September 14

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."

--Leo Tolstoy; image from

ANNOUNCEMENT VIA TWITTER

Live webcast tomorrow of Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy mtg w/ ECA's Adam Ereli http://bit.ly/olqXFI, we will take q's from online

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Out of the equation - PakistanToday.com.pk: "The powers that be here in Pakistan would not be pleased.

It appears that the Taliban are set to establish their first internationally recognised office outside of Afghanistan after the 2001 fall of their regime. In Qatar, not Pakistan. ... By now, it is certain that the Obama administration would be doing the math on how bad it would look, in public diplomacy terms, to include Mullah Omar in a possible future government setup in Afghanistan. That is a possibility. The Taliban, previously having spurned attempts at reconciliation, are to be goaded into the negotiation."  On Mullah Omar, see. Image from

In Syria, US ambassador drops diplomatic niceties‎ - Updated News: "U.S. ambassadors are usually the most measured of professionals, weighing each word in a delicate dialogue to advance America’s interests with a minimum of public fuss. But Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria,

is taking an undiplomatic tack — flouting government travel restrictions, courting opposition figures and taking to Facebook to publicly denounce Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on unarmed protesters. ... While, there have been suggestions that Ford may be withdrawn from Syria, State Department officials reject that and say he remains in contact with senior Syrian officials though they concede privately that communication has suffered. Last month, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Syria’s foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem. Diplomatic analysts say Ford’s public diplomacy may yet prod Syria to expel him and push Damascus and Washington to a new level of estrangement. That would be the opposite of what Ford hoped to achieve when he arrived in Damascus." Ford image from article

Kurdish-Christian Tensions Emerge in Syria‎ - Rudaw: "Non-Kurdish residents of northeastern Syria consider Kurds troublesome intruders and fear that the area region could become part of a larger 'Kurdistan region', according to a US embassy cable from March 2009. US Public Diplomacy officers visited Deir al-Zur, Al-Hasaka and Al-Qamisli between March 10 and 13, 2009 during the fourth anniversary of the Kurdish uprising according to a US embassy cable published recently by Wikileaks. Seda Altug, an expert on the Al-Jazirah

region in northeastern Syria from Utrecht University, agreed that there were tensions between privileged Christians and marginalized Kurds. ... None of the people US officials spoke with mentioned efforts to improve relations. 'To the contrary, there was a heavy sense of resentment against Kurdish sentiments in favor of autonomy and even an independent country,' the cable mentioned." Image from article, with caption: Syrian Christians attending a Sunday mass in Damascus, May 2011.

Alumni shape debate in hot polit[i]cal summer‎ - Jenny Che, The Dartmouth: "Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone ’73 has worked to strengthen the country’s foundations during a time in which Turkey is under serious consideration for membership in the European Union, and has played a major role in diffusing conflicts in countries such as Syria. ... Outside the U.S., Ricciardone has focused on allying American and Turkish governments and strengthening the friendship between citizens in both countries, Ricciardone said in an interview with The Dartmouth. ... 'A huge part of diplomacy is public diplomacy, such as reaching out to different sectors of Turkish public opinion and trying to correct the misperceptions of the U.S.,' he said. 'We want to make sure they have a true image of how compatible and mutually reinforcing our national interests are, and how we are working together to advance them.'"

Public Schedule for September 14, 2011 - U.S. Department of State: "ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS ANN STOCK 10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with Smithsonian Under Secretary Richard Kurin, at the Department of State.

(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE) 12:45 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock attends a luncheon hosted by the Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, at the Mexican Cultural Institute. (MEDIA DETERMINED BY HOST) 3:15 p.m. Assistant Secretary Stock meets with NATO Assistant Secretary General Kolinda Grabar, at the Department of State. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)." Image from

RFE/RL blogger describes NBC report as "a great piece of propaganda for Ahmadinejad" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

VOA Video Feature “OMG Meiyu” Goes Viral in China - Press Release, Broadcasting Board of Governors: "The 24-year-old host of 'OMG Meiyu,' a trendy, cross cultural English teaching feature produced by Voice of America’s Mandarin Service,

has become an overnight sensation in China, where viewers are flocking to social media sites to see her idiomatic lesson called 'Yucky Gunk." Via PF. See also (again via PF).

China Media Amps Up Latin America Coverage‎ - Eric Ehrmann, Huffington Post: "Seeking to put more of its own spin on global affairs and provide counterspin to offest coverage generated by CNN, the BBC, the Voice of America and other U.S. public diplomacy outlets, official Chinese media is expanding its footprint in the southern hemisphere."

VP says 'scientists without border' should help poor nations - Islamic Republic News Agency: "Dr. Nasrin Soltankhah in a meeting here on Tuesday presented Iran's proposal concerning establishment of a body of scientists without border, including scientists who work under supervision of the United Nations and present their know-how and information to poor countries. In a press conference here in the venue of Iran's embassy building, the VP

also talked about establishment of Science and Technology Cooperation Association with Austria and other European countries and added that Iran is ready to found such association with a team of European and Iranian scientists who can take basic steps toward progress of science and technology. She underlined that Iran is willing to transfer its know-how to poor people of the world to develop peace and prosperity. Soltankhah also expressed Tehran's readiness to open a new chapter of cooperation between Iran and other countries in the fields of science and technology as well as developing public diplomacy." Soltankhah image from article

Ayalon airs 'hasbara' YouTube video on peace process: Deputy FM releases public diplomacy clip in lead-up to Palestinian UN bid putting blame for peace process failures on Palestinians - Jerusalem Post: "Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Tuesday released a YouTube video entitled 'The Truth About the Peace Process,' in which he seeks to demonstrate 'that the reason there is no successful peace process is because of decades of Palestinian and Arab recalcitrance.'

The hasbara [public diplomacy] video was released to coincide with the date the Oslo accords were signed 18 years ago and on the background of the upcoming United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood, according to a press release from Ayalon's bureau." Entry includes video. Image from article

Top Blair Official Helps Brush Up Kosovo's Image - Petrit Collaku and Maryrose Fison, Eurasia Review: "The British government has committed more than £100,000 to a joint project aimed at boosting the image of Kosovo, whose prime minister, Hashim Thaci, is currently at the centre of an international investigation into organ trafficking allegations. The campaign’s budget for this year is £251,000, with £125,500 being provided by the British Embassy in Kosovo and the other half coming from Kosovo’s foreign ministry. Alistair Campbell, former communications director to Tony Blair, has been appointed to help run the campaign and is presently in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina,

where he will deliver a workshop on strategic communications. The campaign is being managed by the British Council in Kosovo and comes at a crucial point for the country, which broke away from Serbia after a bloody conflict in 1999, declared independence in 2008 and is working towards gaining membership in the European Union. ... According to information from the British Council, the project will work on changing public opinions through public diplomacy tools. It will aim to increase the central capacities of the Foreign Ministry in Kosovo and the Kosovo Government towards more strategic communication and improve perception of dialogue in Kosovo." Image from

Governor General Credentials Ceremony 11:30 am 15 September [Malaysia] - ‎press release, Scoop.co.nz: "Spanish Ambassador Jesús Miguel Sanz Escorihuela has been a career diplomat since 1992 and recently served as Director General of Casa Asia Institution of Public Diplomacy covering Asian and Pacific Regions."

RELATED ITEMS

We've Won in Iraq, So Let's Leave: Leaving 3,000 U.S. troops there would only be an irritant - Leif Babin, Wall Street Journal: The vision of Iraq as a flowering democracy free of violent extremist attacks and wielding advanced military capability in close alliance with the U.S. was always a utopian fantasy. Mr. Babin is a former Navy SEAL

officer who served three tours in Iraq, earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. Military.com image from, with caption: Here is the physical fitness test for the Navy SEALS' training program, known as BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs).

The Taliban are winning Afghanistan's information war‎ - Frank Ledwidge, The Guardian:
Frank Ledwidge guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 14 September 2011 10.08 BST Article history
Afghan security officials survey the damage of Tuesday's attacks in Kabul, claimed by the Taliban. Over the last decade Nato has constantly found itself behind the curve in planning and executing what they call "influence operations" – a combination of the use of propaganda ("psychological operations") and, importantly, force to deliver its "message". For getting its media message across, it has relied on clunking spokesmen whose pronouncements, particularly on casualties, are automatically assumed by Afghans to be lies. Matters are not assisted by the fact that for much of the time western forces and their Afghan allies do not seem entirely clear on their objectives.

Meanwhile the Taliban (or Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as they call themselves) are crystal clear as to their desired end-state: foreigners out and a government under Islamic law. Despite the fact that much of their media output is highly inaccurate – their website this morning claimed that they had killed "several dozen foreign invaders and local puppets" – the Taliban are always first off the mark after every incident. This has long been a source of huge frustration to senior officers, but a problem that Nato's media operations bureaucracy seems incapable of putting right. Tuesday's attacks in Kabul delivered a series of messages from the Taliban (if indeed it was the Taliban who carried them out. Needless to say, they claimed them anyway.) Image from article: Afghan security officials survey the damage of Tuesday's attacks in Kabul, claimed by the Taliban.

Inside Gadhafi stronghold: Snipers on roofs and propaganda in the air - Associated Press, Washington Post: The accounts from residents fleeing Bani Walid build a portrait of a battlefield-in-waiting for an expected all-out assault by the revolutionary forces now controlling much of Libya. Few people — except for fighters — dare to venture outside. The silence is broken by the exchange of fire from both sides and propaganda from a pro-Gadhafi radio station.

Report reveals South Korea's psy-ops against North Korea - AFP, straitstimes.com: South Korea's military operates giant trucks which print and send thousands of leaflets and transmit broadcasts as part of psychological warfare against North Korea, said a report disclosed on Wednesday. North Korea, which tightly controls news from outside, has responded angrily to past propaganda campaigns by the South's military or private groups and threatened to fire across the heavily fortified border to stop such campaigns.

Details of South Korea's military psychological operations (psy-ops) unit emerged in a defence ministry report to Song Young-Sun, a member of parliament's defence committee. An aide to Mr Song gave the report to AFP. The defence ministry declined comment to AFP, saying information on psychological warfare is confidential. Image from

Jail term for praising Hitler‎ - Austrian Independent: A man from Lower Austria has been sentenced to prison for glorifying the Third Reich. The 54-year-old was found guilty of breaching Austria’s anti-Nazi propaganda law. He was ordered to spend six months behind bars, with another 12 months on suspension. The verdict – issued by a court in Wiener Neustadt yesterday (Tues) – is not yet legally binding as the state prosecutor is yet to make his final statement. The defendant did not appeal. The man – who co-founded and once headed the banned Austrian Nationalist Party (NVP) – denied all charges under Austria’s anti-Nazi mindset act

Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago - e-flux.com: In the last thirty years of the Soviet Union, Koretsky’s art sought to ensure world Communism’s moral health. In contrast to more conventional Soviet propaganda—filled with happy workers, glorious leaders, and uplifting slogans—Koretsky created striking scenes of survival and suffering that were designed to create an emotional connection between Soviet citizens and others struggling for civil rights and independence around the globe.

This vision of a multicultural world of shared sacrifice offered a dynamic alternative to the sleek consumerism of Madison Avenue and the West and, according to the exhibition curators, can be thought of “as a kind of Communist advertising for a future that never quite arrived.” rawing on an extensive private collection of Soviet art and propaganda, Vision and Communism presents nearly ninety of Koretsky’s posters, photographs, and original maquettes. Together with the October 14 symposium Agitation!, a related book that explores the dissident public culture nurtured in the Soviet bloc, and a screening of films by Aleksandr Medvedkin and Chris Marker, Vision and Communism offers a striking new interpretation of visual communication in the USSR and beyond. Image from article, with caption: Viktor Koretsky, "Africa Fights, Africa Will Win!," 1971.

Halt the Hun! Allied First World War Propaganda - amog.com: The total casualties, military and civilian, totaled over 37 million people.

21 million people were injured and 16 million died. Many people today seem to forget about how crazy the First World War was because of WW2 and other stuff that has happened since, but it was of epic importance.

The outcome of the war redrew national boundaries, killed off entire generations of young men, and redefined and destroyed European empires and monarchies. Images from article

Geeky Propaganda Posters - Adalbert, amog.com: Sample:

IMAGE

--From an email announcement by the Japanese Information and Culture Center in Washington DC