
“The world today can be much better understood if you think of it from the perspective of regions and not states.”
--Gen. Jim Jones, President Obama’s national security adviser; image from
"I'm not English, just affected."
--Stella Adler, Marlon Brando's acting coach, in reply to a saleswoman in a department store who assumed that she was British; cited in The Times Literary Supplement, February 20, p. 12
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Senate Foreign Relations Committee pushes Public Diplomacy and issues a report full of recommendations - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.
Art = Heritage? – Morgan, Perspectives on Public Diplomacy:

Diplomatic Surge? Part III – The dilemma of smart power - daryl.copeland, Guerilla Diplomacy:

A word of caution to Obama: ‘Bush govt’s bully-boy attitude sadly polarized our world’ - Daily Sun, Nigeria: “The US administration needs to reach out to other nations, build bridges, listen. Obama and his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, have spoken of the importance of smart power and the role of cultural diplomacy in their foreign policy toolbox. The sounds and gestures coming from them are most welcome, but they must now carry through on these.”
Secretary of the Arts? You betcha!! - Arnie Birren, The Leader: “While in the campaign trail, the Obama/Biden camp created 'A Platform In Support Of The Arts,' (for details, visit artswisconsin.org).

The NY Philharmonic Begins Their Winter U.S. Tour 2009 - Broadway World: “Long a leader in American musical life, the [New York] Philharmonic has over the last century become renowned around the globe, appearing in 422 cities in 59 countries on five continents.

ASEAN: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations - Julie Ginsberg, Council on Foreign Relations: “The global economic downturn may also motivate the United States and ASEAN to pursue more robust ties. If China successfully weathers the storm and reaches out to its harder-hit neighbors--as it already does with aid, cultural diplomacy, and infrastructure development, Dalpino [Catharin Dalpino, a visiting associate professor of Southeast Asian studies at Georgetown University] says--it will increase its already considerable geopolitical sway in the region.”
Our Masked Ambassadors: Traditional khon dancers perform in France in a bid to restore confidence in Thailand - Yingyong Un-Anongrak, Bangkok Post:

Los Espanoles To Colonize Us Again – imAfreakin'Realist! -

RELATED ITEMS

Those two months made all the difference – Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: The most amazing thing about Obama's Iraqi plan may be that it appears to command such wide-spread support and has been received with a collective yawn from the assembled punditry class. This is particularly amazing because if you ignore the spin, the plan he announced yesterday is virtually identical to the one he presented throughout the election campaign. Below image from

Obama's line in the sand – Editorial, San Francisco Chronicle: President Obama's 18-month deadline for withdrawing the bulk of American troops from Iraq meets the test of prudence and moderation. It sets this nation on a course to end a needless, costly conflict as he pledged.
Super (Sub) Secretaries - Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times: Secretary of State Clinton has invented new diplomatic positions that say a great deal about the state of foreign policy in these messy times. Mrs. Clinton has appointed three Super Sub-Secretaries -- George Mitchell to handle Arab-Israel negotiations, Richard Holbrooke to manage Afghanistan-Pakistan affairs and Dennis Ross to coordinate Iran policy.
Iraqi leaders welcome U.S. troop withdrawal plan - CNN
Drawdown Plan May Leave Combat Brigades in Iraq - Gareth Porter, Antiwar.com
Obama's Wrong About Iraq - Benjamin Sarlin, Daily Beast: Today, the president announced he would pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010. Thomas Ricks, author of an acclaimed new book about the war, thinks that’s a pipe dream and that Obama is suffering a case of Bush-like optimism.

How to win in Afghanistan - Ali Ahmad Jalali, Washington Times: Positively working towards practicable democracy, not dejectedly refocusing on a "new realism," is the correct strategy that will allow us to win in Afghanistan. Ali Ahmad Jalali is Afghanistan's former interior minister (January 2003-October 2005).
U.S. deaths in Afghanistan on the rise - AP, USA Today— U.S. deaths in Afghanistan increased threefold during the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period last year, after thousands more troops deployed and commanders ramped up winter operations against an increasingly violent insurgency.

Shouldn't MoveOn Oppose Obama on Afghanistan? - John Nichols, Nation/Common Dreams
Iran, the Jews and Germany - Roger Cohen, International Herald Tribune: Iran has not waged an expansionary war in more than two centuries. It's worth recalling that hateful, ultra-nationalist rhetoric is no Iranian preserve.
Those RFID passport chips are secure? Really? Think again - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View: Now that we have a new administration in Washington with an attitude that seems to put people, not Dick Cheney’s, security first, it seems to me that a reexamination of the rush to RFID our travel documents without really caring should be put on the review agenda at State and also Homeland Security.
Europa Editions Finds Success Translating Literary Novels - Motoko Rich, New York Times: It does not sound like a recipe for publishing success: a roster of translated literary novels written mainly by Europeans, relying heavily on independent-bookstore sales, without an e-book or vampire in sight.

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