November 26

"Thinking: The Business of Washington"

--KAEF Kosovo American Education Fund

Above Bush photo: Sparkle Pony

"The State Department appointment is prestigious enough not to be condescending, yet also keeps Clinton off the Washington circuit more than any other position. She’ll be on a plane or abroad a great deal. Extra bonus: Bill will just love that. Sending his wife to the Middle East is the ex-president’s idea of a good time." Photo from

--Andrew Sullivan

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Obama can show diplomacy on world stage, revive America's image - Steven R. Corman, Arizona Republic: “Public diplomacy is not a matter of launching messages at targeted audiences, like so many artillery shells. International communication takes place in a large, interconnected and complex system. Such systems can be hard to understand and predict, but they can also become locked into patterns that interpret messages in standard and negative ways, no matter how carefully they are formulated and targeted. Such is the case with U.S. public diplomacy today. Any conventional message we send international audiences is seen as yet another example of American arrogance, an attempt to peddle snake oil or an effort to advance some hidden agenda. In these circumstances, we do not need Madison Avenue marketing. We need a disruption, a game-changer that will jolt the system out of its standard patterns and get international audiences to actively listen again.”

Hillary at Foggy Bottom - Helle Dale, Washington Times: “Foreign policy has … increasingly been conducted by the Pentagon, particularly in the Rumsfeld era. Its regional combatant commands are taking on intergovernmental coordinating functions that previously have been housed in the State Department and the embassies. In terms of public diplomacy strategy and outreach, the Pentagon has moved aggressively and strategically to occupy the turf left open by State in recent times.“

The Case Against Retaining Gates at the Pentagon - Melvin A. Goodman, The Public Record: “Defense Department personnel in recent years have been placed in sensitive positions in public diplomacy and foreign assistance, and active-duty and retired general officers are manning virtually all the key positions of the intelligence community, including the CIA. It is time to enhance the role of the White House in setting U.S. policy and to make sure the National Security Council coordinates the implementation of these policies. Too much power resides in the hands of the military.”

The Saudi Arabian Enigma - Jim Kouri, Post Chronicle: “According to reports, the State Department and USAID are carrying out efforts to counter the global propagation of Islamic extremism, with State's efforts focused primarily on traditional diplomacy, counterterrorism, and public diplomacy and USAID's efforts focused on development programs to diminish underlying conditions of extremism.”

Special Briefing To Announce the Alliance of Youth Movement: James K. Glassman, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs – Daily Press Meeting, State Department: “[Department of State spokesperson] Mr. McCormack: … I want to turn the briefing over for a bit to Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and then Jared Cohen, who’s from our Policy Planning Staff, to talk a little bit about a really exciting and innovative program that the State Department is working on with various partners out in the private sector. It’s called the Alliance of Youth Movement. It’s a meeting that’s going to be held in New York City from December 3rd to the 5th, and it’s working with youth to help combat extremism and to use new trends in social networking, as well as the technical aspects of social networking, to help various groups come together to combat extremism. And it’s really part of – this is, I would say, part of an overall effort here at the State Department to really better use technology, better use various applications of those technology, including social networking and social media to better communicate with the rest of the world and to do our job. You’re well aware of what we’re doing in terms of the briefing room here, Briefing 2.0, Facebook, our blog, and a lot of other efforts that we’ll talk about after this. I won’t bore you with all those right now.”

The US State Department Promotes On-line Youth Groups: The organizations will fight against political oppression and terrorism - Softpedia, Romania: “Big Internet names, such as Facebook, Google, MTV, and Howcast, have already announced their intentions of joining the initiative set forth by the US State Department, of fighting against terrorism, political oppression, and for civil rights. Next week, New York City will host a conference on the matter, with representatives from several such existing organizations from all over the world attending. … ‘The idea is put all these people together, share best practices, produce a manual that will be accessible online and in print to any group that wants to build a youth empowerment organization to push back against violence and oppression around the world,’ James Glassman, under secretary of state for public diplomacy, said in a statement.”
see also a, b, c, d, e, f.

US Public Diplomacy in Moldova - Mihai Moscovici, Give Live Love: “Vineri, in a doua jumatate a zilei, am participat la doua intalniri cu Colleen P. Graffy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs: una in calitate de blogger si alta in calitate de absolvent al programelor de schimb al guvernului SUA. Doamna Graffy este o persoana comunicabila, sociabila si foarte in voga cu ultimele tendinte web 2.0: blogger, Twitter, YouTube… pe langa asta, oriunde in lume, e mereu conectata la internet prin BlackBerry. Cu toate acestea, cel mai remarcabil este ca doamna Graffy nu are aroganta inaltilor demnitari si se comporta de la egal la egal cu bloggerii dintr-o tara din lumea a treia.”

Virtual vs Real Life - Kelly Groft , ABC2 News, MD: “The State Department is even getting in on the virtual world, ‘I think it's important for government agencies to be appropriately engaged in this technology." said Bill May US Department of State, Public Diplomacy IT Office. … [‘]The State Department is one of several federal agencies now conducting business or holding events on the cutting edge -for all the world to see,' [said] … May …'We're really looking at engaging in mutual understanding, developing understanding between the American people and peoples of other countries.' … May says cyberspace is the perfect place to break down barriers. The government recently sponsored a global jazz concert where musicians from places like Mexico, Australia and Germany participated at the same time -while in their own countries!”

State Dept. Blogging One Year Later (Part 4): State Department 2.0 - Nicholas Brod, COMOPS Journal: “This is the fourth part of a five part series on about the one-year anniversary of the State Department’s Dipnote blog. In Part 1 we focused on reviewing DipNote management and processes. In Part 2 we looked at what the State Department bloggers were writing about. In Part 3 we conducted an in-depth content analysis of reader comments on the blog. In this post I look at the larger context of Web 2.0 effort being pursued by the State Department, of which Dipnote is a part. … New forms of social media, many of which the State Department has begun to embrace, offer unique tools for more direct interaction with their audiences for public affairs and public diplomacy efforts.”

Internet resistance – Foreign Policy Association: Middle East -- The official Web log for Great Decisions 2007: “State Department …certainly are not the only people making the argument that as the internet democratizes ideas, the way that young people expect to participate in movements and organizations has changed. Just this week (or maybe last week …) the Economist reviewed a book called Grown Up Digital by Don Tapscott who makes a similar assertion about digital youth, purely outside the framework of terrorism/extremism/etc.”

Give me the equivalent of six Apaches and I can duplicate VOA worldwide (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: On RFE/RL: “Just provide a credible new service, and ‘America's foreign policy interests’ will be served by well-informed publics. Best to leave the talk of public diplomacy, soft power, and improving the U.S. image to the public diplomacy people, elsewhere in Washington."

Thinking: The Business of Washington - KAEF Kosovo American Education Fund: “Washington is home to many think tanks … The Brookings Institution collaborates with think tanks throughout the world, a product of globalization in thinking, leading to a number of highly visible projects from senior fellows and resident experts. In the past several weeks, for example, American Councils has attended a number of briefings on topics ranging from creating a new non-profit to support public diplomacy efforts.”

Experiencing America: Public Diplomacy at Its Best -
Lecture by Nancy G Brinker, Christopher R Hill and Said T Jawad, Heritage Lecture #1103, Heritage Foundation: Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker: “It is a pleasure to be here today, and I appreciate the invitation to share what we are doing at the Office of the U.S. Chief of Protocol to engage with the diplomatic community. … we extended the Office of Protocol to be at the forefront of public diplomacy by creating a new outreach division. Its mission is simple: Give ambassadors the opportunity to experience more of America--exploring these topics, connecting with America's foremost leaders and institutions-- beyond traditional diplomatic circles. In short, help strengthen the bridges of understanding that are at the heart of our bilateral relations.”

Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century Kristin M. Lord, Brookings Institution: “This report presents concrete steps to strengthen America’s efforts to engage, persuade, and attract the support of foreign publics. As part of a comprehensive plan to enhance our government’s public diplomacy, it urges the creation of a nimble and entrepreneurial new non-profit organization, the USA-World Trust, to complement and support U.S. government efforts.”

Global Listening: It's all that it's cracked up to be - Patrick Madden, Type, Talk & Transform World Peace: “I spent the better part of this morning at a briefing on the Brookings Institution's latest report regarding public diplomacy - Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century: . … What was striking to me was less about the report and whether I agree or disagree with the findings (which I was duly quizzed afterward by colleagues and associates), but rather a comment that was made a number of times by the panelists: ‘We need to listen more.’"

Mightier Than the Sword: Arts and Culture in the U.S.-Muslim World Relationship by Cynthia P. Schneider, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Saban Center for Middle East Policy; and Kristina Nelson, author of The Art of Reciting the Quran - John Brown, Review, American Diplomacy: “The arts are essential to giving meaning to our lives, but they are far too complex and all too human to be reduced to vehicles for advancing certain forms of social behavior or political systems. As the report itself states – but not emphatically enough – ‘value art for art’s sake.’”

Rock The Casbah - Jon Taplin's Blog: “The article in this morning’s Times on an all girl rock band in Saudi Arabia called Accolade is a window into a major public diplomacy advantage the U.S. could employ in the Obama administration. … Three years ago, Karen Hughes, in her first week in office as Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy came to the Annenberg School where our Center for Public Diplomacy trains future diplomats in an art that has almost vanished in the Bush Administration. … I … went on to suggest that the State Department sponsor a major tour of Hip Hop artists throughout the Mideast where the genre is very popular. I noted that Jurrasic Five, Mos Def and the Nas were all Muslims and that the tour would have two effects. First the mullahs would tell the kids they could not go to hear this decadent music–and the kids would disobey in their first act of independence from the religious authorities. Second, if the opening acts on the tour were all local bands, they would leave behind an underground scene that would inevitably foster more openness like the Accolade is trying to promote. Ms. Hughes proceeded to ask about whether the Hip Hop artists supported President Bush, to which I replied that they were all strongly opposed to the Iraq War, and that would add to the cognitive dissonance of their appearance. She of course thought this was a terrible idea.”

Options for Influence: Global campaigns of persuasion in the new worlds of public diplomacy - John Brown, Review, American Diplomacy: “Options for Influence is to be praised for seeking to help PD [Public Diplomacy] practitioners develop a ‘strategy’ for their work, but for elucidation on how ‘international actors’ stay afloat in an unpredictable overseas environment, biographical and historical accounts of public diplomacy are perhaps more rewarding (or at least more humorous).”

Peace Corps in a Bottom-Up and Troubled Era - Yossef Ben-Meir, Global Politician: “In the current issue of WorldView magazine, a publication of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), President-elect Barack Obama states his support for doubling the number of volunteers to 16,000 by 2011. … There is nearly universal agreement that the United States needs urgently to rebuild its image in the world. Volunteers, as good neighbors and in their dedication to meeting human needs, contribute to public diplomacy and to goodwill among nations.”

Secretary Clinton: Welcome to Colombia – Felipe Estafan, Colombia Report: “Top Obama administration officials must recognize that the United States is not the only international power vying for the attention and potential benefits of relations with Latin American nations. Colombia, as the current strongest ally of the United States in the region, ought to be regarded as an important part of any U.S. strategy to strengthen traditional and public diplomacy efforts in Latin America.”

NATO Mediterranean Dialogue Seminar in Israel - Defense-Technology News: "(NSI News Source Info) November 25, 2008: The NATO Public Diplomacy Division co-organised with the Tel Aviv Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) on 24-26 November 2008 an international seminar on Regional Security Dialogue and Cooperation in the Middle East."

Moral Depravity Exemplified - Eric Trager, Contentions, Commentary: “[I]f the Obama administration is as serious about public diplomacy as it promised it would be, Syrian-American rapprochement will be postponed indefinitely. For all of the ink that has been spilled claiming that the war in Iraq has hurt our standing abroad, there is one thing that would be even more harmful: sending mixed messages regarding where we stand on the most basic moral issues. In this vein, nothing would be more counterproductive than engaging leaders who grant ruthless murderers their highest national honors.”

A new spin on Iran's nuclear fuel - Kaveh L Afrasiabi, Asia Times: “Leading the pack in th[e] media endeavor for a Chomskyian [‘]manufactured consensus’ on Iran's nuclear threat is the nation's leading newspaper, the New York Times. Although known as the voice of the liberal ‘eastern establishment’, the Times is perceived by many as a pillar of support for pro-Israel global public diplomacy and, therefore, it comes as little surprise that the respected newspaper may have been churning out alarmist and misleading articles about Iran's purported nuclear threat.”

What preoccupies young Palestinian minds - Daoud Kuttab, Media Monitors Network, CA: “The occupation is foremost on Palestinian youth's mind. This was made clear in the Palestinian village of Beita, near Nablus, at an event held on November 17: the opening of the youth development resource centre, funded by USAID and some private international technical companies. The audience included US Undersecretary of State James K. Glassman, responsible for public diplomacy and public affairs.”

How not to negotiate with Syria - Itamar Rabinovich, Jerusalem Post: “Israel's negotiation with Syria, actual and potential, about the resolution of their conflicts - is very much in the news now. … Public diplomacy is an essential part of any negotiation and conflict resolution. But so is secret diplomacy.”

Will Obama be good for us? - Tasneem Noorani, The News, Pakistan: “Sen Biden also says that America should treat military aid separately and make it conditional on results. In addition to that, he is also in favour of a 'democracy dividend' – saying that one year of democracy should be rewarded by an additional billion dollars in aid. … Biden has also said that Washington needs to engage the Pakistani people rather than its rulers, and that this should be done through improved public diplomacy, educational exchanges and 'high-impact' projects. Now if Obama adopts the strategic proposals of Biden, whom he took as his teammate for his foreign policy specialisation, Pakistan should find US policy towards it people-friendly, with sustained economic collaboration and a bonus for continuing with democracy.”

Israel, Palestinians seek support through media campaign - Zhang Yanyang, Xu Gang, Chinaview: “Gerald Steinberg, Political Studies Department Chair at Bar Ilan University, told Xinhua in a phone interview … [that] ‘Israel is taking public diplomacy seriously for the first time. The government is actually looking at long-term efforts to reach out, of which YouTube is one of many,’ he said.”

Introducing Israel Studies in U.S. Universities: Interview with Mitchell Bard – “Dr. Mitchell G. Bard is executive director of the nonprofit American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and a foreign policy analyst who lectures frequently on American Middle East policy. … [Bard:] ‘Unlike the Arab-sponsored programs, AICE is careful not to try to turn teaching positions into public-diplomacy efforts for Israel, even though several pro-Israeli philanthropists would be happy with that. No Israeli professor would be willing to do so.’”

Zardari seeks funds to overcome economic crisis - Ashfaq Ahmed, Gulf News: “The main purpose of President Asif Ali Zardari's two-day visit to the UAE, which concluded on Tuesday, was to secure some ‘economic relief’ for Pakistan … The meeting also decided to launch a public diplomacy campaign to project the Friends of Pakistan initiative.”

Malawi yet to be on Danish support agenda - Charles Mpaka, Malawi's Daily Times, Malawi: “Charlotte Henriksen, Head of Section for Public Diplomacy and Communication in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be drawn into commenting on whether there were immediate plans that the Danish government could review its stand following the change of government in Malawi.”

La nuova propaganda del Pentagono in Iraq - Osservatorio Iraq: “[C]on l’espressione ‘public diplomacy’ si intendono quegli aspetti della diplomazia internazionale non direttamente legati ai rapporti tra governi nazionali; la ‘public diplomacy’ si concentra sui modi in cui un determinato Paese può comunicare con i cittadini di altri Paesi; questi modi includono l’informazione ed altri mezzi mediatici come i film, la televisione, la musica, ecc.”

Role Of Media Propaganda In Iraq Invasion - Ayyoob, Blood: “Involvement of the Bush Administration and State Machinery in Propaganda: The Bush administration was engaged in wholesale fabrication of lies and to a great extent it succeeded in passing them to the audience as indelible truths, when it is ushered into the day to day news chain. … Charlotte Beers, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, has played an important role in this regard thanks to her important role in the advertising industry as well.”

RELATED ITEMS

Weapons Come Second: Can Obama Take on the Pentagon? - Frida Berriga, TomDispatch: As a candidate, Barack Obama stirred our imagination through his calls for a "new era of international cooperation." The United States cannot, however, cooperate with other nations from atop our shining Green Zone on the hill; we cannot cooperate as the world's sole superpower, policeman, cowboy, hyperpower, or whatever the imperial nom du jour turns out to be. Bottom line: we cannot genuinely and effectively cooperate while spending more on what we like to call "security" than the next 45 nations combined.

US-Iraq agreement needs work - Ayad Allawi, Boston Globe. Ayad Allawi is the former prime minister of Iraq.

Bush should include Congress - Bill Delahunt and Oona Hathaway, Boston Globe: The Iraqi parliament is expected to vote today on the security agreement with the United States. Its approval, by the required two-thirds majority, would mark an important moment in the development of Iraq's constitutional democracy. How sad, then, that our own Congress has been denied the opportunity to vote on the agreement.

Start With Syria: A Middle East Deal Obama Could Build On - Aaron David Miller, Washington Post: So, Mr. President-elect, go ahead and try to buck up the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire, train Palestinian security forces, pour economic aid into Gaza and the West Bank, and quietly nurture Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. But don't go for the endgame -- you won't get there. Instead, invest in an Israeli-Syrian peace, and, afterward, you might find, with a historic success under your belt and America again admired for its competence, you will be better positioned to achieve the success you want in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, as well.

Russian-Georgian media war carries on - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Another Falsehood Exposed - Dan Froomkin, washigntonpost.com: When and if the curtain is fully pulled back on President Bush's "war on terror," how much of what he said will turn out to be true, and how much of it will turn out to be fantasy and lies? The more we learn, the more it seems the appeals to fear that Bush used to rally the nation behind him were unfounded.

It's All a Blur - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog
I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: PHOTO. President George W. Bush shakes hands with Peru's Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde as Peru's President Alan Garcia kisses U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during their meeting at the APEC summit in Lima November 23, 2008. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (PERU). COMMENT: "Oh, this is going to be a very long, drawn-out swan song for Dr. Ferragamo. From now on, she's going to hear nothing but variations of the following two questions: How does it feel to be a failure? Have you picked a title for the book?"

Image from

November 22

President-Elect Barack Obama's Favorite Pizza Comes to D.C. - Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

VIDEO

Bush Gets Bad Rap In CNN's Supposed G-20 Handshake Incident, BagnewsNotes

NOTE

There will be no postings of the "Public Diplomacy Press and Blog Review" November 23-25

RELATED ITEMS

From Heritage to Azeroth - Joshua Fouts, DIP's Dispatches from the Imagination Age: “The Heritage Foundation's Helle Dale and Tony Blankley released a new report today, 'Reforming US Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century,' which almost feels like a companion report to Kristin Lord's Brookings Institution report similarly titled "Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century." The Heritage report, which was teased in a Washington Times editorial by Dale this week, rehashes a lot of important but previously mentioned points for the incoming Obama Administration to consider. And it focuses on public diplomacy's role in countering extremism. As with most of these reports, they touch on the importance of technology, but mostly focus on the systemic bureaucratic problems at hand rather than offering substantive suggestions. … The challenges facing government seem so daunting organizationally and administratively that reports over the past weeks (and years, even!) like the above-mentioned Heritage Foundation report seem focused on the fundamentals rather than some of the more critical details, namely that the culture and way that the world is communicating has changed and changed radically. The policy recommendations that we are preparing for the Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project, which will be released in coming weeks, will address a number of these specific issues.”

America's Image in the Age of Obama – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin and Brookings Institution scholar Kenneth Pollack today assessed the impact of Barack Obama's election as President of the United States on America's image abroad as well as the challenges his administration will likely face as it confronts the 21st Century's 'War of Ideas.' ’In public diplomacy, the messenger matters,’ Gedmin said to a packed house at the DC-based Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC). ‘President-elect Obama's global appeal marks a real opportunity for the U.S. to improve its image overseas. But the message matters, too – his administration needs to craft sound policies that advance our interests and values.’ Pollack agreed that the Obama administration represents a chance to improve America's image, but warned that ‘popularity cannot be a substitute for good policy.’

Revitalising America's image: A revival in America's reputation ultimately rests not on diplomacy but substantive policy change - Amr Abdel-Atti, Al-Ahram: “If anyone stands a chance of improving the US's image in the Arab world, Obama does, especially when compared to his pre-4 November rival, Republican candidate John McCain. … However, it still remains the case that if Obama is to improve the US's image in the Arab world he has to change those policies and attitudes that were directly responsible for sewing anti-US hatred … After all, it is impossible to separate national policy from public diplomacy.”

Closed-Minded on the Border - Edward Alden, Washington Post: “Openness to immigrants and to foreign students, entrepreneurs and visitors has long been this country's secret weapon. The world's best and brightest come to the United States in large numbers to study or work temporarily, and many end up staying. Early in the campaign, Obama lamented the post-9/11 decline in visas for foreign students, which he said ‘used to be one of the single best public-diplomacy tools in our possession.’"

State Dept and Pentagon officials At Odds over Gitmo Detainee Policy - Daphne Eviatar, Washington Independent: “Contacted in response to my story yesterday about the debate over national security courts, I spoke today to the former Chief Counsel at the state department focused on detainee issues, who revealed an apparent schism between the State Dept on the one hand, and the Pentagon and executive on the other, when it comes to what to do with the Guantanamo detainees against whom they don’t have any solid evidence. … Although the state department is supposed to have some say on these issues, in particular regarding how ongoing litigation affects US public diplomacy, voices like this former senior state department lawyer’s have obviously been drowned out by DOD, and ultimately by the national security council and the president.”

A Bit Of Theory (Or, Actually Useful Stuff Learned In Grad School) - David Shorr, Democracy Arsenal: “I've been working with Vikram Singh and Derek Chollet of Center for a New American Security on a project that looked for ways to convert all this concern about the problem into meaningful action. Recently we drew up a memo proposing that President-elect Obama tell his national security team to collaborate on a joint FY 2010 budget for defense, diplomacy, and development. … The essence of the proposal from our own project is for the Defense and State Departments and USAID to reach their budget numbers by common agreement -- with DoS and USAID receiving significant increases in funding, as well as, this is important, personnel. … Here are the premises of the argument [among them that: ] … This is not a limited set of discrete problems -- public diplomacy, post-conflict reconstruction, privatization of aid programs -- it is all one big problem of foreign policy effectiveness and atrophied agencies that are not strong enough to pursue America's aims in an increasingly complex world. At just the moment when our relations with the world are at historic lows, we find ourselves with shortfall in our capacity to rebuild those relations.”

Public Diplomacy 2.0 - Upcoming New America Events, New America Foundation: “How the State Department, with partners like YouTube, Google and Facebook, is taking advantage of social networking technology to tell America's story and to encourage young people with political grievances to find outlets for their protests other than violent extremism. Start: 12/01/2008 - 10:00amEnd: 12/01/2008 - 11:30am New America Foundation 1630 Connecticut Ave, NW 7th FloorWashington, DC, 20009 … Featured Speaker The Hon. James K. Glassman Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.”

US Public Diplomacy Council publishes proposals for reforming international broadcasting - Medianetwork

Kim's comments about the Public Diplomacy Council's "Reforming U.S. International Broadcasting for a New Era"- Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: “The PDC document contains contradictions that suggest that it was written by a committee. The ‘broad consensus’ was indeed broad. Nevertheless, the PDC has developed thoughtful proposals for U.S. international broadcasting. They should be read, discussed, and debated.” SEE BELOW, bottom of page: "Letter to the Public Diplomacy Council from the Broadcasting Board of Governors' Spokesperson"

Visa Waiver Program Expansion Will Stimulate U.S. Economic Growth - Roger Dow, The Hill Blog: “The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) expansion will strengthen U.S. security, boost America’s vital public diplomacy efforts and stimulate U.S. economic growth.”

U.S. diplomat speaks to students about job opportunities - Kelly McGill, Pioneer Online, OK: “Rick Roberts, a U.S. Department diplomat assigned to the University of Oklahoma, spoke Nov. 18 on ‘Foreign Service and International Education.’ … Roberts said he joined the Foreign Service in 1984 as a Public Diplomacy officer with the U.S. Information Agency. He now speaks to college students to help recruit talent for the State Department.”

Friday, Dipo Domys Executive Didae: “Outlook for public service academy brightens (11/21/08) -- http://www.governmentexecutive.com/: Public Diplomacy. Obama is now talking. The changes at the Air Force were just announced and now Obama wants free school for federal employees. The public Service Academy will give free education to anyone who goes to work for the federal government under the dems like Obama and his executive agencies. The university will hire dems to staff the school and it is the jobs for the staff that will create the academy.”

Senate delegation visits NATO headquarters – Associated Press of Pakistan: “Islamabad: … A six member delegation of the Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production of the Senate led by Senator Nisar A. Memon visited NATO Headquarters and SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) on the invitation of Public Diplomacy Division of NATO.”

Media Matters: Journalism's bang-up job - Ruthie Blum Leibowitz, Jerusalem Post: “Arab perpetrators and their apologists are not only happy to print and broadcast the most gruesome details of their own maimed victims - as well as fabricate and photoshop them at will - but do so purposely, as part of their strategy in the war against Israel. What this means is that the exercise of restraint, based on considerations of sensitivity, makes the PR playing field even less level than it already is. But are the media in a free society supposed to serve as a public-diplomacy vehicle for the state? The answer should be a firm ‘no.’ But what the answer actually is lies somewhere between ‘maybe’ and ‘that depends on who's in power.’"

RELATED ITEMS

The Shout Heard Round the World: Obama as Global Leader - Derek Shearer, Huffington Post: Obama is the American President after all -- but he is, in many respects, also the world's President. What he does will matter to young and old across the globe. The world, like America, is waiting for him to lead.

20 Reasons to Shut Down The Guantánamo Trials - Andy Worthington, Future of Freedom Foundation

Playing Al Qaeda's game – Editorial, Boston Globe: Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda's chief strategist, Ayman al-Zawahiri, want to draw the US into counter-insurgency campaigns in as many Muslim lands as possible. Unlike most Islamist groups that are fixated on overthrowing local regimes, they argue that such near enemies in Egypt, Algeria, and elsewhere have survived only because they are backed by the far enemy in Washington. And so they declared war on America. But this is not America's war; it is a war within Islamic lands between reactionary Islamists and the disparate regimes in those places.

That Iranian "Bomb"? Relax - Robert Dreyfuss, Nation: Once in office, Obama needs to send an envoy to Jerusalem with a simple message for the Israelis: when it comes to Iran, sit down and shut up.

Clinton, Obama and Israel: It's time for the U.S. to reengage in the Mideast peace process - Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times: The flexibility to achieve moral progress through change is one of the characteristics of liberal democracies like the United States and Israel. The common values of liberal democracy are the real basis for the special relationship between our two nations, and nothing would affirm or honor them more than constructive American engagement in a renewed Middle East peace process.

Arabs Should Act Now -- Not Wait for Obama - James Zogby, Huffington Post: On more than one occasion, Barack Obama has stated that he would make Israeli-Palestinian peace a priority, and that he would take a different course than that of his predecessor. But, if we are to be honest with ourselves, we must acknowledge that when Obama takes the oath of office on January 20th, he is likely to find a rather unappetizing situation laid out before him in the Middle East.

Clinton Is Said to Accept Offer of Secretary of State Position – Peter Baker And Helene Cooper, New York Times: Mr. Obama wants to announce the members of his national security team at once. Advisers said he was weighing whether to make retired Gen. James L. Jones, a former Marine commandant and NATO supreme commander, his national security adviser, installing a formidable counterweight to Mrs. Clinton. The president-elect was still trying to decide whether to keep Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on an interim basis or install another choice to run the Pentagon right away.

Obama's valedictocracy - David Brooks, International Herald Tribune: Hillary Clinton at State is problematic, mostly because nobody has a role for her husband. But, as she demonstrated in the Senate, her foreign policy views are hardheaded and pragmatic.

The Cabinet So Far: Encouraging signs, with education reform still in the balance – Editorial, Washington Post: President-elect Barack Obama's picks thus far are experienced, capable, smart and pragmatic. Those adjectives apply to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (State Department).

Hoping Hillary Says Yes - Alec Baldwin, Huffington Post: “Now the notion of Mrs. Clinton as Secretary of State looms over her every utterance and move and I pray that this becomes a reality.”

Prude Descending a Staircase - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: PHOTO: U.S. President George W. Bush is welcomed by officials as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice walks down the stairs at the airport in Lima November 21, 2008. Bush is in Peru to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado (PERU). COMMENT: “Nothing much to say here. This photo shows, though, what a pain in the ass it must be when Condi visits. Look at all those people! Also, the horrible quality of the photo suggests that it was taken from, like, Argentina with a telephoto lens. Tsk!”

DOCUMENT

Letter to the Public Diplomacy Council from the Broadcasting Board of Governors' Spokesperson

Courtesy Len Baldyga
November 20, 2008

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) takes sharp exception to many points in “Reforming U.S. International Broadcasting for a New Era,” a statement issued by the Public Diplomacy Council (PDC) on November 17.

It is false to claim that the BBG has acted in any way that contravenes Congress. The BBG received Congressional approval for all program changes that have been made, including language service reductions. The PDC should correct its error.

The success or failure of the BBG should be judged on its broadcasting impact.

The post-9/11 public diplomacy charge was clear: to focus on Muslim audiences as an antidote to poisonous propaganda from Al Qaeda and other extremists. The challenge is how best to do that in specific countries, each with unique political factors, diverse media environments, and populations largely hostile to America.

The BBG has met this challenge by shaping broadcasts to fit the exigencies of each target audience. Since 2001, with support from the Administration and Congress, the BBG has launched six major communication channels – including 24/7 Dari and Pashto in Afghanistan, Radio Sawa and Alhurra TV for the Middle East, Radio Farda and the Persian News Network for Iran, and Radio Aap ki Dunyaa for Pakistan -- and ramped up daily broadcasting to Indonesia, Somalia, and other countries. These new initiatives have grown the BBG’s global weekly audience from 100 to over 175 million people. Broken out by country, this number includes: 27 million in Indonesia, 14 million in Iran, 13 million in Afghanistan, 12 million in Pakistan, 11.5 million in Iraq, 7 million in Egypt, 6 million in Syria, and 5 million in Morocco. Over 30 BBG language services now reach in excess of one million people weekly.

The PDC statement misrepresents the BBG’s work in other respects:

• PDC notes that VOA is chartered by statute to present international and U.S. news that is accurate, objective, and comprehensive; to represent America in all its diversity; and to present U.S. policies. But it fails to note that the statute governing broadcasting provides a similar mandate to all BBG broadcast entities. Each of the BBG’s broadcast entities maintains flexibility to tailor content to its audiences.

• Since FY 2000, VOA’s budget has increased over 47 percent, from $127 to $190 million in FY 2008. VOA has added television broadcasts to Afghanistan and Pakistan and increased programs in Persian, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Korean, Somali, and several other languages.

• The BBG has sought efficiencies throughout the organization in order to concentrate resources on language broadcasts. Since FY 2003, 78 percent of BBG budgetary reductions were to administrative, engineering, and support costs. It would not be possible to reinstate particular language broadcasts without additional cost.

• VOA audiences in Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia continue to be served by high-quality VOA television and Internet programming, and by radio broadcasts from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. VOA television and Internet broadcasts in Hindi also continue.

• To assert that the BBG needs “real strategy and analysis” ignores the BBG’s comprehensive strategic plan, available at http://www.bbg.gov/, which details specific actions to yield measurable outcomes. BBG spending on global audience research has increased from less than $3 million in FY 2001 to $9.1 million in FY 2008.

What matters to the BBG is reaching as many people as possible with accurate, balanced news and information that gains their trust and makes a difference in their lives. The focus of discussion needs to be on how U.S. international broadcasters are going to better serve more people with quality journalism to advance U.S. strategic interests in difficult-to-reach countries were democracy and freedom of speech are in short supply.

We share the commitment of the Public Diplomacy Council to excellence in our international broadcasting efforts and value forward-looking discussion of how to maximize our effectiveness.

Sincerely,

Letitia M. King
Acting Director Office of Public Affairs

November 21

"[W]hen I was getting my first experience living outside the US, US Information Agency Director Edward R. Murrow, gave a speech in which he said, ‘The really crucial link in the international communication chain is the last three feet, which is bridged by personal contact, one person talking to another.’ That, in a nutshell, is the role of Public Diplomacy."

--John Burgess, former US Foreign Service officer to the Middle East

SITE OF (MAYBE) INTEREST

Genderanalyzer: Man or woman - who is writing that blog?

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

American Influence in the New Age of Ideology - Shawn Powers, Intermap: "In the November/December edition of Foreign Policy, Bruce Jentleson and Steven Weber welcome their readers into a 'new age of ideology.' … Jentleson and Weber point to America’s ‘appeal for a war of ideas to defeat international terrorism’ as a metaphor for America’s failure to grasp the nature of political influence in today’s age of networks and information. ‘Ideas don’t go to combat; they vie for the commitment of individuals in an arena that is less like a battlefield and more like a marketplace.’ Indeed, Jentleson and Weber suggest that international influence—and I would add, public diplomacy—is now best understood in terms of a marketplace of ideas rather than a ‘battle’ for ‘hearts and minds,’ a reframing that dramatically changes the rules of international politics.”

Executive Summary: Reforming U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century - Tony Blankley, Helle C. Dale and Oliver Horn, Executive Summary #2211, Heritage Foundation: “For America, whose purpose is rooted in the aspirations of freedom for everyone, winning hearts and minds is a critical part of any effective foreign policy. Yet without substantial reforms in its structures and methods of public diplomacy, the United States will remain, as Secre­tary of Defense Robert Gates has said, ‘miserable at communicating to the rest of the world what we are about as a society and a culture, about freedom and democracy, about our policies and our goals.’ It is time for Congress and the President to ensure that the United States fully engages in the war of ideas by creating a comprehensive strategy and framework that utilize strategic communications as an effective, proactive foreign policy tool.” See also

Mightier Than the Sword - Kathleen Parker, Washington Post: “The word is powerful. In fact, one might even say the word is power. No one is more acutely aware of this than Jeffrey Gedmin, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). … Today, the nonprofit, U.S.-funded RFE reaches 30 million people, in 28 languages, in 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Russia and the Central Asian republics. All for the relatively low price of $83 million. That is approximately the cost of four Apache helicopters and, inarguably, provides a significant bang for the buck. ‘Give me the equivalent of six Apaches and we'd probably change the world,’ said Gedmin over coffee while in Washington this week.”

VOA's jazz history is still in the news - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

IV. 24: Layalina Review on Public Diplomacy and Arab Media

International education - Sandra Sedano, Collegian: “According to the Association of International Educators in the 2006-07 academic year, 241,791 students studied abroad for academic credit, which is an 8.5 percent increase over the previous year. With this increase, the number of students studying abroad represents approximately 1 percent of all enrolled students. ‘The challenges for the 21st century cannot be addressed by the government alone, and therefore, our public-private partnership with non-governmental organizations, businesses, educational institutions and communities are more important than ever to effective public diplomacy,’ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement on the International Education Week Web site.“

America the Popular: A lesson from students about foreign exchange – Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal: "In the media telling, America during the Bush years has been an unpopular and insular country. But one group would seem to differ: young people. The U.S. remains the top destination for students from around the world, while Americans are studying abroad in record numbers too. ... If there's a darker note here, it's that Congress remains uninterested in keeping those foreign students in the country once we've invested in their training -- witness the annual cap of H-1B work visas at 65,000."

Maplewood’s Stone getting noticed - Matt Wilson, City Paper, Nashville: “I looked on in disbelief when I saw that Ken Griffey Jr. was named an American Public Diplomacy Envoy by the State Department the other day. Griffey has always seemed like a spoiled brat who’s never happy with anything and has never really dealt with the press well. So he’s supposed to be a diplomat?”

Keep Gates: But Mrs. Clinton at Foggy Bottom? Can they be serious? – Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal: "On the face of it, the apparent offering of the secretary of state job to Hillary Clinton is a clever, interesting choice: An experienced and sophisticated workhorse with her own standing in the country, and bearing a name that is popular in the world, will be the public face of U.S. diplomacy. ... But the downside is equally obvious: To invite in the Clintons—and it's always the Clintons, never a Clinton—is to invite in, to summon, drama that will never end."

The team – zundel: “I have doubts about Clinton for State and Napolitano for Security. But it begins to make sense. Obama assembles a team that can work well with congress. And a team that can hit hard. Clinton has global name recognition—and global credibility. We need strong management of difficult diplomatic negotiation, and strong public diplomacy. She can do public diplomacy. If you’d like a metaphor, think basketball." NOTE: More on Clinton at Foggy Bottom below.

HSPI co-hosts symposium on "Homeland Defense and Security for the Next Administration - GWUMC News: “Under the banner of the Consortium for Homeland Defense and Security in America, the Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) joined with the Center for Strategic & International Studies, the Heritage Foundation, and the Army War College’s Center for Strategic Leadership, to host their third annual symposium on November 19-20, 2008. … Three fundamental elements emerged from the discussion: the need to build international capacity and partnerships to further enable others’ counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency and counter-proliferation efforts; the importance of employing all elements of statecraft, and expanding our appreciation of non-kinetic measures such as public diplomacy, humanitarian assistance and economic measures; and the need to prevent radicalization by formulating, tailoring to context, and supporting counter-radicalization efforts, de-radicalization and disengagement programs.”

Missing the point on more than one level - Mike DeVito, The Smarmy Liberal: “Joe the Soldier, though we thank him for his service, isn’t automatically qualified for government because he did a tour as a grunt or a small unit commander. And his policy advice on national security probably isn’t any more useful than someone who has studied it on a theoretical level, because he only has a ground-level view. Public diplomacy, yes - they’ll have insights on that. But defense policy? Not so much.”

25 Citizens Undergo Diplomatic Training in Egypt - Analyst (Monrovia): “Twenty-five Liberians have departed the country for Cairo, Egypt, to undergo a two-week training program in diplomacy. The delegation, which left the country on Sunday, November 16, 2008, is to participate in a middle-level diplomatic training covering a wide range of topics including development diplomacy, conflict resolution and multi-track diplomacy, and media and public diplomacy. … According to a Foreign Ministry release, the training is being made possible with support from the Egyptian Technical Cooperation Fund under the Foreign Ministry of Egypt.”

RELATED ITEMS

Bracing for a Major Disappointment - William Pfaff, Truthdig: Because of the enormous expectations Obama’s election has aroused abroad, above all among America’s European allies, any Obama-Clinton restoration of Clintonism would be met with incomprehension and disappointment.

From Russia With Loathing - Cathy Young, New York Times: In his Nov. 5 speech, President Medvedev asserted that “we have no inherent anti-Americanism.” True enough, but in recent years, anti-Americanism has been carefully cultivated by official and semi-official propaganda, especially on government-controlled television, which manipulates popular insecurities and easily slides into outright paranoia.

Back-Scratching in America - Alexei Pankin, Moscow Times: Can Medvedev fully trust Obama when it is clear that he readily believes the U.S. media and, even worse, he develops his policy on Russia based on this biased information?

Judge orders release of 5 Guantánamo detainees - William Glaberson, International Herald Tribune: After the first hearing on the government's evidence for holding detainees at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, a U.S. federal judge ruled Thursday that five of the prisoners were not being lawfully held and ordered their release.

Wrenching Choices on Guantanamo - Benjamin Wittes, Washington Post: Closing Guantanamo won't be easy, at least not if Obama means to change the substance of American detention policy rather than merely altering its geography.

What to do with Guantánamo's detainees: Saudi Arabia's rehabilitation plan works. Imitate it - Christopher Boucek, Christian Science Monitor: This Saudi "soft" approach, first formulated a few years ago by a Yemeni judge, Hamoud al-Hitar, is made up of three components: prevention programs to deter average citizens from becoming violent extremists, rehabilitation programs designed to encourage supporters and sympathizers to renounce violence, and aftercare programs to prevent recidivism and reintegrate people into society.

Talking With the Taliban – Editorial, New York Times: Afghanistan’s only chance is a long-term American commitment that also includes far more economic assistance and support for political development.

Middle East Priorities For Jan. 21 - Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, Washington Post: In perhaps no other region was the election of Obama more favorably received than the Middle East. Immediate attention to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute would help cement the goodwill that Obama's election engendered. Not everyone in the Middle East views the Palestinian issue as the greatest regional challenge, but the deep sense of injustice it stimulates is genuine and pervasive.

The A Team - Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker: The team of Barack “Grandpa Was a Muslim” Obama, Hillary “I’m a Clinton” Clinton, and Rahm “Israel” Emanuel (that’s his real middle name! and he was a volunteer with the I.D.F. during the 1991 Gulf War!), with Joe Biden and Bill Clinton pitching in as necessary, would put the new Administration in an extremely powerful position to apply the kind of pressure that would give Israeli politicians the political cover they need to reach a settlement with the Palestinians.

The Iraqi-U.S. agreement - Austin Bay, Washington Times: Two events and one document frame the historical context of two pending agreements that will guide U.S.-Iraqi relations over the next three to 10 years: the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA).

A Framework for Success in Iraq - Michael Gerson, Washington Post: Dealing with the new Iraq will not be easy. It has become a prickly nation, jealous of its sovereignty and determined to avoid even the appearance of American imperialism. But this also means it is becoming a "normal," self-governing country, in the midst of a national debate on its security just six years after the end of a vicious tyranny.

Stuff Happens: The Pentagon's Argument of Last Resort on Iraq - Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch: Washington may continue in some fashion to garrison an economically desperate world, but it will never again have the money to occupy a country in the style of Iraq -- largely because the Bush administration managed to squander the American imperial legacy in eight short years.

To Do: Somalia -- The looming crisis in Somalia is an opportunity for Barack Obama to show that he won't repeat the mistakes of the U.S.'s recent past - Jonathan Stevenson, New Republic

US Diplomacy Is Also FDA, USDA, EPA ... – Avuncular American: “Many people are unclear as to what ‘diplomacy’ consists of, and generations of American Foreign Service Officers have tales of how they explain to friends and family that working for the 'State' Department does not mean a dreary job in Harrisburg or Tallahassee or some other state capital. ‘What do you do?’ in an embassy, anyway? Well, anything that the US Government does, to be concise.”

The State Department and the Leadership Agenda – Diplopundit: ”The State Department is an old, traditional organization, and it is set on its ways in more ways than one, kind of really like grandpa w ho likes his coffee at exactly 9 o’clock in the morning among other things. Although it is true that almost all entry level officers do serve in one or two consular assignments and are therefore, captive audience for the Consular Bureau’s leadership initiative, the non-consular coned officers move into different career tracks (such as political, public diplomacy, economic and management) after their first two tours. And while leadership development is embedded into the training of our soldiers, for instance – it is not the same for our diplomatic personnel.” Via

Diplomatically Trying to Close Overseas Pay Gap - Joe Davidson, Washington Post: When State Department diplomats are posted abroad, they lose locality pay. That's the amount added to a federal worker's salary based on where they work. Since 1994, when locality pay started, the increase for federal employees in the D.C. area has amounted to almost 21 percent. Moving overseas from the State Department's Foggy Bottom headquarters and other area installations means workers lose that differential. See also

Hillary Clinton Nomination Is On Track - Anne E. Kornblut, Washington Post

Stop Hillary! Yes we can! – Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com: With Hillary Clinton as Obama’s secretary of state, and a bevy of war hawks ensconced in key national security posts – just like the neocons in the Bush administration -- the War Party will be well-represented in the foreign policy councils of the new administration.

Obama: Don't Hire Hillary - Patricia DeGennaro, Huffington Post

Why Obama Can Keep Gates - Joe Conason, Truthdig: If the prospect of appointing Hillary Clinton as secretary of state irritates the Obama base, what will they make of keeping the man who has executed President Bush’s policies at the Pentagon

Why Obama Wants Hillary for His 'Team of Rivals' - Karen Tumulty and Massimo Calabresi, Time: Viewed cynically, bringing Clinton into the tent could co-opt a potential adversary in 2012 and put a leash on her globetrotting husband, who has a propensity for foreign policy.

One Reason Hillary Could be Extraordinary at State – Jeffrey Goldberg, Atlantic: Her uncommon understanding of the Middle East could truly revive revive peacemaking.

Clinton: Why She is Uniquely Qualified as Secretary of State - Jennifer Donahue, Huffington Post: If global women's rights is an issue, which it most certainly is, Senator Clinton is matched by no one in her past words and deeds in advance of this cause.

The Great Right Hope: Hillary Clinton? - Noemie Emery, Weekly Standard: As it is, foreign policy is the one area in which Hillary Clinton’s ideas seem somewhat in line with those of conservatives; and at any rate, she is the best thing they are likely to get. For the moment, Hillary Clinton will be the conservatives' Woman in Washington, more attuned to their concerns on these issues than to those of the get-the-troops-home-now wing of her party.

Substitute - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: PHOTO: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with European Union Secretary General Javier Solana at the State Department, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce ceneta). COMMENT: "The State Department's revolving door had a busy day. And look! It's one of our favorites, excitable Javier Solana, who we love, love, love, even if we aren't sure why, am I right? Wow, is he looking forward to January, I bet! But I wonder where Condi is? But Princess, you say, she's right there! Oh, come on, now, look closer! That is totally, obviously the labor-saving, Disneymatic Condibot standing in while the real one, I don't know, gets her nails done."

Adolf Hitler was mentally unbalanced because he had only one testicle – Pravda.ru: The rumors of Hitler’s monorchism (a medical term designating the absence of one testicle) are not new at all. There is even a song about such a peculiarity of Hitler’s genitals. The lyrics are: "Hitler has only got one ball, Göring has two but very small, Himmler is somewhat sim'lar, But poor old Goebbels has no balls at all. Hitler has only got one ball, The other is on the kitchen wall, His mother, the dirty b——r, Chopped it off when he was small." The song was long reputed to be propaganda-oriented, although military reports confirm that Hitler had been wounded in the groin indeed during the Battle of the Somme.

November 20

"Public diplomacy! Whatta euphemism! But for what, exactly?"

--Comment by Lulu Maude, a reader of Princess Sparkle Pony’s Photoblog (pls. scroll down link for item)

VIDEO

This is sort of sad: Bush Horribly Unpopular At G20 Summit, Wonkette: “What is up here? George Bush is not shaking anybody’s hand, nobody’s shaking his hand, it is an international diplomatic crisis!”

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Streamline, Don't Swell, Our Foreign Affairs Machine - Peter Bridges, Huffington Post: “In foreign affairs, Obama needs to make the State Department what it was once: our government's efficient arm for dealing with the world in situations short of war. Send home half or more of all those embassy attachés from elsewhere, and then simplify the organization of the State Department (and not just State), so that negotiation again means dealing with other governments and not endless meetings inside and between agencies. It took Senator Jesse Helms to bring the U.S. Information Agency back inside State. Should not Obama bring our aid and trade-promotion programs back to State? USIA veterans still wonder if State puts enough weight on public diplomacy; would it do so if aid and trade were also in State's hands?” On USIA see.

The best public diplomacy is less public diplomacy. And other advice for the new administration - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "’Instantaneous global communications make it impossible for the U.S. government to segregate information intended for domestic and foreign audiences; the Smith-Mundt Act must be amended accordingly.' From 'Basic Principles on Improving U.S. Public Diplomacy,’ Public Diplomacy Council, 17 November 2008. [Elliott Comment:] An interesting if blood-chilling proposal from the Public Diplomacy Council. It would be good for them to issue a paper to describe what content they intend us domestic audiences to receive. Actually, because the BBC can now restrict its broadcast archives to UK users, and its commercial website to non-UK users, this means that the new age of 'instantaneous global communications' includes means for the Smith-Mundt domestic dissemination prohibition finally to be enforced.” On the Smith-Mundt Act, see.

President-elect Obama, we need a new kind of public diplomacy - Kim Holmes, Washington Times: “At the end of the day, strategic communications - the sum total of the government's efforts to influence foreign opinion - is bigger than public diplomacy. It also must explain the purposes of foreign policy to Americans. Americans are understandably averse to government ‘propaganda,’ if propaganda means deception and manipulation. This is not the same thing as the government explaining to citizens what it is trying to accomplish with their tax dollars.” On the anti-propaganda tradition in the U.S., see.

C stands for Culture – and America Centers - Patricia H. Kushlis, Whirled View: “[E]ven though the outgoing administration can point to increased funding for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in more recent years, a pittance of it has gone to cultural programs. The lion’s share – except for the two-way Fulbright scholars and researchers program - has been spent on one-way inbound educational ‘exchanges.’ …. Obama’s right about the need to establish, or re-stablish, our Centers or America Houses overseas, but they should also be reopened in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.” On the Bureau of Educational and Cultural affairs, see.

re: "C stands for Culture – and America Centers" – Consul-at-arms: “I'm not a PD guy specifically, although I admire and value my PD colleagues. And while my FS career began after USIA was absorbed into the Department, I had worked for State in other capacities for years. I had the opportunity, even at a fairly late date, to visit still-open American cultural centers and libraries. Let me not put too fine a point on it: every closure of an American library or cultural center was a victory for those who hate America and want to spread that viewpoint around unimpeded.”

Events at the Center: Improving Russian-American Understanding through Cultural Exchanges: Cosponsored by the Likachev Foundation, St. Petersburg, and the Open World Program, Washington, DC - Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Rifftides - Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters... , AllAboutJazz.com: “Murray Fromson has issued the first plea I've seen from a heavyweight journalist to president-elect Obama for a rescue of the Voice of America. Rifftides has often written about that broadcast agency's central role in cultural diplomacy during the Cold War, particularly about the vital part Willis Conover played. I have deplored the Bush administration's attempts to dismantle the VOA at a time when the United States needs friends around the world. Here are two excerpts from Fromson's column today on the Huffington Post web site.”

Public Diplomacy Experts Urge Obama to Stop the Broadcasting Board of Governors from Silencing the Voice of America - FreeMediaOnline.org and Free Media Online Blog – “The Public Diplomacy Council, a nonprofit organization which includes former diplomats, academics and other foreign policy experts, has called on President elect Obama and Congress to take urgent action in reforming publicly-funded U.S. international broadcasting. The Council blames the bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), whose members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to manage U.S. international broadcasting, for ignoring strategically important target areas such as Russia, the Balkans, India and the Western Hemisphere.”

A Thanksgiving Message to President Elect Barack Obama About the Voice of America – QuoVadis, FreeMediaOnline.org and Free Media Online Blog: “The members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors have made many mistakes over the past decade. As President, you will have the unique opportunity to reverse those mistakes. And if you do, America’s Voice can once again be heard loudly and clearly throughout the world and regain its place as the beacon of liberty to the world.” On Broadcasting Board of Governors, see.

Zawahiri: Obama is the anti-Malcolm X - Juan Cole, Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion: "Ayman al-Zawahiri attacked Barack Obama in a video released on the internet on Tuesday. … The headline in most comments on the video was that al-Zawahiri used a racist slur against Obama, calling him a ‘house Negro’ … . Al-Zawahiri has seen a lot of Muslim politics, and if he is this afraid of Obama, it is a sign that the new president has enormous potential to deploy soft power against al-Qaeda, and al-Zawahiri is running scared.”

Ayman al-Zawahiri's racial epithet - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: “State needs to respond both to U.S. audiences (ostensibly DipNote's mission) and abroad (America.gov's mission).”

More on Zawahiri and Racism - Spencer Ackerman, The Washington Independent: “In the brief period since the release of Ayman al-Zawahiri’s “House Negro” tape, bloggers have gone crazy celebrating the U.S.’s free-of-charge good fortune. … In both policy and public-diplomacy terms, the clay is still wet. Why haven’t we seen the State Dept.’s blog hit the Zawahiri ‘House Negro’ tape yet?”

What Zawahiri's Message Says About Obama and Al Qaeda - Ilan Goldenberg, Huffington Post: "First and foremost, Al Qaeda is an organization that thrives on propaganda. It paints the United States as an evil empire that oppresses its own minorities and has little regard for the rest of the world. Al Qaeda uses these types of narratives to raise funds and recruit. The Bush administration played right into this trap. Its 'with us or against us' mentality and invasion of Iraq damaged America's image around the world and reinforced Al Qaeda's narrative."

Al Qaeda, Obama and Pakistan - Marc Ginsberg, Huffington Post: "Ultimately, the war against Al Qaeda will not be won on the battlefields of Waziristan alone. Ayman al Zawahiri's unwelcomed reemergence from his cave today is a sad reminder how much the Bush Administration's failures are being dumped into Barack Obama's lap."

Al-Qaeda is not the only threat - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner: “John Sullivan, the co-founder of the Los Angeles Terrorism Early Warning group and lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, focusing on emerging threats, reminds us that Al-Qaeda is not the only threat. As such, public diplomacy and strategic communication planning that focuses only on Al-Qaeda is too limiting.”

Tweeting Public Diplomacy - Alyssa Rosenberg, GovernmentExecutive.com: "I've written quite a bit about a push by State Department employees, diplomacy non-profits, and some legislators to increase the size of the Foreign Service, and especially to ramp up staffing of public diplomacy officers, the people who are tasked with getting out there in other countries and actually talking to folks there about who the U.S. is. And so I was pleased to see today via the always classy-looking State Department blog DipNote, that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Colleen Graffy, is Twittering a public diplomacy mission to Bucharest."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Receive Fulbright Prize - Notice to the Press, Office of the Spokesman, Department of State, Washington, DC: "Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Goli Ameri and the Fulbright Association will co-host a ceremony honoring Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on Friday, November 21, 2008, at 11 a.m. in the Dean Acheson Auditorium of the U.S. Department of State. The 2008 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding will be awarded to Archbishop Tutu for his work for peace in South Africa and elsewhere. The prize carries a $50,000 award provided by The Coca-Cola Foundation."

U.S. public diplomacy: two men on base - Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy:
“It's interesting that two of the four public diplomacy envoys are baseball stars. The number of baseball-playing nations is finite: USA, Canada, countries of the Caribbean basin, Japan, Taiwan, and perhaps a couple of others. But the appeal of Ripken and Griffey is certainly apparent in places like Nicaragua. And baseball is more international than, say, U.S. football.”

Peace Corps in a Bottom-Up and Troubled Era - Yossef Ben-Meir, MediaMonitors: “There is nearly universal agreement that the United States needs urgently to rebuild its image in the world. [Peace Corps] Volunteers, as good neighbors and in their dedication to meeting human needs, contribute to public diplomacy and to goodwill among nations.“

Full Disclosure: Philanthropy and Diplomacy - Philanthropy: A Great Decisions 2008 Blog: “The Clintons are in the headlines again - and for two of my absolute favorite topics: transparency and public diplomacy. I’m giddy with excitement at all the ways you can slice the conversation - marriage, careers, national security, politics, philanthropy, international development, republicans/democrats, and can she do it?”

Expected to Receive a Shot in the Arm from Visa Waiver Program Expansion - Hospitality Trends: “The Travel Industry Association (TIA) heralded today's official expansion of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which is estimated to bring approximately one million new visitors to the United States annually. ‘Adding friends and allies to the Visa Waiver Program strengthens U.S. security, boosts America's vital public diplomacy efforts and stimulates U.S. economic growth,’ said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association.”

NATO countries should resume military ties with Russia - (NSI News Source Info), Defense-Technology News -"NATO member countries should restore relations with Russia, including in the military sphere, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has said in a resolution. ... 'The resolution passed by the Plenary Session held on 18 November urged governments and parliaments of NATO member countries to re-establish wide-ranging co-operation, particularly in the military sphere, and to improve and expand public diplomacy efforts with Russia,' the alliance said in a press release."

An open letter to President-elect Obama (I) - Faruk Loğoğlu, Hurriyet: “Surveys consistently indicate a very unfavorable opinion of the U.S. in Turkey. This underlines the need to implement a broad public diplomacy strategy to win the hearts of the Turkish public. That should be one of the tasks of your Administration.”

RELATED ITEMS

Obama and foreign policy: It shouldn't be personal - Lionel Beehner and Vikram J. Singh, Los Angeles Times: World leaders are breathing sighs of relief at the passing of the George W. Bush era. But they risk becoming overly infatuated with Obama. When they look into his eyes, they would do well to seek out American national interests, most of which stay relatively constant across administrations. Whenever foreign policy gets too personalized and chummy, the world is worse off for it.

Closing Gitmo Is Just the Beginning: Building US credibility on human rights will be a long-term project - and closing Guantánamo might just be the easy bit - Suzanne Nossel, Guardian/UK/Common Dreams

More Advice for Obama: How Guántanamo Can Be Closed: Andy Worthington, Counterpunch

Obama’s War: In Afghanistan, the change we need is a shiny new COIN - Clifford D. May, National Review: Although we are not currently defeating the Taliban and other belligerent groups in Afghanistan, we can prevail -- if the incoming administration is prepared to fully resource a sophisticated counter-insurgency strategy similar to that implemented by General David Petraeus in Iraq. The key was transitioning to counterinsurgency -- COIN -- a form of warfare that requires many boots on the ground.

Taliban, US wrestle for the upper hand - Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times: In NATO headquarters in Kabul and Brussels it has been realized that the level of the Taliban's control in Afghanistan is such that they are inching towards a serious escalation of the violence which could create serious turmoil right in the heart of Kabul.

The US strikes deeper in Pakistan - Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times: There is now a genuine alliance between the Pakistani military and US forces against the common foe of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Previously, under former president General Pervez Musharraf, this relationship was blurred by pockets of latent sympathy on the side of the Pakistanis for the militants.

Pakistan PM: US Airstrikes ‘Intolerable’ – Truthdig: American airstrikes in Pakistan aren’t sitting so well with the locals. Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani summoned the American ambassador for a refresher course in “sovereignty and territorial integrity” on Thursday. According to the Washington Post, the two countries have agreed that the U.S. can keep bombing Pakistan if Pakistan can keep complaining about it.

Getting Past Mythmaking In Georgia - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: Western leaders should support Georgian democracy, not particular Georgian democrats, and prepare a unified response to the Russian military escapades to come. And while the propaganda battle rages in the meantime, stay well on the sidelines.

Obama, Misha and the Bear - Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times: Because Russia behaves irresponsibly -- including its latest disgraceful threat to base missiles near Poland -- the temptation in the Obama administration will be to continue with NATO expansion and perhaps even with the ill-advised missile system for Europe. (We have so many better ways to spend money!) Instead, let’s engage Russia as we engage China -- while still bluntly calling Russia on its uncivilized behavior.

Obama Should Look Into Putin's Record, Not His Eyes: The U.S. has the chance for a fresh start on Russia relations - Garry Kasparov, Wall Street Journal: Will Mr. Obama's desire to be the toast of Europe come at the expense of democracy in Russia?

The Real Issue Isn't a Shield in Central Europe - Fyodor Lukyanov, Moscow Times: If Obama's pledge to incorporate multilaterism into U.S. foreign policy begins with developing a global missile-defense system in close cooperation with other countries, this will be a very constructive step toward building a new multipolar model for global affairs.

Internet drives China to loosen grip on media – Reuters, International Herald Tribune

The Agents of Change on Obama's Transition Team - David Corn, Mother Jones: Tom Donilon, a partner at the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, who was assistant secretary of state for public affairs in the Clinton administration, is in charge of the group focusing on Foggy Bottom.

Clinton Decision Holding Up Other Obama Choices - Helene Cooper, New York Times

That crucial bond - Thomas Friedman, International Herald Tribune: When it comes to appointing a secretary of state, you do not want a team of rivals.

Obama's First Drama: Hillary Clinton – David Corn, Mother Jones: Being secretary of state isn't just about giving speeches and touring the world as a celebrity, it's about managing (and now reviving) the creaky and beleaguered foreign policy apparatus of the United States. And Clinton's résumé is not strong on that front.

What's needed at State – Editorial, Boston Globe: Obama shouldn't appoint Hillary Clinton -- or anyone else -- to the vital post of Secretary of State until he is sure his nominee is capable of reviving a much-diminished State Department.

Hillary Clinton to State? - Editorial, Washington Times: If Mrs. Clinton is nominated as secretary of state, it will be in spite of her record and judgment and the problems created by her husband's lucrative speechmaking. There is too much at stake on the foreign-policy front to nominate Mrs. Clinton.

Brief Case - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog I keep track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to: PHOTO: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives on Capitol Hill for a briefing with lawmakers on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci). COMMENT: "Condi wore a pretty new suit yesterday. I like the taffeta shawl collar. And... uhhh... well, that's pretty much it."