April 10

“73 percent unable to directly communicate with the country's people.”

--Reporter Joe Davidson, The Washington Post, regarding the language skills of US Foreign Service officers serving in Afghanistan; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Analysis: Obama refocuses his diplomacy: On the hard issues of nuclear arms, Kyrgyzstan and Iran, Obama has quietly shifted away from the applause of public diplomacy - C.M. Sennott, GlobalPost: "For the first 14 months of his presidency Obama focused on public diplomacy, on taking his message to the people of the world. The message was received with standing ovations from Cairo to Oslo. But now there is a noticeable and profound shift in strategy in which Obama is getting down to the harder work of statecraft. To put it in the language of the president’s favorite game, he’s gone from a zone defense to man-to-man. And he’s going to need a game-changing strategy to succeed in at least one fateful diplomatic challenge that lies ahead, which is securing an international agreement for tougher sanctions against Iran. The image of Obama in Prague sitting at a table signing a nuclear arms treaty with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, is an example of the kind of tangible success this more direct and conventional diplomatic approach can deliver. ... All of the diplomatic initiatives on issues such as arms treaties, Kyrgyzstan and Iran interlock — this is precisely the difficult equation that Obama has to solve in the weeks ahead as the issue of Iran and sanctions is expected to come to a head. This kind of chess-game diplomacy

is a far cry from Obama’s first year in office and the more theatrical oratory and great crowds that he appealed to with a new message of hope and change." Image from

Confucius to Their Enemies: China's Investment in Public Diplomacy - Helle Dale, Heritage.org: "Anyone who doubts the value of money spent on competition in the world of ideas – a key aspect of public diplomacy – needs to take a look at what the Chinese are doing in this field. Aspiring to promote their own model of governance, in opposition to that of the United States and the West, the Chinese are investing heavily in making friends overseas. Indeed, there is a real danger of the United States being out-done, for reasons of limited resources and a lack of strategy. The Chinese have both in spades. ... [T]he idea that the United States cannot afford what China can afford is preposterous — with an economy three times that of the Chinese, it is hardly a matter of money. The problem here is priorities and access. In the FY 2011 budget, the U.S. State Department has asked for a modest $14.5 million to fund 8-10 American cultural centers – to serve the entire globe. And of course China does not allow the openness for the United States to partner with existing academic institutions. Since the end of the Cold War and the demise of the United States Information Agency, public diplomacy as an arm of U.S. foreign policy has received short shrift, the primacy of Western ideas being taken for granted. That is not good enough anymore."

Brazil Seeks New Balance in US Relations - ‎Eric Ehrmann, Huffington Post:

"Advertising posters on the sides of Manhattan bus shelters are part of a new campaign to help Americans understand Brazil. And with a new defense agreement just inked and regional issues taking on greater importance Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Journalism Wednesday hosted Brazil Corporate Communications Day. These events couldn't have come at a better time. Over the past year China replaced the United States as Brazil's top trade partner, the World Trade Organization awarded Brazil the right to impose up to $830 million in sanctions in a cotton subsidies dispute and Hillary Clinton's State Department launched a public diplomacy campaign critical of president Lula's foreign policy." Image from

Language proficiency is Foreign Service's 'greatest challenge,' Negroponte says - Joe Davidson, Washington Post: "Although the quantity of State Department and Agency for International Development officers has increased steadily in recent years, serious gaps in their number and foreign language proficiency remain. The 'greatest challenge,' according to [US diplomat John] Negroponte, is the need for officers who can speak the languages of the world. 'There is no substitute,' said the multilingual Negroponte, 'for recruiting, training, deploying, retaining and retraining,' officers in languages and geography so they 'develop the contacts, the knowledge, the insight, the local and area expertise' needed to help develop America's foreign policy. But State isn't meeting that challenge well enough, according to the Government Accountability Office. In September, it said the department needs a comprehensive plan to address "persistent foreign language shortfalls."

Center Helps Iraqi Media Maintain Independence - Staff Sgt. Christopher Carney, Systems: "The Wasit Independent Media Center, in Kut,

is a non-governmental organization working toward a competent media able to perform independent of political and business influence. Located in Wasit Province, the WIMC involves representatives of media outlets throughout the province, including broadcasters, newspapers and magazine groups. Most media in the province is affiliated with the group. 'Their function is to help support and to build upon the independent media that already exists,' said Steve Smith, Public Diplomacy Officer with the U.S. State Department's Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team." Image from

[Relatively Recent PD-related Articles on PD] - Public Diplomacy Ideas:

Mitigate Foreign Influence Within U.S. Borders - Michael Walsh: “In the 21st century, U.S. public diplomacy must not be constrained by artificial geographic boundaries. The U.S. needs to engage foreigners living in the United States as well as mitigate foreign actors seeking to influence our citizens from abroad.”
Cultural Exchange Web 2.0 Site - Michael Walsh : “The Department of State should develop a vibrant cultural exchange site that enables Americans to introduce their culture to foreigners on a personal level.“
Realize the Full Potential of Students and Young Professionals - Michael Walsh:

"The United States is fortunate to possess a wealth of talented graduate students and young professionals who are pursuing careers in public diplomacy. However, it is often difficult for these students to find careers in government service related to public diplomacy. This is due to a number of reasons, including the decentralization of public diplomacy roles throughout the Federal Government following the demise of the USIA." Image from
Send Public Diplomacy Officers Out Among the Locals - lindsey.douthit: “When public diplomacy officers are relegated only to their desks within U.S. compounds, they lack the opportunities to network within their host country and shape the American narrative.”
Forum for Citizen Suggested Aid Projects - maxentman
Public/Private Fund for Citizen Diplomacy Programs - st.cpdu4

More about VOA, BBG, NSC, the firewall, and calling Iran's jamming "jamming" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

RFE/RL president writes about corruption and foreign troops in Afghanistan - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Alhurra's Al Youm: five bureaus, and so far no blank feeds - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting:

"What makes [Alhurra news program] Al Youm different from Alhurra’s other programmes is that it’s an in-region television programme. 'Only one of its bureaus is in the US (Washington, DC); the other four bureaus are all from the Middle East. This creates an intimate regional feel to the programme. It’s not a matter of having Springfield, Virginia, staff produce a programme that covers the Middle East from afar. That’s what is important because they know the region and understand its issues,' [executive producer Fran Mires] adds. A point of great pride for Mires is that not once has the live feed gone blank, quite an accomplishment for a live programme with five bureaus." Raziqueh Hussain, Khaleej Times (Dubai), 9 April 2010." Image: Sida Al Hurra by Genzoman

Insurgent groups in Somalia ban BBC, VOA, and music on FM radio stations - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Notes on Social Media & Public Diplomacy – John Matel, World-Wide-Matel: "Social media will become increasingly important as components in the toolbox of public diplomacy, but it will never be a standalone technique. Social media can support programs, but it never can be the program itself. The medium is not the message."

E-diplomacy: online discussion, events in main diplomatic centers, Malta Conference. NGOs involved in Climate e-diplomacy - sustainabilitank.info: "Brussels Launch of E-DIPLOMACY Initiative - You are invited to the launch of our e-diplomacy initiative to be held on 14 April 2010 (13.00 – 14.30) at the Permanent Representation of Malta to the European Union (25, Rue Archimede, 1000 Brussels).

The Internet is part of any diplomat’s daily routine: e-mail is used for communication; collaborative spaces are used for discussion; Wikipedia is used for finding information; and blogs are used for public diplomacy. Do we optimise our use of e-tools? Can e-tools help us to work smarter, not harder? What can we learn from each other? How can we manage the possible risks related to online communication? These and other questions will be discussed as we hear from practitioners including Dr Jovan Kurbalija (Founding Director of DiploFoundation) and Stefano Baldi (Italian diplomat and a pioneer in the field of e-diplomacy)." Image: State eDiplomacy Office meeting with Craig Newmark

The most important aspect of the new diplomacy… - Mario, The New Diplomacy 2010 D: "There are a few aspects of the new diplomacy which differentiate the new diplomacy from the traditional diplomacy and certainly it is hard to pick up or concentrate just on one of them. Those are - just briefly – multilateral diplomacy; public diplomacy; inclusion of 'low politics' and the individuals into diplomacy; special envoys; and influences of the globalization."

RELATED ITEMS

The true fiasco exposed by Wikileaks - Matt Armstrong - MountainRunner.us: You are probably already familiar with the Wikileaks-edited video released April 5 of the 2007 airstrike in which a number of people were killed, including armed and unarmed men as well as two employees of the news agency Reuters. As of this writing, the initial instance of the edited version of the video titled "Collateral Murder" on YouTube is over 5 million views, not including reposts of the video by others using different YouTube accounts, and, according to The New York Times, "hundreds of times in television news reports." An unedited and not subtitled version upload by Wikileaks to YouTube, in contrast, has less 630,000, reflecting the lack of promotion of this version. This video represents the advantages and disadvantages of social media in that highly influential content is easily propagated for global consumption. The persistency provided by the Internet means it will always be available and easily repurposed. Further, this situation highlights the ability to suppress unwanted information, both by the propagandist (omission of information) and by the supporter (removing an adversarial perspective). Lastly, the official response to this video shows the Defense Department still has a long way to go in understanding and operating in this new global information environment.

Aquinas, Obama, and the Propaganda War to Annihilate Israel - Jeanette Pryor, David Horowitz's NewsReal Blog: “Acts proceed from essence.” According to Aquinas,

we can know the nature of a principle by observing the acts that flow from it. Crucial time and effort could be saved by applying this rule when analyzing the policies of Barack Obama. President Obama’s actions will disarm and deform the two most significant democracies in the world, America and Israel, in order to replace them with radicalized Marxist states. Aquinas image from

Beijing resets relations with the Internet - Iain Mills, Asia Times: "Beijing's attempts to regulate and control the content and language of the Internet have ranged from the draconian to the absurd. However, as it struggles to maintain its own propaganda line in an ever more information-rich society, so an increasingly contradictory position is emerging in terms of how the Internet is depicted by officials and the domestic media."

N. Korea warns S. Korea over propaganda activities – Yonhap: North Korea's military warned Saturday that it would take "necessary measures" if South Korea does not draw up plans to prevent propaganda activities such as sending leaflets to the communist state.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist."


--Brazil's Cardinal Dom Helder Camara; Camara image from