John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review: September 16

"All can reach one, one can reach all."

--Elie Khoury, Chairman and CEO, Quantum Communications, an advertising and communications firm in the broader Middle East; image from

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

US Debates Response to Targeted Killing Lawsuit‎ - Charlie Savage, New York Times: "The Obama administration, fresh off a victory in persuading federal judges to dismiss a torture case for fear of revealing state secrets, is divided over using similar tactics to try to block a lawsuit over government efforts to kill an American citizen accused of ties to Al Qaeda. The administration’s legal team is debating how aggressive it should be in a brief responding to the lawsuit, which is due Sept. 24. The suit, filed last month, seeks an injunction that would prevent the targeted killing of Anwar al-Awlaki,

a radical Muslim cleric who is accused of playing a leading role for Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen. ... 'There are a lot of cross-cutting things going on here, and they have to be very careful about how they litigate this,' said Jack Goldsmith, who was a senior Justice Department lawyer in the Bush administration. 'It’s not just a question of winning the case. There is the public diplomacy side, and there are implications for everything else they are doing in the war on terrorism: detention and targeting and other things, too, I imagine.'” Image from

Where Obama Should Invest Now - John Della Volpe, Huffington Post: "I believe if the U.S. government selected 10 technology-based small businesses, gave each one $25 million, then we could build the proper infrastructure ... and apply these tools to shining a light and solving ten of the biggest problems facing our country today. Some of the money can be spent on building the platform, other elements on customization, education, training and reporting. The bottom line is that we cannot continue to primarily rely on the open source community to guide our military humanitarian efforts, disaster relief or other essential services. If the White House made the decision to move on this by Thanksgiving, I believe that one-year later [among other matters]: The State Department would have a robust tool conducing and measuring public diplomacy." See also

Wed, Sep 15, 2010: SoS Clinton and Staff Schedule - Rush Limbaugh Report: "UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE 2:15 p.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with Public Diplomacy Deputy Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)"

France Goes Head-To-Head With Arizona For “Toughest On Immigration” Title - Hilary Tone, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: During the month of August, France expelled more than 1,000 Roma, most of whom were returned to Romania and Bulgaria. ... Not surprisingly, the term 'invasion' has been used on this side of the Atlantic to describe the flow of Hispanics to the U.S. through Mexico. ... [U]nfortunate similarities remain between France and Arizona when it comes to immigration.

Analyzing these parallels and their effects on public diplomacy could serve as a warning for states or countries considering similar policies. ... To implement policies like Arizona and France have, against vulnerable populations, will not only tarnish a country or state’s image, but may discredit its reputation in the nations whose citizens support and contribute to its growth. Such is an example of another bad policy that even great public diplomacy cannot fix." Image from

Not-So-Hot Off the Press: Human Trafficking Report‎ - Amy Biegelsen, Center for Public Integrity: "The State Department’s internal watchdog has released a report stamped 'sensitive but unclassified' that assesses a unit in charge of fighting human trafficking — five years after the report was written. ... The newly released report, which has some portions redacted, sheds little light on human trafficking investigations. Instead, the 2005 report congratulates the office on its 'forceful and successful' efforts to combat trafficking. It also congratulates the 24-employee unit on transforming an annual report to Congress from a humble document with 'pedestrian production values, lack of photos, and bland presentation of material' into an important public diplomacy tool of 256 pages 'on glossy paper with photos and highlights in box inserts.'”

Matt Armstrong's essay about the work of the new Broadcasting Board of Governors - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "An interesting and wide-ranging essay about US international broadcasting. The relations between the BBG on one hand, and the administration and Congress on the other, will occasionally be adversarial. Such adversity shows that the BBG is working, by deflecting executive- or legislative-branch attempts to manipulate the news transmitted by the entities. At no cost to the taxpayers, university scholars, think tank fellows, and journalists will produce no end of reports about US international broadcasting. I would therefore prefer that the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy be eliminated,

along with all other such advisory commissions in Washington that have no decision making authority. This would help reduce government spending and help ensure that international broadcasting and public diplomacy remain separate, complementary, and occasionally adversarial." Image from

Whose Voice Is It?‎ - Trey Hicks, The American: "In a recent news article by Voice of America covering the controversial Islamic center near Ground Zero, the U.S. government reinforced the narrative of those who wish to do us harm—that Americans are warring against Muslims: 'But despite a rash of anti-Muslim rhetoric and possible hate crimes, some Muslims see the mosque debate as an opportunity to reaffirm their place in American society … But the plan to build an Islamic center near the site known as Ground Zero has sparked heated debate across the country, and concerns about possible hate crimes toward Muslims.' Possible hate crimes? A rash of anti-Muslim rhetoric? Based on what evidence? AEI visiting fellow Jonah Goldberg recently weighed in and illustrated how the facts do not support this narrative. For example, while there has been a slight increase in crimes against Muslim-Americans since 9/11, the crimes against Jewish-Americans since 9/11 are 6 to 1 compared to Muslims. Over the last few years, U.S. Public Diplomacy Programs managed by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) have come under a lot of scrutiny. For example, many policy makers, democracy advocates, and journalists have voiced concern that some U.S. international broadcasts seem to be sympathetic to if not supportive of the message of our enemies."

Lowy Institute paper calls for consolidation of Australian international broadcasting, and more funding - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: "Australia seems to share with the United States

confusion about the separate and complementary roles of international broadcasting and public diplomacy. In Britain, there is less ambiguity. BBC World Service and the British Council are funded under a Foreign Office budget category called 'publ[i]c diplomacy.' Beyond that, BBC World Service executives are loath to refer to their broadcasting effort as 'public diplomacy.'" Image from

The Foreign Office and Post International Politics - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence: "In developing public diplomacy studies it is important to build up a picture of how different countries conceptualize the field. Over the past 10 years the UK has developed a very distinctive approach, one that now appears to be evolving in a different direction. ... The analysis set out in white papers and annual reports goes something like this. We live in a world of global issues, eg climate change, terrorism, illegal immigration. Individual states cannot deal with them in isolation; these problems require global solutions. This is understood as the formation of international regimes to provide appropriate regulatory structures and the capacity to strengthen governance within states. The traditional diplomatic role of managing relations between states becomes less important. Therefore, the appropriate role for the Foreign Office is the construction of coalitions (or partnerships or networks) that can manage these global challenges. These networks take in other UK government departments, other countries, international organizations, civil society groups, business etc. This leads to the blurring of distinctions between diplomacy and public diplomacy. This also leads to the reallocation of resources from countries or regions to issues."

Japanese ambassador summoned for 5th time‎ - Chen Rui, Global Times: "China kept up its pressure on Japan Wednesday by calling its ambassador again to demand the immediate release of a Chinese fishing boat captain who Beijing says has been illegally held since last week. ... The Chinese trawler was illegally detained by Japan after it collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol vessels September 7 off the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.

Huang Dahui, a professor of Japanese politics at Renmin University of China, said the relationship between the two peoples is key to bilateral ties, which are at risk of being damaged. 'Since the 1970s, Japan has attached great importance to public diplomacy in an effort to rebuild and promote its image. While for China, a country that had been subject to its military aggression, a ruined public impression toward it is definitely against Tokyo's efforts in that regard. It would have an impact on political relations,' Huang said. The caution came as public sentiment in China continued running high over the dispute." Image from

Israeli Govt: They Hate Us For Our Freedom: New 'Public Diplomacy' Website Rejects Basis for Palestinian Statehood - Jason Ditz, antiwar.com: "This week Israel’s government officially launched a new 'Public Diplomacy' English language website, with the site urging Israelis planning to travel abroad to 'be ambassadors for Israel' and which includes a number of talking points that Israelis are supposed to parrot. As the site is an official Israeli government website, the statements could be seen as official Israeli policy, but the statements seem to fly in the face of much of the rhetoric coming out of the peace process with the Palestinian authority. In particular the site seeks to emphasize debunking the 'myth' of Palestine, declaring that there 'has never been such a concept as Palestine' and that there is no basis for a Palestinian state, an odd declaration at a time when the Israeli government is negotiating the creation of that state."

Happy Birthday at KremlinRussia - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: "On September 14, 2010, the Russian president celebrated his 45th birthday. It was his third birthday as president, and he, most certainly, had received dozens of phone calls from high-level officials and foreign counterparts over the past years. In 2010, however, wishes and congrats poured in from all over the world, in their hundreds, from… Twitter! Medvedev started his Twitter account last June, while visiting Silicon Valley.

He has two officially verified personal accounts: @KremlinRussia (tweets in Russian) and @KremlinRussia_E (tweets in English). There is also the @blog_medvedev account, which simply relays the President's blog post updates. As September 14 progressed, the “word” of Medvedev's birthday got viral, prompting many to express their wishes and words of advice. ... [Comment by] @hobophobicx: @kremlinRussia_E: с днем рождения! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEDVEDEV! ... Certainly, a great illustration of the increasingly horizontal flows of communication, both within Russia as well as internationally. A more or less direct interaction with thousands of individuals is gradually becoming the norm and, as shown, seems to be working fairly well. It was particularly interesting to observe the public diplomacy element of it, since the news spread in the Tweet-o-sphere and reached many around the world. After all, successful communication strategies that use social media are striving to achieve just that." Image from

De-legitimizing Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa regime: UNP's Wickremasinghe Looks to the United States - Daya Gamage, Asian Tribune: "Judgments and recommendations at the State Department Washington level are heavily influenced by the report it gets from the overseas diplomatic posts. The final reports are shaped with the assistance of Washington-based officials of international NGOs, professionals and expatriate Diaspora who are most of the time equally ignorant of the ground situation in the country at issue or the issues surrounding the country. The State Department report’s admittance of this ambiguous information for its Sri Lanka War Report is no exception. ... Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale was equally knowledgeable of how U.S. overseas posts function when she declared in September 2009 'We cannot sit behind embassy walls and speak only to the people who agree with us. We have to engage, even when we disagree with others. We have to communicate-two-way communication, not one-way messaging-through both government-to-people dialogue and people-to-people dialogue.'"

Mr. Internet, Tear Down That Wall - Cathie Glover, Developing Lebanon: "The Aspen Institute held an event in Washington today entitled, "Digital Statecraft: Media, Broadcasting and the Internet as Instruments of Public Diplomacy in the Middle East."

Elie Khoury, Chairman and CEO, Quantum Communications, a leading advertising and communications firm in the broader Middle East; and Chairman and CEO, M&C Saatchi, Middle East & North Africa made the trip from Beirut to discuss modern public diplomacy. When talking about public diplomacy, we have to ask, are there enough tools to make it successful? Do these tools work with Islam? Do we have to wait another half century to see successful results? Does television reach enough people? Radio? The internet? Can Western media play a public diplomacy role? Mr. Khoury said, 'All can reach one, one can reach all.' Even with censorship, quality and pertinent information will eventually get to people thanks to new media. There are 65 million internet users in the MENA region despite the fact that only 1% of online content is in Arabic. Khoury added that of all websites that are run in the Middle East, only 20% of them are related to Islam, contrary to what the West might think. ... New media, social media, whatever you would like to call it, gives us this amazing, amazing opportunity to skip government run public diplomacy and have direct interaction with each other. Isn't it time we start talking TO each other rather than passively-aggressively complaining about each other?" Image from article

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts‎ - press release, Whitehouse.gov: "Robert W. Roche, Appointee for Member, Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations [:] Robert W. Roche is an entrepreneur and investor working in China, Japan, and the US. Mr. Roche is a Co-founder and Director of Acorn International, one of China’s largest TV shopping companies, and Co-founder and Chairman of Oak Lawn Marketing, Inc., the largest infomercial company in Japan, which is now part of NTT Docomo Group. He is the founder of URBN Hotels, China's first carbon-neutral hotel. Mr. Roche has been Chairman of The American Chamber of Commerce/Shanghai since January 2010, and is Director of the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo, and Member of the Advisory Board of the Harvard Public Diplomacy Collaborative Initiative."

Chairman Berman adds three new professional staff members‎ - The Hill: "Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.)

added three new members to the majority staff of the Foreign Affairs Committee. ... Katherine Brown will be responsible for oversight of all public diplomacy programs, including the Broadcasting Board of Governors and international exchange programs." Image from

Answering Marc Lynch - bernardfinel.com: "Marc [Lynch] is a great scholar. Well-respected, all-around smart guy. But he writes essentially solely on issues of public attitudes and media in the Arab world (okay, public diplomacy too, but largely focused on… you guessed it… influencing Arab public opinion). Doesn’t that seem itself like a pretty narrow focus? Of course, it is. ... I mean, yeah, he’s a regional expert, but even then he does not write on Arab economics, or Arab military affairs, or Islam, or a myriad of other even regional topics. He’s a Arab public attitudes and media guy."

RELATED ITEMS

Two Very Different Muslim Voices - Patricia Lee Sharpe, Whirled View: "Religion, it seems, is no longer a matter of conscience, but of performance, on a stage whose extent is global, thanks to viral 24/7 media coverage. ... [T]he Koran wasn’t burned in Florida, because most Americans, though non-Muslim, opposed the desecration. I’d to see a little more appreciation for that."

Thou shalt not steal: The drumbeat for war - Abolala Soudavar, iranian.com: Israel has a propaganda machine that puts Goebbels’ into shame. And much like the Nazis who demonized the Jews, Israel has demonized Iran and Iranians, as a smokescreen behind which it can continue its scheme of grand larceny. Ironically, those who were the victims of Nazi atrocities are now perpetrating the same against Palestinians. And yet, it is the President of Iran that has been branded as a Hitler aiming to massacre the Jews. For sure, Mr. Ahmadinejad is no friend of Israel. What needs to be emphasized though is the propaganda campaign built on a distorted statement attributed to him, the infamous "Israel must be wiped off the map." But as fully expounded in Wikipedia, the original statement in Persian (“een rejim-e eshghalgar-e Quds bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad”) was not his, but a quote from Ayatollah Khomeini, and should be translated as: “the occupying regime of Jerusalem (Quds) must vanish from the page of time.”

It does not advocate the destruction of Israel but wants an end to the illegal occupation of Jerusalem. This distorted quote is the corner stone of a propaganda campaign preparing public opinion for a possible attack on Iran, much like Hitler’s false propaganda on the Sudetenland before attacking Czechoslovakia. It’s not the only one. Israel has concentrated its propaganda efforts on the US, knowing that if it can subdue its politicians, Europe will follow sheepishly. Image from

South Korean Government Releases Manhwa Propaganda‎ - Anime News Network: South Korea's Ministry of National Defense has released a 32-page comic depicting the March 26 sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean patrol boat allegedly torpedoed by North Korea, on Tuesday. The comic suggests that North Korea's goal in sinking the boat was to divide the nation. According to the Bloomberg report, the comic is being disseminated through schools and libraries around the nation, in part because many young South Koreans do not trust the South Korean government's account of the Cheonan's sinking. The government released its official report on Tuesday at the same time as the comic. Manhwa, or Korean comics, are popular in South Korea, although sales have declined there as elsewhere. Materials originating in Japan are also popular; in January of 2005, Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle was the number one film in the nation. Many Japanese manga have been developed into Korean television dramas or films, such as the slice-of-life title Baby and Me, Fumi Yoshinaga's manga Antique Bakery, and Yoko Kamio's romance title Hana Yori Dango. South Korean protests against the depiction of Korea in the manga Hetalia - Axis Powers resulted in the Hetalia anime adaptation's initial Japanese television run being canceled in favor of a web-only release.

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