November 27

"We had many toasts as we drank our vodka. The third toast, without clinking glasses, is to those who never came back from that war, to our dead brothers-in-arms. Then I stood up to make the fourth toast. I said, 'Let's drink to my wish that men will never have to raise the third toast in the future.'"

--Andrei Logunov, then a young sergeant fighting in the Soviet army in Afghanistan, later the leader of a major Russian veterans organization; image: A booklet ("Collection of Materials for Antipropaganda Work") produced in 1987 told Soviet soldiers how to behave in Afghanistan. The last Soviet soldier left Afghan territory on 15 February 1989.

BLOG OF INTEREST

Cold War Radios: A look at international radio broadcasting in the Cold War, in particular Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty; via TL on facebook; image from blog

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

US Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy - William Harvey, Harmony Beat: “'The heroes should network as well as the villains,' according to one memorable witticism at the US Summit and Initiative for Global Citizen Diplomacy, organized by the US Center for Citizen Diplomacy. If terrorists get together to compare strategies, why shouldn’t citizen diplomats--whose attempt to build intercultural understanding threatens the simplistic worldviews that fuel both terrorism and preemptive war--do the same? That was the logic behind the summit, held in Washington, DC, which concluded one week ago today. I was there thanks to Cynthia Schneider, former Ambassador of the United States to the Netherlands, and Frank Hodsoll, former Chairmen of the National Endowment for the Arts. As co-chairs of the task force on International Cultural Engagement, they had honored Cultures in Harmony by selecting it as a Best Practice, along with such prestigious organizations as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and the Silk Road Project. ... Outside of Wednesday's presentation of the task force on international cultural engagement, at which Cultures in Harmony


was honored, the most prominent mention of culture as a medium of citizen diplomacy was in the introductory remarks of the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Judith McHale. She positively cited the recent award given by the Asia Society to the New York Philharmonic for its work in North Korea and elsewhere; certainly, the Philharmonic has made it easier for all of us in arts diplomacy to be able to cite a famous touchstone so that people can begin to have a clue what we are doing. ...[A]lthough the Embassies involved agree that our [Cultures in Harmony] projects have been successful, whenever we go back to them to build or expand on a project, they say, ‘We funded you last year; this year we have to fund something different.’ I get it: you want to showcase a variety of American culture, and this is important. Yet it also ignores that the central ingredient in citizen diplomacy is specific human relationships. Given the importance of making cultural diplomacy sustainable, what are you doing to change or modify this policy of showcasing a variety of American culture to the detriment of lasting relationships? ... [O]ne of the flaws of the summit: its painstakingly serious tone. This unwillingness to laugh and to appreciate the lighter things in life reflects a flaw in citizen diplomacy." Image from

North Korea - Mark Dowe Journal: "A threat of overwhelming force against North Korea may yet destabilise the regime. The preparation of such a strategy is essential to contain North Korea’s aggressive stance. This requires an extensive technical assessment of Pyongyang’s genuine military capability; civilian preparation in South Korea; effective public diplomacy by the US; and, the cementing of China and Japan into a multilateral strategy. If the threat from North Korea is not confronted, it will only escalate."

Poland’s President Under Fire for Inviting Former Military Dictator General Jaruzelski to National Security Council Meeting - govoritamerika.us: “'Poland’s sense of security and that of other American allies in the region has been severely undermined by President Obama’s decision to cancel the plans for deployment of U.S. missile defense in Central Europe and his repeated diplomatic blunders in relations with Warsaw, which included making the missile defense cancellation announcement on the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939,' Lipien said.


According to Lipien, both President Komorowski and President Obama have shown a lack of understanding of historical symbolism and have a dismal record in their conduct of public diplomacy domestically and abroad." Lipien image from

VOA Persian satire program helps inform paintings by Iranian artist in exile - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

NATO hopes to continue cooperation with Ukraine - Interfax: "NATO hopes that its cooperation with Ukraine will continue, Petr Lunak, Deputy Head of the Outreach Countries Section of NATO's Public Diplomacy Division, said during a videoconference with participants of the 7th Assembly of NATO – Ukraine Civic League Assembly, which was held in Kyiv on Friday.


He said that Ukraine is a country that contributes to all NATO operations." Image from article

Publish it Not – Israel and the Sultans of Spin - Jonathan Cook, mideastposts.com: "In order to justify continuing military assaults on the Palestinians in the occupied territories and its studious avoidance of real negotiations, Israel has had to invest an ever larger share of its energies in managing and controlling the narrators of the conflict—chiefly the Western news organizations and, especially, those in the United States. ... It has sought to control and limit the scope of local information sources on which Western reporters rely, and delegitimize rival news platforms that could increase the pressure on the Western media to provide better-quality coverage. ... Israel’s refusal to issue entry permits to Palestinian journalists has ensured that Jerusalem bureaus are again heavily staffed with Israeli Jews. ... The New Hasbara [:] The final battleground in Israel’s 'spin war'


is outside Israel—on internet sites and in overseas newsrooms, especially those in the U.S. and those with a global reach. ... Perhaps of greatest concern to Israel is that these new media platforms are feeding an interest in a potentially formidable and unifying new campaign against Israel: BDS—shorthand for boycott, divestment and sanctions. ... The Israeli government first identified the threats posed by the new media to its mainstream narratives back in 2005, arguing that the country must 'improve the country’s image abroad—by downplaying religion and avoiding any discussion of the conflict with the Palestinians.' This led to a new campaign, 'Brand Israel,' that has targeted major cities around the world for film festivals and food and wine galas featuring Israeli products. ... The chief target of the new hasbara has been the BBC, the influential British-based public broadcaster that has a large international audience for its TV, radio and internet sites."

Silent work to improve ties with Greece‎ - Abdullah Bozkurt, Today's Zaman: "For some time now, Greek-Turkish relations have been witnessing a good mixture of silent and public diplomacy efforts with frequent high-profile appearances here and there, leading observers of foreign policy to the belief that something is definitely up in solving the decades-long problems between the two neighbors. ... It looks like many forces are at work at the same time to improve ties between the two countries, and it is not just limited to government-to-government contacts. The business community and nongovernmental organizations are also pitching in to develop more friendly ties. Of course, there are limitations and hard-to-crack problematic issues out there, and one needs to be extra careful and should pay due diligence when approaching the problems captivating the two nations for many years. But hopes are certainly running high at both ends."

The HR File - thehollandbureau.com: "The annual Mensenrechtentulp prize


is awarded by the Dutch government on 10 December, the international day for human rights. The Dutch, plus americains que les americains as the Gaullists used to say, also draw on Franklin Roosevelt’s legacy to award the Four Freedoms prizes, again to those who have worked to secure a better existence for others. Meanwhile, in classic ‘new public diplomacy’ style, the emphasis has also been place on raising awareness within the Netherlands for human rights, particularly in education. Teach them young, as they say, and it will stick." Image of prize from

India's Internal Clash of Civilizations - Balaji Chandramohan, Atlantic Sentinel: "Now the problems is this. If highly respected individuals in power can’t make decisions based on merit, it is a symbol of India’s contradictions. One can’t help but draw the analogy of an engineering college in any of the southern states in India. The chairman of an engineering college might not even have passed a matriculation but could have amassed wealth because of his political connections and his ability to earn money through 'fixing things.' To run a school he needs to find a principal and a chief executive who would have earned their degrees in prestigious colleges abroad. The chairman will conduct a 'public diplomacy' to run the college. This stark inequality is increasingly visible in modern India. This is nothing short of a 'clash of civilizations' between India and Bhārata—between a country that is liberalizing and becoming modern and one that is steeped in an agriculture based feudal mindset. India today is going through a tough transition phase."

Making American Story Win! - Faizullah Jan, IC All Around: "Simply toppling dictators like Saddam Hussein and ruthless rulers like the Taliban is not enough. Replacing them with a democratic set-up, restoring their autonomy and helping them to stand on their own feet is the best public diplomacy which can restore the image of the U.S. and make the world more safer.


The U.S. needs to make sure that its story wins, not that of the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban who thrive on American excesses in Muslim countries." Image from

The new diplomacy: what in your opinion is the most important aspect of the new diplomacy? Explain your reasons - Minh, The New Diplomacy B: A reflective group blog by some of the students on The New Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "The evolution of technology and communication in diplomacy, the growing number of international organisations and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), development of public diplomacy and global concerns on security and environmental issues, all these factors have reflected the importance of multilateral diplomacy in world politics."

Most important aspect of New Diplomacy! - Thediplomacyway, The New Diplomacy C: A reflective group blog by some of the students on The New Diplomacy module at London Metropolitan University: "Public Diplomacy really is 'soft diplomacy' and looks to persuade, but unlike propaganda it uses subtle subconscious techniques. So one country’s propaganda is other country’s Public Diplomacy."

Truth to Power - longsworde.wordpress.com: "[T]he early Modern Er[a], which believed that the discovery of truth through judicious reason and discernment would lead to power, now ends with power presuming to determine what is to be considered reality and truth (propaganda, perception management, public diplomacy, delusions of all kinds). That is part of the total value inversion that now heralds the end of the Modern Era, and which marks the transition from Promethean Man to Epimethean Man."

RELATED ITEMS

Truth and Propaganda - Nancy Snow, Huffington Post: USIA Director during the Kennedy administration Edward Murrow knew that no bad American propaganda could ever substitute for good American behavior at home and abroad.


It's a lesson that still applies today. Image: President John F. Kennedy (center) welcomes Murrow and his family from

US and SKorea push ahead with war games - David Guttenfelder and Kim Kwang-Tae, Associated Press, USA Today: North Korea said civilians were used as a "human shield" around artillery positions and lashed out at what it called a "propaganda campaign" against Pyongyang.


Image from article: South Korean marines carry a flag-draped casket containing the remains of a marine killed in Tuesday's North Korean bombardment during a funeral service at a military hospital in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010.

Report: South Korea sends 400,000 leaflets to North Korea - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

U.S. now in Afghanistan as long as Soviets were: The last Red Army troops left in 1989, driven out after nine years and 50 days by U.S.-backed fighters known as mujahedin. Despite contrasts, the U.S. and Soviet wars have common narrative elements - Laura King and Sergei L. Loiko, Los Angeles Times: The Soviet withdrawal is a favorite public relations theme of the Taliban movement, which itself was toppled by the U.S.-led invasion in a matter of weeks, only to regroup and reinvigorate itself in recent years.


"This was their graveyard," said Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the group. "As it will be for the Americans." Image from article

Talks are the only route in Afghanistan: A military victory against the Taliban is elusive; a better, lasting peace requires talks and some sort of power-sharing arrangement - Ahmed Rashid, latimes.com: In Washington, the Obama administration remains sharply divided between civilian advisors pressing for an exit strategy and the Pentagon, which is pressing for a clear military victory. But the latter is highly unlikely, and the former will require negotiations to be successful.

Iraq’s Troubles Drive Out Refugees Who Came Back - John Leland, New York Times: BAGHDAD - A second exodus has begun here, of Iraqis who returned after fleeing the carnage of the height of the war, but now find that violence and the nation’s severe lack of jobs are pulling them away from home once again. Nearly 100,000 refugees have returned since 2008, out of more than two million who left since the invasion, according to the Iraqi government and the United Nations high commissioner for refugees. But as they return, pulled by improved security in Iraq or pushed by a lack of work abroad, many are finding that their homeland is still not ready — their houses are gone or occupied, their neighborhoods unsafe, their opportunities minimal.

Building Museums, and a Fresh Arab Identity - Nicolai Ouroussoff, New York Times: Two oil-rich countries in the Middle East -- United Arab Emirates and Qatar -- are using architecture and art to reshape their national identities virtually overnight, and in the process to redeem the tarnished image of Arabs abroad while showing the way toward a modern society within the boundaries of Islam. In both cases leaders also see their construction sprees as part of sweeping efforts to retool their societies for a post-Sept. 11, post-oil world. Their goal is not only to build a more positive image of the Middle East at a time when anti-Islamic sentiment continues to build across Europe and the United States, but also to create a kind of latter-day Silk Road, one on which their countries are powerful cultural and economic hinges between the West and rising powers like India and China.


And they are betting that they can do this without alienating significant parts of the Arab world, which may see in these undertakings the same kind of Western-oriented cosmopolitanism that flourished in places like Cairo and Tehran not so long ago, and that helped fuel the rise of militant fundamentalism. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has a team of three curators working in New York to build a collection with a budget of up to $600 million, more than 200 times the annual acquisitions budget of the Guggenheim in Manhattan. Image from article: Frank Gehry's branch of the Guggenheim will be 12 times the size of its New York headquarters.

Internet censorship to be imposed in Azerbaijan - PanARMENIAN.Net: Azerbaijani Press Council will monitor news web resources' compliance with the rules of professional journalist ethics in Azerbaijan, chairman of the Press Council of Azerbaijan Aflatun Amashov stated on Friday, November 26.According to the chairman of the Press Council, there is a proposal to establish control over the social networks on the Internet.


“This issue has become a topic of discussion in the Alliance of Press Councils in Europe. The social networks are referred as a source of free links. But it sometimes leads to the implementation of certain subversive purposes. In particular, a number of terrorist organizations carry out their propaganda through such networks. It is therefore necessary to establish control compliance of rules of ethical conduct in network,” said Amashov. Image from article

AMERICANA

10 great places to see art in smaller cities - USA Today. Image: from Edward Hopper's 1927 painting, which hangs at the Des Moines Art Center from article.