August 6

"To obey is to betray, to disobey is to serve."

--Motto cited on the cover of Olivier Wieviorka's new book, Histoire de la résistance; cited in Robert Gildea, "Souls and trains," The Times Literary Supplement (August 2, 2013), p. 11

VIDEO

Egyptian belly dancer's anti-Obama video goes viral - Terry Ponick, Washington Times: "[A]n anti-Obama YouTube video recently posted by popular Egyptian belly dancer Sama Al Masry went viral, boasting some 163,000 views as of last count on Sunday, August 4. In her video, Ms. Al Masry heaps curses on the President and his ancestors, and not sparing current U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson either."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

To Improve Image in Yemen, U.S. Must Commit to Long-Term Development - Global Insider:"Last week, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi visited the White House for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama regarding counterterrorism and Yemen’s democratic transition. In an email interview, Danya Greenfield, deputy director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and head of the Yemen Policy Initiative at the Atlantic Council, explained the recent history and current state of the U.S.-Yemen relationship. ... WPR: What can Washington do to change Yemeni attitudes toward the U.S.? Greenfield: "First, the United States needs to clearly and consistently articulate its long-term commitment to Yemen’s political, economic and social development—and then back that up with assistance programs and public diplomacy that underscores that commitment. We should increase development and humanitarian aid, to reverse the perception that the U.S. is singularly focused on counterterrorism without any regard to how it impacts Yemenis themselves. This message needs to be sent from the highest levels and be reiterated by civilian, nonmilitary leaders; a visit by Secretary of State John Kerry would be well-received. Second, the U.S. needs to return the Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo as soon as possible; for most Yemenis, Guantanamo represents a clear violation of human rights, since these men were never convicted of any crime yet have been held for years without due cause. Third, the U.S. should cease the use of targeted assassinations in Yemen where there is any possibility of civilian casualties—this generates severe hostility toward the U.S. and provides fodder for extremist networks to gain sympathy among the local population. Fourth, the U.S. should remain actively engaged in supporting Yemen’s political transition and keeping democratic reform on track, but in a less public way; ultimately it needs to be a Yemeni-led process with Yemeni solutions."

Former U.S. Ambassador: A Fresh Start in Pakistan? - Cameron Munter, asiasociety.org: "Kerry and [Pakistan's PM Nawaz] Sharif have taken a positive step by relaunching the Strategic Dialogue. This initiative, launched in 2009 under former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, was originally too grand and, increasingly, out of step with the crises that emerged in the relationship after Holbrooke's death in 2010.

But a more modest set of bilateral discussions, using the framework of the Strategic Dialogue to address topics from energy and water resources to public diplomacy and regional stability, can only help rebuild the trust that was so badly damaged in 2011." Image from article

Accounting for Facts While Courting Vietnam - Nick Zahn, blog.heritage.org: "Economic liberty may serve to enable political reform in Vietnam, ultimately doing more to advance the human rights situation in that nation than any number of meetings or photo ops. But when the two leaders [Vietnam’s President Troung Tan Sang in the Oval Office with President Obama] ended their meeting at the White House with remarks to reporters, President Obama included that 'we discussed the fact that Ho Chi Minh was actually inspired by the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and the words of Thomas Jefferson.' At the close of proceedings, Sang extended an invitation

to Obama to visit Vietnam while still President. The potential visit offers President Obama the opportunity to speak directly to the Vietnamese people, though he need not trash Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi. But rather than buying Vietnam’s long-discredited public diplomacy staple and promoting Ho Chi Minh as a progenitor of liberty the equivalent of Jefferson, he ought to discuss the example of the United States and how those truths Jefferson so eloquently championed led to the greatest prosperity ever seen on the planet. In this way, he can demonstrate the natural connection between American support for free trade with political liberty."

Voice of America management burdens its own broadcasters with getting programs ready for domestic distribution - BBGWatcher, BBG Watch Commentary: "The Voice of America (VOA), U.S. taxpayer-funded international broadcaster can barely adequately cover news for foreign audiences it is required by law to serve, but top VOA managers are now burdening overworked reporters to get their programs ready for distribution in the United States. Questions are being asked whether assigning such work to reporters without planning to seek sufficient reimbursement from potential domestic users, if there are any, would not violate the law. Critics also worry how these additional domestic programming burdens might affect production of VOA news for foreign audiences. Critics also worry how these additional domestic programming burdens might affect production of VOA news for foreign audiences. The new controversial law, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, only grants VOA and other BBG officials the right to distribute their programs in the United States upon request.

There was no provision in the new law for government officials authorizing, not authorizing or actively marketing VOA and Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB – Radio and TV Marti) programs in the United States. By law, VOA and OCB also cannot produce programs specifically for domestic distribution. The new law was included as Section 1078 of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 112-239). It specifically says that 'No funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall be used to influence public opinion in the United States.' – See more at: http://www.smithmundt.com/section-1078-of-national-defense-authorization-act-ndaa-for-fiscal-year-2013-public-law-112-239/#sthash.xFD8HbXs.dpuf [.] ... Critics have predicted that the agency’s management will take advantage of the new Smith-Mundt Modernization Act to undermine reporting for foreign audiences and will focus attention on the domestic U.S. market. Agency executives deny that this is their intention, but this is exactly what is happening right now. ... By law, the agency should demand from those who request such programs in the United States a reasonable reimbursement of VOA employees’ time in getting these programs ready for domestic distribution. Such fees would have to be astronomical. But considering that VOA is offering less and less original coverage — who is doing to request such [VOA] programs, worry about copyrights, pay for them, and in addition pay Voice of America for getting these programs ready? It is an insane proposition, but top executives will no doubt insist that VOA reporters take on yet another bureaucratic task as described in a  seven-page memo (this memo is subject to changes. If you are interested in this process, contact Voice of America for further information). The memo [see above] was sent to BBG Watch by VOA employees with a request to post it so that American taxpayers can see their dollars at work. Image from entry, with caption: DOMESTIC DISSEMINATION OF VOA PROGRAMMING - Voice of America Best Practices Guide - Check with VOA for possible updates

BBC has reporters in Yemen, VOA relies on wire services for U.S. Embassy evacuation story - BBGWatcher, BBG Watch: "While BBC has its own correspondents and news analysts reporting from Yemen on the evacuation

of the U.S. Embassy personnel, Voice of America posted this morning on its English news website only a short report (459 words) based apparently on wire service reports." Image from entry

Voice of America officials were wrong in downplaying coverage of Turkish protests - BBGWatcher, BBG Watch Commentary: "When Voice of America (VOA) executives tried to justify their decision not to send a staff reporter to Turkey to cover anti-government protests in early June for worldwide VOA English broadcasts, its main news website and dozens of VOA language services, they reportedly used arguments that Prime Minister Erdogan was democratically elected and that he remains a close U.S. ally.

Such political or diplomatic arguments should never be used in a journalistic news organization. Yet, such arguments were made." Image from entry, with caption: Anti-Erdogan protester with his dog, Istanbul, Turkey, early June 2013.

Victor Ashe apologized for Columbia Journalism Review for Voice of America management’s refusal to answer journalist’s questions - BBGWatcher, BBG Watch Commentary: "After his replacement had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, now former Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) member Victor Ashe posted a comment in which he apologized to Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) for the refusal of Voice of America (VOA) top management to answer question from Gary Thomas, a former senior VOA correspondent who was writing an article about VOA for publication by CJR."

Globalization of Chinese culture becomes hot topic - Mei Jia, China Daily USA: "As China interacts more with global society, the globalization of the country's culture has become an even hotter topic in academic cultural and communication studies. Zhao Qizheng, advocator of public diplomacy and former minister of the State Council Information Office, says some Chinese enterprises faced huge challenges when doing business abroad partly because Chinese companies are still struggling to fit into foreign cultures. 'They're inadequate and unskilled in having dialogues with the local religious groups, governments, media and workers' unions,' Zhao says at a recent forum titled Culture 'Going Out'. The key issues the experts on and off campus are eager to figure out include what are the core cultural values and elements, and what are the dissemination channels. Organized by Beijing Institute of Culture Innovation and Communication, the forum invites both foreign and Chinese experts from government, business, universities and media to share and exchange views. ... Zhang Jianguo, State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs director, opines that even though China is the world's second largest economy, Chinese culture is still unable to communicate with the West fully. ... Mei Song, director of Center of Promoting Beijing Cultural and Creative Industry, says the problem lies in China's lack of confidence in its own culture. 'We do not understand our culture enough,' Mei says. Alistair Michie, honorary associate of the Needham Research Institute at Cambridge University, believes the problem lies in the gap between the former propaganda style that the Chinese were used to and the more efficient International Reputation Management ideals. Working as a consultant since the 1980s, Michie sees the importance of changing one-way message into two-way interaction, and turning the Chinese-only team into a combination team of Chinese and foreign experts. 'Telling stories are more powerful than conveying ideas in political or philosophical languages,' says Zhao Qizheng, director of the foreign committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top advisory body."

India’s Growing Soft Power In Southeast Asia: Will It Clash With China? –- Analysis - Abanti Bhattacharya, eurasiareview.com: "India’s strength lies in what Rabindranath Tagore said ‘unity of diversity’, not what commonly reiterated in Indian political and academic circles- ‘unity in diversity’. More than the democratic tool which is not original to India, pluralism is the central tenet of Indian culture and civilization. India is on track by celebrating its diversity than by promoting democracy abroad. Therefore, its latest measures in public diplomacy, harping on India’s civilizational attributes and plural identity, evidently create a space for ‘others’ to coexist peacefully. In this respect, India’s nascent steps in reaching out to the Southeast Asian countries do not pose a cultural threat to its neighbours, including China. Going back to history again, one may point out that in Southeast Asia both Indian and Chinese cultures met but never clashed. This indeed distinguishes Indian soft power."

"Conflict Kitchen": Gastrodiplomacy in Action - Yelena Osipova, Global Chaos: The UNdiplomatic blog on public diplomacy and international communication - "After all, gastrodiplomacy and cultural diplomacy are, arguably, some of the most effective forms of public diplomacy out there ('the way to a man's heart is through his stomach!)."

RELATED ITEMS

A muddled Egypt policy: Inconsistent U.S. messages have enraged both sides. It's time for a more disciplined approach - Editorial, latimes.com: When both the Egyptian military and supporters of the country's ousted president are accusing the United States of betrayal, it's tempting to think that the Obama administration must be doing something right. But in fact, the breadth of the discontent may simply be a reflection of the administration's inconsistent and sometimes incoherent policy, both before and after the military deposed Mohamed Morsi last month.

Egyptians Already Hate the Next U.S. Ambassador to Cairo - David Kenner, Foreign Policy: Anti-Americanism soared to new heights in Egypt following the

June 30 protests against President Mohamed Morsy. The primary target was U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson, whom protesters accused of backing the Islamist government. Now, it looks like Robert Ford, her replacement, is in for the same treatment. Ford image from article

Terrorism and the Embassies - Editorial, New York Times: A threat from Al Qaeda, no matter how serious, should not divert attention from a thorough investigation of the domestic spying. The United States cannot fail to take reasonable precautions at its embassies, but neither can it be paralyzed and shut down its diplomatic functions for prolonged periods. The embassies should reopen as soon as possible and security should be hardened at high-risk stations.

The al-Qaeda menace the U.S. helped to create - Eugene Robinson, Washington Post: My argument with Obama’s policies is not that the president has tried too hard to end the “war on terror,” as hawks allege. It’s that he hasn’t tried hard enough to leave behind the “war” metaphor as ill-suited to a struggle that is fundamentally ideological. We should think in terms of engagement, not intervention. We should spend more money projecting “soft power” and less projecting military force. We should recognize that the rest of the world will not necessarily shape itself to fit our wishes. And our goal should be to have fewer anti-American terrorists in the world, not more.

Wishful thinking on the war on terror - Editorial, Washington Post: Mr. Obama is right to worry about the corrosive effect, for example on civil liberties, of perpetual war. But like all wars, this one will end only if one party is defeated or both agree to lay down their weapons. Neither appears likely any time soon, and the president’s eagerness to disengage, while understandable and in sync with U.S. public opinion, may in the end lengthen the conflict. His hope of fighting the bad guys as antiseptically as possible, with drone strikes and a minimal presence, may prove as forlorn as President Clinton’s similar effort in the 1990s, when the equivalent weapon at his disposal was cruise missiles.

The Al Qaeda Obama Forgot The short distance between the president's rhetoric on terror and its empirical disproof - Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: The administration can put an end to the end of the war on terror without much fear of embarrassment. Better to do so now than in the wake of an attack. The lesson of 9/11 was to not go back to pre-9/11 thinking. We may learn soon enough what price we'll have to pay for the benefit of rediscovering what we knew once before.

There'll Always Be a McEngland: How the U.S. fast-food chain made itself as British as the queen - Matthew Gwyther, Wall Street Journal: All went well with McDonald's in England until the 2000s, when the British chattering class went to see Morgan Spurlock's film "Super Size Me" and read Eric Schlosser's gruesome page-turner "Fast Food Nation." Enthusiasm waned and a rebranding was called for. McDonald's U.K. began a subtle reverse Boston Tea Party, emphasizing its British identity. Menus were altered, the restaurants were made over in softer greens and purples, and the marketing became folksily Brit, complete with wholesome Northern accents. The rethink has succeeded so well that few British youngsters under age 20 regard McDonald's as American.

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