
--joeneri, commenting on a piece in the Huffington Post regarding President Obama's Afghan war plans; image from
AN OBSERVATION BY YOUR PDPBR COMPILER

Coverage of public diplomacy in the media has declined considerably in recent days; so enjoy, at least, the pictures below!; above image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Thanks Al - Matt Armstrong, MuntainRunner.u.s.: "If you’re new to http://www.mountainrunner.us/ via Al Kamen’s In the Loop, welcome and browse a while. By the way, Kamen was referring to this post Fresh Start for the Broadcasting Board of Governors when he cited me and this blog. Michael Meehan, like other BBG nominees, was previously nominated to the Board by President George W. Bush. The (informal) link between the BBG and State Department’s public diplomacy office may potentially benefit State’s public diplomacy efforts."
Israel's Frozen Chutzpah - Emmanuel Navon, For the Sake of Zion: "Israel should not have announced a settlement freeze without demanding that the PA finally fulfills its most basic commitments under the Oslo Agreements, after systematically violating them for the past sixteen years.

EU's quiet diplomat steps aside after 10 years - Andrew Rettman, EUobserver.com: "EU foreign relations chief Javier Solana, who retires this week, will be remembered as a master of quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy. But campaigners say he should have done more to put human rights at the forefront of his work. ... Human Rights Watch advocate Lotte Leicht [said] ... [h]e may deliver a tough message in behind-closed-doors talks with world leaders, for all we know, she added. But he has not put human rights at the heart of the EU's identity in a public way. 'In terms of quiet diplomacy he has probably performed quite well. But in terms of public diplomacy he has not,' Ms Lotte said. 'It's a missed opportunity.'"
Work Agenda - Andy Carling, Brussels Agenda: 3 Dec - "Speaking With One Voice: what public diplomacy for the EU? 18:45 to 20:00, The Centre, 22, Avenue Marnix The Centre is hosting a debate on EU foreign policy post-Lisbon

U.S. Embassy in Colombo on the expression out for new media help - jcptypoi: “The U.S.A. Embassy in Colombo holds positioned out an advert for a new media assistant I conceive it Holds the first diplomatic mission in Democratic socialist republic of sri lanka to expressly name for a place that prosecutes with new media, proposing the turning importance of public diplomacy leveraging the web and Mobile postwar.”
The US "war on the internet" – Blog from the Middle East: The US "war on the internet" information below is just the tip of a terrible iceberg, rarely even mentioned, much less examined by US mainstream media.

White House emphasizes the positive in Afghanistan:In the run-up to Obama's expected troop-increase announcement, administration officials praise the Afghan government for progress in crucial areas - Paul Richter, latimes.com
Defend the defensible - Larry Franklin, Washington Times:

Europe Is Missing the Action in Afghanistan: NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen would like to see the Allies 'allowing for more flexibility in the use of their forces' - Daniel Schwammenthal, Wall Street Journal: Rather than dispatching more combat troops, the mood in Europe (and increasingly in the U.S.) is to find some sort of exit strategy.
The Arabs Have Stopped Applauding Obama: A foreign policy of penance has won America no friends – Foujad Ajami, Wall Street Journal:

In Elections, Honduras Defeats Chávez: The tiny country beats back the colonial aspirations of its neighbors – Mary Anastasia O’Grady, Wall Street Journal: Unless something monumental happens in the Western Hemisphere in the next 31 days, the big regional story for 2009 will be how tiny Honduras managed to beat back the colonial aspirations of its most powerful neighbors and preserve its constitution. Yesterday's elections for president and Congress, held as scheduled and without incident, were the crowning achievement of that struggle. The fact that the U.S. has said it will recognize their legitimacy shows that this reality eventually made its way to the White House.
The impossible dream, again - Everett 'Ted' Ellis Briggs, Washington Times:

Cuba remains a cancer in the Western Hemisphere. With help from Venezuela and radical Arab states, it has resumed spreading virulent anti-American propaganda, most recently accusing the United States of genocide against Cuba.
Enlarging NATO, Expanding Confusion - Mary Elise Sarotte, New York Times:
Twenty years ago, dictatorships across Central and Eastern Europe toppled. During this season of remembering, the focus has rightly been on celebration of the new freedoms gained by the inhabitants of those countries: to speak freely, to travel, to vote and to choose their own national futures and alliances. Yet the legacy of 1989 has difficult aspects as well, mostly centering on the origins and legitimacy of later NATO expansion to former East German and Warsaw Pact territory; acknowledgment of them by the United States could greatly improve American and Russian relations.
How to Study a Superpower: Experts guided policy, then turned against it [Review of Know Your Enemy by David C. Engerman] - Arch Puddington, Wall Street Journal:
