April 8

"Thank God for the Cold War, and thank God it turned out the right way."

--Nuclear weapons expert Paul Nitze; cited in Nicholas Thompson, The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War (2009), p. 312; image from

VIDEO

Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People - YouTube

Below images: Soviet Board Games (1920s-30s)

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Replace Karzai, or Get Our Troops Out - Tony Blankley, Real Clear Politics: "Last week, Mr. Obama made a surprise visit to Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan. The White House did not release the transcript of the conversation between the two presidents. But conveniently, while en route to Kabul, Mr. Obama's National Security Adviser Gen. James L. Jones, who was traveling with the president, went on the record with the prediction that Mr. Obama would (as reported by the Times) 'pressure Karzai about corruption in governance and (would) tell Karzai that he had made no progress on this front since his Nov. 19 inauguration.'

And this week, the product of this careful six months of public diplomacy by the Obama administration bore its predictable fruit. The New York Times headlined its story on Mr. Karzai's reaction: 'Karzai's Words Leave Few Choices for the West.' ... The Obama administration has publicly humiliated and undercut our 'local partner' to the extent that we can no longer influence or improve him. Unless our government is prepared to replace him (highly unlikely) -- we ought to get out before more of our troops get killed."

Send In the Professors - Karim Altaii, New York Times: "[T]he United States is carrying out a number of commendable educational initiatives in Iraq. For example, a youth exchange program enables 50 Iraqi students to come to the United States each year. The new Fulbright Visiting Scholarship Program for Iraq will allow more than two dozen Iraqi professors to spend time at American universities. And the Iraqi Virtual Science Library program provides Iraqi faculty members and professionals access to international journals at reduced cost. But these American exchange programs have allowed only about 200 Iraqi professors to study abroad over the past seven years. Other countries have been far more involved in rebuilding Iraq’s higher education system. Qatar has supported the training of more than 300 Iraqi faculty members since 2003, while 450 Iraqi medical practitioners have received training in Britain since 2007. Clearly, the United States must do more to live up to the 2008 Strategic Framework Agreement, which called for Iraq and the United States to 'promote and facilitate cooperation and coordination in the field of higher education and scientific research.' Resurrecting Iraq’s damaged system of higher education would help give the country’s long-suffering people a sense of normalcy as well as the tools to build a better future."

Respectfully Yours: Dalia Mogahed may be the most influential figure guiding the Obama Administration’s Middle East outreach. But does the approach she champions actually work? - Lee Smith, Tablet Magazine: "The most important person shaping the Obama Administration’s Middle East message isn’t Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, Dennis Ross, Joe Biden, or Rahm Emanuel. Rather, it’s a Cairo-born mother of two named Dalia Mogahed. 'I had a lot of input on framing different issues for the President’s Cairo speech,' Mogahed, a 34-year-old chemical engineer-turned-pollster for the Gallup Organization, told me recently. Mogahed, who holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Pittsburgh, was appointed by the president last year to sit on the Advisory Council of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, which drafted a memo to the president’s speechwriters that helped to shape the president’s famous address to the Muslim world. ...

Mogahed’s research sparked some controversy with the publication of a book she co-authored with John L. Esposito, founding director of Georgetown University’s Prince Alwaleed Bin-Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. The 2009 book Who Speaks for Islam? ... set out to prove that the vast majority of the world’s Muslims are moderate by nature. Yet it was hard for many readers to be comforted by the news that only 7 percent of the respondents answered that 9/11 was completely justified. ... Some in Washington see Mogahed and Esposito as whitewashing the problem posed by the growing power and influence of radical Islamists and view it as part of a larger context of the Obama Administration’s public diplomacy efforts. 'There’s nothing wrong with outreach to Muslims,' says WINEP’s Executive Director Robert Satloff. 'Executed intelligently, such outreach may be quite useful. The problem is that the same eagerness for outreach has not been matched by an eagerness to counter Islamic extremism. Outreach and counter-radicalization are not the same thing, and we have not seen this Administration meet this latter challenge with the same vigor.'

The Missing Lever: Information Activities against Iran - میز تخصصی آمریکا شناسی - http://usastudies.blogfa.com/ "As part of U.S. efforts to convince Iran that nuclear weapons will undermine rather than enhance its security, Washington must become more effective at integrating public affairs, information operations, and public diplomacy specialists into its regional activities. ... The absence of a robust and sophisticated strategic communication campaign that can provide added leverage remains the principal shortcoming of U.S. policy toward Iran. There is no guarantee that such a campaign—in tandem with various diplomatic, economic, and military measures—would cause Tehran to halt its nuclear enrichment program or abandon other problematic policies. But any U.S. strategy that lacks a strong informational component will almost certainly fail. ... For this reason, the United States must strengthen its capabilities in the informational domain—the most undervalued component of America’s efforts to engage Iran, support the opposition, and counter the regime’s power and influence."

US embassy, Comium partner to build library in support for Gambia’s educational sector - Modou Baldeh, TODAY Newspaper - "The United States Embassy in Banjul has partnered with Comium Gambia Ltd to boost the education sector in The Gambia through the establishment of a library called the American Corner. The library will provide students and the general public with books as well as internet access and educative movie shows. The library is located at the Comium building along Kairaba Avenue. Speaking at the inauguration of the American Corner, Mr. Barry L Wells, the US ambassador to The Gambia said there are currently 77 American corners in Sub Saharan Africa and 400 throughout the world.

He said American Corners are partnerships between the public diplomacy sections of US embassies and host institutions. According to him, the American Corners provide access to current and reliable information and access to educational material. 'In short, a typical American Corner serves as a small public library. The multi-media section, book and periodical collections are open to all. With our partner Comium, we will offer programs, events, and other activities such as author readings, films, speakers, workshops, meetings, and exhibits. Within a short time you will see this corner become a community center for all those interested in learning,' he said. He commended Comium, specifically Mr. Amer Atwi, the managing director of the mobile telecommunications company, for his positive response when the American Embassy sought to collaborate with the company on the community project. He said they had approached several other businesses last December and January but it was only Comium which responded favorably to the idea of an open-access educational center."

China 60, U.S. 0: Culture centers in other's country - Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times: "Members of Congress have urged China, which has set up 60 cultural centers in the United States, to allow more than the four American centers it says can operate in China — a limit analysts attribute to Beijing's fear that those centers would promote human rights. Obama administration officials say they are aware of congressional concerns about the imbalance and the disparity in cultural and political influence it can bring. Even if the Chinese restrictions were eased, however, the State Department has no funds to match what China is spending on those projects, the officials say. The Chinese centers, known as Confucius institutes, are housed by U.S. universities or other schools and operate as partnerships. Their heads usually are American faculty members, not necessarily of Chinese heritage, and they specialize in language training, arts, educational and cultural programs. No U.S. cultural centers currently exist in China — the American Embassy in Beijing has a cultural section — and the planned institutions will be stand-alone entities funded entirely by the U.S. government, a State Department official said. … The State Department official said the administration has asked for $14.5 million to open public diplomacy centers, but no decisions have been made about where they will be located or how many of them will be in China. He acknowledged that part of their mission will be to help explain and promote U.S. policies, though he used the phrase "engaging with foreign publics." … "The U.S. centers are much more explicitly associated with the U.S. government, but on the other hand, they both have the same function, which is public diplomacy and outreach, and trying to present a version of the respective country," said Dean Cheng, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. See also John Brown, China's Public Diplomacy: Have You Ever Tried to Call the Chinese Embassy?, Huffington Post

This time, quite literally: Inside the USA Pavilion at Expo 2010 – Adam Minter, Shangai Scrap: After a year of kvetching and moaning about the USA pavilion for Expo 2010 (World’s Fair), this afternoon Shanghai Scrap finally had the opportunity to go inside the nearly complete pavilion, and have a look at how – precisely – the US will be representing itself to China, and the world, beginning May 1. ... [T]he USA pavilion is, in fact, a movie theater. Or, rather, a series of movie theaters. The films and videos that will be shown on ... screens will constitute the pavilion’s programming. ... Rather than experience a USA pavilion that exhibits American ingenuity, creativity, and accomplishment, I saw a pavilion that represents an America that spends too much time watching TV.

In that sense, it’s no surprise that visitors will finish their double-theater movie-going experience by exiting via an exhibition hall that serves – for all intents and purposes – as a word from our sponsors. ... If you’re at all interested in how the US ended up exhibiting this particular face at the premier public diplomacy opportunity of 2010, you can find a summation of my theories, here, or take a look at some of the source documents, here."

Russia's Public Diplomacy: Have You Ever Tried to Call the Russian Embassy? - Laura McGinnis, ManIC: "Not long ago, in the Huffington Post, John Brown lamented the difficulty of trying to reach the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. My own attempts to contact the Russian embassy have been similarly frustrating. I'm working on a paper about Russian PD in the United States, and I'd hoped to include some first-hand information on the embassy--so I decided to try to set up a meeting. ... The embassy's website is in decent shape. The links work, the translations are good, the layout is modern, and the press releases in the 'Latest News' section are all from this week. But every time I called the number on the website, I got a busy signal. ... Today I decided to storm the embassy. Leaving my derelicte-style grad fashions in the closet, I dusted off my glad rags and set out for the Northwest quadrant. The embassy is an imposing building, made all the more inviting by a thick iron fence. A barrier greets cars with the welcoming message: STOP. Undaunted, I marched up to the gate and pressed a buzzer. A voice greeted me in Russian. 'Hi,' I said. 'Hello,' said the voice. I explained that I'd like to speak with somebody at the front desk. There was silence. I waited for a response, or for somebody to materialize and open the gate, or for a buzzer to sound, indicating that I could enter. Nothing. I waited a few minutes, strolled around the gate to see if there was another entrance, then tried again. This time, nobody even responded to the buzzer. After several long minutes in the balmy D.C. sunshine, I gave up and headed to campus."

Misunderstood China on image building blitz with shift in stance - Nilova Roy Chaudhury, The Himalayan: "Having arrived at a juncture where it finds itself immensely powerful and directly able to influence a wide variety of global events, China finds itself somewhat friendless and its intentions much misunderstood.

'public diplomacy’ and Iranian regime: State Propaganda: A Blunt Knife? - Mehdi Khalaji, tehranreview.net: In a meeting with Iranian diplomats on March 3rd, 2010, Supreme Leader ayatollah Khamenei talked about 'powerful diplomacy' and added: 'Public diplomacy is a novelty of the Islamic Republic and should be better acknowledged.' 'Public diplomacy' instead of 'state propaganda' is a phrase that has been adopted by some of Iran’s politicians and government-affiliated institutes. As the phrase came to be used more often, there was also the claim that 'public diplomacy' was one the inventions of ayatollah Khomeini. Hamid Molana, an advisor to president Ahmadinejad in US affairs, said: 'Our best diplomats, who have excelled in public diplomacy, are the Supreme Leader and Mr. President.’' He added that 'diplomacy in the West is still the Cold War.' It is not really clear how someone like Mr. Molana, who thinks 'public diplomacy' is one of ayatollah Khomeini’s inventions, understands the concept. However, it is very unlikely that those who are making such claims about the origins of the phrase are not aware of its American origins in the 1960s – years before the Islamic Revolution. It seems such claims are in fact themselves part of the Islamic regime’s 'public diplomacy.' The Islamic Republic is built on a limited and dogmatic ideology, which, like those adhering to it, tries to prove it is the source of all good, whereas all that is bad stems from its enemies. If 'public diplomacy' is indeed a good thing, it cannot possibly be the result of someone else’s mind, especially not an American one, and it definitely must have its roots in Islamic traditions or in the words or conduct of the leaders of the Islamic regime. In such an ideology, being “native” is being right and true. ... In fact, the Iranian leaders’ discovery of the 'public diplomacy' phenomenon and its importance also has its roots in their competition with the US. The amateurish and ludicrous use of the phrase is just another propaganda tool against America. In truth, they do not really need to use the phrase, neither in words nor in actions. What they are looking for in this new-found expression is their own old ways of disseminating state propaganda. To understand what the Western notion of public diplomacy really is, we need to look at all the books and essays published about the subject in America."

Turkey hopes to grow economic ties and influence within Middle East - Janine Zacharia, Washington Post: "Turkey ... is also looking to export some of its cultural influence.

In recent years, the country has had about 30 television shows broadcast across the Arab world. Kivanc Tatlitug, a popular soap opera star, has been so effective at promoting Turkey's interests and tourism in the region that during Foreign Minister Davutoglu's recent visit to Bulgaria, 'there was a question whether Turkey, as a government, is promoting these series as propaganda,' Davutoglu said. It is, he said, one thing the government is not doing."

Israeli mismanagement of the crisis in Turkish-Israeli relations - Kerim Baci, Today’s Zaman: Israel is failing in its 'hasbara' -- public diplomacy -- activities in and about Turkey."

Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Conference on Good Governance, Peace, Security and Development - quatero: "Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa Conference on Good Governance, Peace, Security and Development Advocacy for Ethiopia (AFE) and the Ethiopian National Priorities Consultative Process (ENPCP) have been patiently observing the recent activities of Meles Zenawi and his cronies in Washington D.C. The Zenawi regime has been aggressively campaigning to disrupt the upcoming Conference to be held in Washington D.C. from April 9 to 11.

The regime is using various tactics:- including harassment and intimidation of individuals who trace their origin to Ethiopia and sending misleading information about the Conference’s objectives to sponsors and speakers.. In short, the Government of Meles Zenawi is engaged in activities that are incompatible with the diplomatic accreditation that is granted pursuant to the Geneva agreement on this matter. Their activities are dangerous to the Ethiopian American community. They are breaking ethical standards of public diplomacy and information dissemination."

On Saudi Arabia, camels, and... The Whopper! – Lena, Global Chaos: "Despite selling real bad food, I didn't know Burger King can be consciously selling a real bad image of the US, too. An NPR program today directed me to the following BK ads meant to be run in the Gulf region. They depict two young Arab (most probably, Saudi) men having Whoppers with two, totally clueless American young women. These are just 30 second, and believe me, they are worth seeing. ... According to an article on Global Post, the ads [see] were developed by the Dubai-based Tonic Communications, specifically for the BK's Gulf Region franchise.* Given that BK is a business looking to maximize profits, it would also be safe to assume that the advertising agency has done its marketing research and is attempting - at the very least - to strike a cord with its target audience. If this is indeed the case, then, there comes the inevitable question: is this the image that Arabs (especially the young population - the one BK would be trying to reach, and the one the US considers SO important) have of the Americans? So much for public diplomacy."

Thanks, Burger King for this amazing public diplomacy campaign - Katharine Keith, A World Not Our Own: A Public Diplomacy Blog: "Burger King's new ad campaign for Saudi Arabia. As if American's needed any more help with their image as ignorant cowboys. [Includes videos.]"

Seoul BBQ, Korea Times & Food Will Win the War - Paul Rockower, Levantine: "After an angel-and-devil brainstorming session for our new APDS conference (Transnational Advocacy Networks and Public Diplomacy- gonna be good....), I grabbed some korean tacos at Seoul BBQ truck. Wonderful korean tacos. ... Meanwhile, the Korea Times published my piece on Korean Tacos and Kimchi Diplomacy!"

Model Nation™‎ - Globe and Mail: "Excerpted from Branding Canada: Projecting Canada’s Soft Power through Public Diplomacy, by Evan H. Potter, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 368 pages. ... [D]isappearing from international communications is tantamount to relinquishing sovereignty and, therefore, national security.

For this reason, the process of one government informing, understanding and persuading citizens in other countries – public diplomacy – is now at least as important as the classic diplomacy of communication between governments. Classic, or quiet, diplomacy is not being devalued; privileged government to-government communications have always existed and always will. What has changed in the last thirty years is not that classic diplomacy has disappeared but that public forms of diplomacy have become increasingly recognized as vital for addressing the many pressing international challenges, such as the spread of infectious diseases or the need for sustainable development, that require public input and co-operation."

The American Workplace: Sweatshop USA‎ - Vi Ransel, Center for Research on Globalization: "[T]he 'opulent minority' of shareholders and their corporations are not held to account for the results of their policy-making; for shamelessly exploiting the poor; for polluting the environment on a massive, industrial scale; for callously selling products that maim, injure and kill; for buying our representatives via 'one dollar, one vote;' nor for colonizing defenseless countries backed by the obese power of the US military in order to extract their labor and resources for next to nothing. …

And all the while they pretend to be protecting us from an enemy without, while using sophisticated Public Diplomacy developed for use against foreign populations; advertising created by PhDs in human psychology to press our fear and greed buttons; and corporate-owned information distributed by corporate-owned media to prevent us from recognizing that the 'opulent minority' is the enemy within, our homegrown, economic terrorists, who continue to rape us as our 'representatives' stand by, looking from the side, taking a payoff to let them do it. This propaganda is so effective that after 30 years of voodoo economics, 'free' market fundamentalism, and harsh, neoliberal SAPs, most of us still can't, or still refuse to, see who the enemy really is."

Public Relations, Public Affairs, Public Diplomacy - Deirdre Blanke, CC608: Public Affairs: "Throughout this semester I have been trying to come up with my own definition for Public Relations, Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy. ... My perception is in public relations decisions are decided based on the business, in public affairs decisions are based on local or national politics depending on the situation, but public diplomacy is more based on decisions on a national and international political level."

Because you are dying to know... - Life After Jerusalem -- The Musings Of A Two-Spirit American Indian, Public Diplomacy-Coned Foreign Service Officer: "Okay, as promised here is what they [State Department Security] said about blogging [by Foreign Service officers].

First, the most recent guidance is still from 2008:

As bloggers, we are expressly prohibited from being posting on publicly accessible websites:

• Classified, SBU, or other information with restricted distribution requirements
• Floor plans/blueprints with associated information
• Home addresses, home/cell telephone numbers of individuals
• Personal or legal matters of another employee
• Technical information that may put Department resources at risk
• Medical records and/or financial disclosures of another employee
• Information dealing with investigative actions

We are also generally prohibited from being posting (unless the information is obtained through Public Affairs channels):

• Biographies of U.S. government employees except for DCM rank or equivalent and above, or as approved for public diplomacy or public affairs purposes
• Job titles and/or descriptions of U.S. government personnel, except as stated in the Key Officers of the Foreign Service Posts publication or when required by law or regulation
• Information identifying employees of other agencies
• Travel itineraries of individuals or groups prior to the event, unless previously released to the media or otherwise authorized as a part of a public diplomacy or public affairs function
• Pictures of U.S. government facilities other than the official photo of an embassy or chancery building"

Kadazandusun First Sabahan To Be Appointed Consul-general‎ - Bernama:

"Francisco Munis, a Kadazandusun native from Sabah, has been appointed Malaysia's Consul-General in Guangzhou, China, the first Sabahan career diplomat to made head of a Malaysian mission overseas. ... Previously, he served as assistant secretary at the ministry's protocol department before being posted in 2001 to the Malaysian embassy in Mexico City as Ffrst secretary. Upon his return in 2006, he served at the Information and Public Diplomacy Department of the Foreign Ministry as Director of Research and Documentation."

Alumni Coordinator – naombakazi.blogspot.com: "Job Description :To develop and implement, in close cooperation with Public Affairs Officer, Public Diplomacy Officer, and the Alumni Affairs Office (ECA/P/A), a comprehensive strategic plan for alumni outreach and activities ... Apply To : Human Resources Section Full Address : American Embassy, P.O. Box 9123, Dar es Salaam."

U.S. Embassy Rabat Human Resources Office Vacancy Announcement Alumni Assistant - profvb.com: "The U.S. Embassy in Rabat is seeking an individual for the position of Alumni Assistant in the Public Diplomacy Section."