementing the relationship and pushing Pakistan to expand its military campaign. ... Gates continues his public diplomacy tour Friday with an address to Pakistani military officers. He says he wants to forge an 'even closer' relationship with Pakistan. ‘I just think it’s useful to open a dialogue,’ he said.” Below Gates image from



Gates says propaganda tainting US image in Pakistan - Summary - press release, Earthtimes: "US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that 'an organized propaganda campaign' was under way to taint Pakistani people's perceptions of the United States while assuring the South Asian country that ties between the two nations were based on 'common interests and mutual respect.' 'The United States does not want to covet a single inch of Pakistani soil,' Gates told Pakistani military officers at the National Defence University while on a visit to Islamabad."

Hillary Clinton unveils Af-Pak regional stabilisation strategy - Daily News & Analysis: “According to the plan released by the state department, the US has committed sizeable resources for high-impact projects to address the most challenging needs of the Afghans and Pakistanis, energy and water. The other thrust is to sustain and expand counter insurgency assistance to Pakistan military, police and intelligence operations against militant groups, leadinternational humanitarian assistance to re-settle displaced Pakistanis and boost public diplomacy for more people-to-people contact.” See also.

Recalling History: the rising importance of people and public opinion - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us: "It was a year ago that President Obama - Mr. Public Diplomacy who fully understood the importance of grassroots engagement – was inaugurated with great fanfare, but where are we today?"

VOA Persian News Network and Radio Farda interview Iranian diplomat who resigned in protest, and other Iran media news - Kim Andrew Elliott Reporting on International Broadcasting

US-Georgia Talks on People-to-People Contacts - Civil Georgia: “Georgian and U.S. officials met in Tbilisi on January 21 to discuss expanding people-to-people and cultural exchange programs as envisaged by Charter on Strategic Partnership between to two countries signed in January, 2009. A working group on people-to-people contacts is one of those four bilateral groups, which are addressing priority areas identified by the Charter.

Security, democracy and economic development are three other areas. U.S.-Georgian bilateral working groups on security and democracy held their first meetings in Tbilisi in October and November, respectively. Expanding education exchange programs and English-language trainings, as well as issues related with promoting economic, social and cultural integration of ethnic minorities within Georgia were discussed during the session, said Spencer Boyer, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state in charge of public diplomacy and public affairs.” Image from

The Age of Affirmation - Miller-McCune.com: "A new study suggests that viewers worldwide turn to particular broadcasters to affirm — rather than inform — their opinions. It's a notion familiar to those dismayed by the paths blazed by cable news networks FOX and MSNBC — although the study finds one (perhaps unlikely) network may actually foster greater intellectual openness. The study in the December issue of Media, War & Conflict by Shawn Powers, a fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and Mohammed el-Nawawy, an assistant professor in the department of communication at Queens University of Charlotte, found that the longer viewers had been watching Al Jazeera English, the less dogmatic they were in their opinions and therefore more open to considering alternative and clashing opinions. ... Powers and el-Nawawy point out that satellite television, first introduced to the Arab world during the 1991 Gulf War, altered both the structure of the global news media system and its role in times of war. Although the invention had the potential to provide a truly global forum for cross-cultural communication, the researchers found that audiences around the world increasingly turn to broadcasters not for new world news, but for information that fits within their pre-existing worldviews."

US Travel Industry Challenges Government to Complement New Security: U.S. Travel Industry Challenges Government to Complement New Security Requirement with Equal Commitment to Aiding Travelers More than 2,000 Travelers per Day to the United States and Nearly $5 Billion at Stake without Sensible ESTA Implementation - Hotel Interactive, Inc. "The U.S. Travel Association today expressed disappointment that the U.S. government was mandating usage of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) without an effective plan to achieve full enrollment in the program. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will fine airlines that board a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) traveler without an ESTA beginning March 20, following a 60-day grace period. As result of this new policy, thousands of travelers who pose no security risk could be denied boarding on U.S.-bound flights by airlines starting today. ... ‘New ESTA requirements are just the latest example of the critical need for a standing communications capability to reach international travelers,’

said Dow [Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association]. ‘The Travel Promotion Act would enable our country to better communicate with travelers about security changes and ensure that this critical aspect of our economy thrives. Unintentionally making the United States a less desirable place to visit for business, study or leisure will hinder our economic recovery and our public diplomacy efforts around the world.’” Dow image from

DCA Academic Lecture Series: Wimbush talks Asia's 'emerging crucible' - Darien Times - ‎“From 1987 to 1993, he [S. Enders Wimbush, senior vice president for International Programs and Policies of the Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C] served on the frontlines of America’s public diplomacy efforts as director of Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany.”