Best,

John

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PRESS AND BLOG REVIEW, FEBRUARY 3-4

“Bill Kristol: Look, the only people for Hillary Clinton are the Democratic establishment and white women. The Democratic establishment—it would be crazy for the Democratic Party to follow an establishment that’s led it to defeat year after year. White women are a problem, that’s, you know—we all live with that.
(laughter)

Juan Williams (National Public Radio correspondent and Fox News contributor): Not me!”

--Exchange on the February 3 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.’s Fox News Sunday
http://mediamatters.org/items/200802030002
via
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

EVENT

The West’s Secret Plan for the Mind: Book Distribution to East Europe during the Cold War (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, February 6 : 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m)
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.print&event_id=353382&stoplayout=true
courtesy Len Baldyga

VIDEO

a) Donald Duck In The Spirit Of ‘43
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZOdXg3zhlI
via
http://current.com/items/88832582_the_propaganda_post

b) FOX - George Bush Just Like Abraham Lincoln
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8022267991724476901&q=propaganda&total=38748&start=10&num=10&so=1&type=search&plindex=8

A) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY (1-15)

1. SFRC Hears From Public Diplomacy Nominees – (U.S. Diplomacy: A Great Decisions 2008 Blog, February 4): On Wednesday of last week the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard the testimony of three of President Bush’s nominees seeking confirmation to hold State Department positions in the bureau of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The first to testify was James K. Glassman. It appears that Glassman has been doing his homework. Also testifying was Goli Ameri, President Bush’s nominee to hold the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
http://diplomacy.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/02/03/sfrc-hears-from-public-diplomacy-nominees/
Glassman prepared testimony at
http://www.senate.gov/~foreign/testimony/2008/GlassmanTestimony080130.pdf

2. Newsletter: Public Diplomacy in Europe, December 2007 (Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. State Department, Washington DC)
http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/newsletter/99812.htm
Courtesy Len Baldyga

3. Kremlin More Subtly Jams Freedom’s Beams - Diane Zeleny, Director of Communications, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague (Letter to the Editor, Wall Street Journal, February 1): Little can be done, apparently, to convince the Kremlin to allow a free and fair domestic media, which makes the mission of international, independent Russian language media all the more critical.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120182977891733977.html
via
http://kimelli.nfshost.com/index.php?id=3273

4. (Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy), latest edition
http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/

5. UNI [University of Northern Iowa], other U.S. colleges, benefit from increase in international students - Mary Stegmeir (Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, IA, February 3): “Having international students here is really a good form of public diplomacy,” said Ross Schupbach, UNI’s international student admissions advisor. “It is something that breaks down barriers and lets people know how things work in the United States. We hope that they have a good experience here, and communicate that back in their home country.”
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/02/03/news/top_story/f0e7df52e4f2a4ef862573e40014a421.txt

6. “Politics and The Arts” — (hatto fischer, poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground, January 31): “One thing I don’t understand and with that I shall close my comments: the use of the term ‘cultural diplomacy’. Like in Europe efforts are made to use artists as ambassadors abroad, but if tied in with the traditional diplomatic methods and more so becomes a part of ‘branding culture’ as if the American, German, Mexican etc. one, then damage is caused to the artists quest for universal understanding. We are then back in the nationalist fold especially if ‘cultural diplomacy’ is really a way to sell a positive image of one’s own country abroad. It is pure marketing but with different, that is cultural means. More so cultural diplomacy can be linked to the public diplomacy practiced by the Bush administration insofar it is nothing but propaganda and has nothing to do with being truthful nor with the desire to level with people about the realities they live in. The arts and culture should never be instrumentalized as propaganda tools but there is a clear danger that this will be the case. They are too often abused in order to blind people about the true state of affairs.”
http://poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/hatto-fischer-politics-and-the-arts/

7. Baghdad crud and the new embassy – (EgSinBaghdad: occasional comments about living and working in Beautiful Baghdad, the Mesopotamian Metropolis between the Rivers, February 3): “did a tour of the new embassy compound. you can read much about it in a vanity fair article of some months ago, but ed’s scoop: nice apartments, good office space, lots of creature comforts unheard of at most embassies (indoor pool, gyms, weight/exercise room, concession space for burger king, etc., etc..) but, as we cannot go out and shop on the local economy s we would normally do, well, everything must be provided inside the hardened structures where we’ll live and work. sucha shame - most people in the foreign service like to get out with the locals - shopping in the souk, buying brochettes from street vendors in conakry, water from vendors in the djma il fna in marrakesh, etc. but, to keep us safe, we’ll here be behind the walls and isolated away fromt he populace - rather self-defeaating of public diplomacy efforts.”
http://egsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/2008/02/baghdad-crud-and-new-embassy.html

8. Back to the Embassy of the Future – (The Skeptical Bureaucrat, January 28): [T]he new EOTF [Embassy of the Future would have both a secure central compound and several small satellite offices for public outreach and “distributed presence.” By the way, I very much like the new EOTF recommendations for that distributed presence, even though implementing them will require changing some current security standards and even a U.S. law (the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act, Public Law 106-113). It seems to me a reasonable risk, and a more appropriate venue for conducting public diplomacy.”
http://skepticalbureaucrat.blogspot.com/2008/01/back-to-embassy-of-future.html
via
http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/02/re-embassies-of-future.html

9. StratComm gets a black eye in the blogosphere – Chad B. Holmes (Beyond Blather: Promoting discussion of strategic communication among communicators dedicated to supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States of America, February 4): Strategic Communication got taken to the woodshed in the blogosphere last week after former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld again promoted a high-level government office to manage strategic communication for the United States.
http://beyondblather.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/stratcomm-gets-a-black-eye-in-the-blogosphere/

10. Got it? - cannoneerno4 (Civilian Irregular Information Defense Group: Distributed Information Operations by domestic PSYOP auxilliaries, February 3): Public Diplomacy—PD is the U.S. State Dept’s influence and information capability—PSYOP can support public diplomacy.
http://cannoneerno4.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/got-it/

11. Matt Armstrong’s “Mountainrunner” – Rima Tatevossian PD Blogger Interview (USC Center on Public Diplomacy): Armstrong’s key interests and studies in Public Diplomacy are echoed in the manifesto of MountainRunner: “This blog is a device to discuss, explore and even link ideas in the four major, and overlapping and often mutually dependent, areas important to the future of America’s national security: public diplomacy, unrestricted warfare, privatization of force, and civil-military relations.”
http://uscpublicdiplomacy.com/index.php/newsroom/pdbloggerinterviews_matt/
see also
http://pragmatic.nationalinterest.in/2008/02/03/four-links/

12. Chronicle readers question the candidates: Sen. Barack Obama (SFGate.com, February 4): Obama— “I have … called for a comprehensive public diplomacy program, including funding for ‘America Houses’ to incorporate youth centers and libraries that are needed throughout the broader Muslim World, and the establishment of a “Voice Corps” to rapidly recruit and train fluent speakers of Arabic, Bahasa, Bahasa, Farsi, Urdu, and Turkish who can ensure our voice is heard—and that we listen—throughout the world. As President, I will lead this public diplomacy effort, beginning with a speech at a major Islamic forum in my first 100 days.“
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/04/MNC0URFOC.DTL&type=printable

13. Official says institutes are propaganda tools - Fan Cheng-hsiang (Taipei Times, January 31): An Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC) official said yesterday that China has established more than 200 “Confucius Institutes” in a bid to disseminate propaganda. While these Confucius Institutes claim to promote Chinese language and culture, they are controlled by the Chinese government and aim to use education and culture to gain international influence and promote the viewpoints of the Beijing government, said an OCAC official, who declined to be identified.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/01/31/2003399603

14. Devalued norms – (Jerusalem Post, February 3): The replication in Gaza of some of the many mistakes made in that war against Hizbullah—the lack of forward planning, the basing of decisions on assumptions rather than facts, the inadequate evaluation of the consequences of certain policies, the absent public diplomacy, and more—has confirmed the ongoing lack of expertise and of crucial decision-making processes that characterize Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s leadership.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1202064572965&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

15. Spy vs. Spy – Wes Pedersen (Letters to the editor, Washington Post, February 3): “In his review of Hugh Wilford’s The Mighty Wurlitzer (Book World, Jan. 27), Michael Kazin gets it at least three-quarters right. The CIA in the Cold War did indeed create a mighty clandestine web, recruiting American and foreign writers to produce propaganda aimed at destabilizing many of the official and unofficial institutions in the communist orbit. But in its founding years, the U.S. Information Agency demonstrated repeatedly that it, too, could play the game and, on occasion, play it better.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013102629.html
on USIA see
http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/2.htm

B) RELATED ITEMS (U.S. in world, 16-19; Iraq, 20-21; Iran, 22-23; Afghanistan, 24-26; Pakistan, 27; North Korea, 28; Darfur, 29; Spain, 30; Russia, 31; democratization in Central Asia, 32; global warming, 33; US torture, 34-36; US Foreign Service, 37; Rice, 38-39)

16. The whole world is watching - Times (Los Angeles Times, February 4): Correspondents assess the U.S. campaign through local lenses in four regions:
Asia
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-global-asiafeb04,0,6266370.story
Latin America
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-global-latamfeb04,0,5511023.story
Middle East
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-global-mideastfeb04,0,2877005.story
Europe
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-fg-global-europefeb04,0,6253818.story

17. The Cold War as Ancient History - Roger Cohen (New York Times, February 4): It’s time again for a new U.S. leader to find words that embody the world’s hopes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/opinion/04cohen.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

18. Downsizing our dominance: The next president will have to deal with a world in which U.S. hegemony is a thing of the past - Fred Kaplan (Los Angeles Times, February 3): The next president’s big challenge will be to revive America’s influence and stature while facing up to the limits of its power in a newly fractured world.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-kaplan3feb03,0,4132257.story

19. Blowback from the GOP’s holy war: The 2008 Republican race has left a bitter legacy of sloganeering against Muslims. It may well haunt the party this November - Juan Cole (Salon, February 1): If any of the remaining candidates does win the presidency, he is going to have to cultivate close relations with Middle Eastern regimes to even begin resolving the mess in that region. And that president will have to do so saddled from the start with a legacy of denigrating Islam and Muslims.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/02/01/islamophobia/print.html

20. In Iraq, Three Wars Engage U.S. : Shiite Extremists Pose Greatest Challenge, Military Officials Say - Thomas E. Ricks (Washington Post, February 3): The wars are against al-Qaeda in Iraq, against the domestic Sunni insurgency, and against Shiite extremist militias.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/02/AR2008020202072_pf.html

21. Iraq as Stepchild of the American Empire: A Colony By Any Other Name - Robert Fantina (CounterPunch, February 2/3)
http://www.counterpunch.org/fantina02022008.html

22. Target: Israel - Louis René Beres and Thomas McInerney (Washington Times, February 4): If America won’t act decisively against Iran, Israel must.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080204/EDITORIAL/216475769/1013/EDITORIAL&template=printart

23. Three Internet Cables Slashed in a Week: Has Iran lost all Internet Connectivity? - Mike Whitney (GlobalReserach.ca, February 3)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7987

24. Deconflicting the GWOT Matrix - Meatball One (Swedish Meatballs Confidential, February 3): Some are now suggesting it’s time to deconflict the GWOT [Global War on Terrorism] matrix and save what can be saved of an Afghanistan critically foundering in the shadow of an embarrassing and debilitating controversy called Iraq.
http://swedemeat.blogspot.com/2008/02/deconflicting-gwot-matrix.html

25. Teams work to rebuild Afghanistan - Philip Smucker (Washington Times, February 4): With vast swathes of the Afghan countryside slipping under the sway of insurgent groups, the U.S. military is attaching new interest and urgency to the work of the 25 Provincial Reconstruction Teams charged with bringing development to the country.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080204/FOREIGN/686851921/1001&template=printart

26. The world can’t ignore the Al Qaeda and Taliban threat in Afghanistan: A surge by the US and its allies is needed in the country – editorial (Christian Science Monitor, February 4)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0204/p08s01-comv.html

27. What to Do About Pakistan – Ivan Eland (antiwar.com, February 4): With both aid and democracy promotion, U.S. policy toward Pakistan should first be “do no harm.” Doing less in both cases is likely to get better results.
http://www.antiwar.com/eland/?articleid=12307

28. Pulling the plug on Pyongyang - James T. Hackett (Washington Times, February 3): President Bush changed policy on North Korea when things were going badly in Iraq and he needed a victory. He was not well-served by those who suggested he could find his legacy in North Korea. But now there is a chance to make amends.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080203/COMMENTARY/101684866/1012&template=printart

29. Help Wanted in Darfur: The Bush administration should put some muscle behind deploying a peacekeeping force – Editorial (Washington Post, February 3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/02/AR2008020201828_pf.html

30. Remember the Maine: Not much love lost between the United States and Spain - Mark Falcoff
(Weekly Standard, February 2)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=14680&r=syohk
paid subscription

31. Putin’s Russia, Armed With Oil, Menaces West in `New Cold War’ - George Walden (Bloomberg, February 4): It would be comforting to think that hostility to the West is limited to unsophisticated Russians and to an elite cadre in the Kremlin. Yet a recent poll found that resentment of the U.S. is strongest among university-educated male Muscovites. Ambitious Russians, like BBC executives in the U.K., have apparently decided that anti-Americanism is a good career move.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=alYaBquyi9YE&refer=home

32. Seeking a Path in Democracy’s Dead End - C. J. Chivers (New York Times, February 3): In the last three years in the former vassals of the Kremlin that lie to Moscow’s southeast, from the Caspian Sea to China’s borders, the exuberant vision of nurturing pluralistic societies and governments responsive to popular will—enunciated by President Bush’s public calls for democratization—has met so many obstacles that it has been quietly recalibrated.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/weekinreview/03chivers.html?ref=weekinreview&pagewanted=print

33. Late and Lame on Warming – Editorial (New York Times, February 4):
Even allowing for the low expectations we bring to any lame-duck president’s final State of the Union address, President Bush’s brief discussion of climate change seemed especially disconnected from reality: from the seriousness and urgency of the problem and from his own responsibility for obstructing progress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/opinion/04mon1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

34. Torture Does Not Work, as History Shows – Robert Fiske (Independent, February 3/Common Dreams): Who said “waterboarding” was new? The Americans are just apeing their predecessors in the inquisition.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/03/6810/

35. Torture Unnecessary to Get Information - Peter Weiss (Vindicator, Youngstown, Ohio, February 2/Common Dreams)
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/02/6806/

36. Would It Be Torture If It Was Done to You? - David Bromwich (Huffington Post, February 3): Attorney General Michael Mukasey intimated that the president could have been acting legally when he authorized the drowning torture: a war crime under the Geneva Conventions, and under the treaty obligations of the United States.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/would-it-be-torture-if-it_b_84672.html

37. Bush Aims To Hire More Diplomats: Foreign Service Would Gain 1,100 Positions - Matthew Lee, Associated Press (Washington Post, February 4): President Bush wants to hire nearly 1,100 new diplomats to address severe staffing shortages and put the State Department on track to meet an ambitious call to double its size over the next decade, according to administration officials. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has lobbied hard for the new hires.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/03/AR2008020303081_pf.html

38. Quickie: Condi Just Wants 1,100 New Underlings, OK? (Princess Sparkle Pony’s Photo Blog: I keep track of Condoleezza’s hairdo so you don’t have to, February 4): “Hey, that’s an average of just over 3 hires a day for the remainder of the administration. Hop to it, OPM!”
http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2008/02/quickie-condi-just-wants-1100-new.html

39. Condoleezza’s Glamorous World of Dinner Parties & 9/11 – Peter Huestis (Wonkette, February 4): Condi was back in Foggy Bottom 24/7 last week, and you know what that means: photo-ops, photo-ops, photo-ops!
http://wonkette.com/352063/condoleezzas-glamorous-world-of-dinner-parties--911

C) MORE QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

“We’ve grown into a culture of searchers, not readers.”

--School Librarian Thomas Washington; cited in Washington’s “Kids Can’t Focus These Days. Then Again, Neither Can I” (Washington Post, February 3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/01/AR2008020102825.html

’How long is it?’ has replaced ‘Will I like it?’”

--Thomas Washington, from above article, noting a question asked by younger readers

D) ONE MORE VIDEO

New American Gladiators! Rejected Auditions!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb2dwtZ2gRw

E) IMAGES

Battlestar Galactica Propaganda Posters
http://www.duckydoestv.com/2008/02/01/battlestar-galactica-propaganda-posters/

“Next thing you know, the Defense Department will be putting on cultural programs.”

--Gerald Loftus, “Communicating America’s Message—Whose Core Competency?” (Avuncular American: An expatriate view from Europe, February 1)
http://avuncularamerican.typepad.com/blog/2008/02/communicating-a.html

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: BOOKS, ARTICLES, WEBSITES #37

Intended for teachers of public diplomacy and related courses, below section F is an update on resources that may be of general interest. Suggestions for future updates are welcome. Kindly provided by Bruce Gregory, Director, Public Diplomacy Institute, George Washington University, (202) 994-0389, BGregory@gwu.edu

IMAGES

Military advice: What to do if you encounter an archeological site
http://www.militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/070618_cards.pdf
courtesy of a valued PDPBR subscriber

VIDEO

David Letterman on Bush’s State of the Union Address
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/01/30/open-thread-706/
via
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/01/31/BL2008013101764_pf.html

POLITICAL CARTOON
I Got You Babe
http://www.truthdig.com/cartoon/item/20080131_i_got_you_babe/

A) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY (1-29)

1. James Glassman: The Journalist Turned Journo-lobbyist’s Bid to Be PR Czar - Diane Farsetta (PR Watch.org, Center for Media and Democracy, January 31): If the Foreign Relations Committee and full Senate confirm James Glassman, the nominee for Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, he’s likely to follow in his predecessor Karen Hughes’s footsteps, with a greater emphasis on Internet tools and a new cadre of “credible” pro-U.S. Muslim influencers. But unless the United States makes real changes in its foreign policy, the U.S. global “brand” will remain tarnished.
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6953

2. America’s New Publicist Takes the Stand; James Glassman: “enemies are eating our lunch online” – (PRNewser, February 2): “James K. Glassman ...  took the stand this week in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. ... What emerged from the testimony is that Glassman—creator of the naysaying Tech Central Station—believes the U.S. needs to step up its online information efforts. Our humble and outsider opinion is that shooting a few thousand new pages of text in to the wind won’t do much to raise the country’s standing in the world from now until GWBII is over, or alleviate tension within the State Deparment.”
http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/politics/americas_new_publicist_takes_the_stand_james_glassman_enemies_are_eating_our_lunch_online_76376.asp?c=rss
see also
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=68110
http://current.com/items/88829944_al_qaeda_s_online_buddy_list_is_bigger_than_the_bush_administration_s
http://guichardblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/humility-factor.html
http://wildwickedwonderful.blogspot.com/2008/02/in-media.html

3. The War of Ideas – Michael Goldfarb (Weekly Standard, February 1): JAMES GLASSMAN, in his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations this week: “Muslims in America embrace U.S. values and participate actively in U.S. society, yet they differ with other Americans and with the U.S. government on policy. That is to say, policy is not the determining factor in their view of America. This is precisely the condition we should strive for in the world. People in other countries will not agree with our policies all the time, but we want them to have an accurate picture of those policies and the motivations behind them, and we want the disagreements to be constructive.” GOLDFARB COMMENT: Glassman “certainly strikes the right message here. We can’t change our policies in the Middle East because al Qaeda’s put a gun to our head, but we should strive to make sure ‘policy is not the determining factor’ in how Muslims view America. Let them hate us for our Big Macs and cultural imperialism as the French do, and like the French, let them do nothing about it.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/02/the_war_of_ideas.asp

4. Propaganda: Inbound—Bad; Outbound—Necessary (But It Mustn’t Look Like Goebbels) - Gerald Loftus (Avuncular American, February 1): “[T]o my mind, of equal importance to the question of whether Americans should or should not be the target of government propaganda (I tend to tilt towards the latter, consensus, view), is the question of who performs ‘good’ propaganda, or public diplomacy. The best kind is citizen public diplomacy, of the kind practiced by such organizations as ‘Business for Diplomatic Action’ ... and ‘American Voices’ (a choral group that brings the best of the American spirit to audiences abroad). ... When the US Government needs to tell its story—a natural function, shared by all governments, businesses, charities, etc.—it should have the services of a dedicated organization. It used to have that in the US Information Agency. Whether that entity is revived or something else comes into being, that ‘something else’ should be civilian, not military.”
http://avuncularamerican.typepad.com/blog/2008/02/communicating-a.html

5. Understanding the failure: what’s really wrong and why won’t new agencies or doctrine be enough to fix it - (MountainRunner, January 31): Weak centralized leadership from State has so far been unable to find a voice or a real purpose. Nobody wants Defense to be America’s chief public diplomat, least of which the DoD.
http://mountainrunner.us/2008/02/understanding_the_failure_what.html
see also
http://mountainrunner.us/2008/01/whats_wrong_with_our_public_di.html

6. In War against Islamism, We Must Listen to the Words of Our Enemies - Zuhdi Jasser (Family Security Matters, NJ, February 1): Listening only to President Bush and others in his administration supposedly leading the contest of ideas, one would never understand what the other side, the Islamists, were actually all about or what they were actually saying. They presented the Islamists with no open challenge, debate, or critical engagement. The Public Diplomacy program for all intents and purposes has failed to both spread the ideas of freedom and improve the image of America in the West.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/terrorism.php?id=1386463

7. Green party leader Elizabeth May’s Crusades talk is useful - Father Raymond J. de Souza (National Post, Canada, January 31): George Weigel, author of: “Faith, Reason and the War Against Jihadism” and leading Catholic commentator, papal biographer and theologian of just war doctrine, argues that the war against jihadism cannot be won without recognizing that it is importantly, but not exclusively, a religious challenge. Theology is thus an essential front in this war alongside the other aspects Weigel highlights: military prowess, public diplomacy, creative realism and cultural perseverance.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/01/31/father-raymond-j-de-souza-green-party-leader-elizabeth-may-s-crusades-talk-is-useful.aspx

8. Mothers of the Disappeared – onequietguy75 (Iraq Bush World States United, January 31): America is connecting itself with practices that are associated, in the minds of hundreds of millions of people, with the most odious of tyrants and the worst of authoritarian regimes. No matter how skillful US public diplomacy may be in the future, it’s going to take an enormous amount of effort and considerable time to overcome this self-inflicted damage. SEE BELOW ITEMS 45-47.
http://onequietguy75.dustdiary.com/2008/01/31/mothers-of-the-disappeared/

9. Diplomatic Failings – (Nick Wadhams blog, February 1): Always count on the great dull-o-tron of American public diplomacy to spoil the message. A few days ago, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer called the chaos in Kenya’s Rift Valley ethnic cleansing, which it clearly is. Now State Department spokesman Sean McCormack employs the well-known strategy of packing a thought with so many useless words that it can no longer be considered a coherent thought.
http://nwadhams.typepad.com/nwadhams/2008/02/diplomatic-fail.html

10. American foreign assistance still valued abroad - Surya B. Prasai (American Chronicle, February 1): In Secretary Rice´s concept of winning both hearts and mind through American public diplomacy, “Transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership; not paternalism. In doing things with people, not for them, we seek to use America’s diplomatic power to help foreign citizens better their own lives, build their own nations, and transform their own futures.” In addition to defining what America does best given its diverse culture and economic prosperity, USAID´s global partnerships also define how it does it best the American way.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/50842

11. Hawaii talks take aim at post-Kyoto agreement - Darren Samuelsohn (EarthNews, January 31): Bush’s climate efforts have won support among his allies on Capitol Hill and in industry. “It improves our public diplomacy position in the world,” said Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich. “I didn’t support Kyoto. But the fact of the matter is that was kind of a litmus test out there.”
http://www.earthportal.org/news/?p=848

12. How the 2008 campaign made the world love America again - James Forsyth (Passport, Foreign Policy, February 1): Under the Bush presidency, anti-Americanism has reached new—and absurd—heights, and in too many countries the United States became pigeon-holed as the country of Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, and global warming. The Bush administration’s public diplomacy in Europe has been nothing short of shocking. The 2008 campaign has reminded the public overseas, and especially in allied countries, of the diversity and vibrancy of American democracy. Another piece of good news is that all three candidates with a realistic chance of being the next president play well abroad in a way that George W. Bush does not.
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/8023

13. Obama initiatives embody spirit of Gonzaga mission - Mark Ludeking (Gonzaga Bulletin, February 1): “In talking to many Jesuits over the past four years I have heard many say that they wish learning a foreign language was a requirement for graduation. Obama has an American Voice Initiative that would expand opportunities for fluent speakers to go to other countries and serve. This service will come in public diplomacy and include engineers, doctors and teachers. I mention this not only because many Gonzaga students are interested in spending time overseas helping other nations by doing what the world needs most, but because the last seven years have been devastating for our relations around the world.”
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/02/01/Opinion/Obama.Initiatives.Embody.Spirit.Of.Gonzaga.Mission-3181743.shtml

14. Now That Edwards, Kucinich, Richardson And Other Progressives Have Abandoned The Race, I Will Now Run For President - Alone (OpEDNews, February 2): Public diplomacy and lower cost products like shooting simple laser beams at satellites are cheaper than what the U.S. defense program has been trying to do—i.e. try and outspend (militarily) all other competing countries around the planet year after year.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_alone_080201__22now_that__edwards_2c_.htm

15. (Kim Andrew Elliott Discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy), latest edition
http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/

16. Embassy reporting officers: interchangeable? – The Cookie Pusher, February 1): “[S]enior P[ublic]D[iplomacy] [State Dept.] officers still remember USIS days far too clearly, and a few continue to believe their mission doesn’t require the same kind of coordinated effort with other sections. I’ve had older PD officers tell me they regret the loss of ‘objectivity’ regarding U.S. policy they once had. They didn’t have to ‘sell the same message. This, if true, further underlines my belief that the end of USIS was necessary and fundamentally in U.S. interest.’”
http://thecookiepusher.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/embassy-reporting-officers-interchangeable/

17. Embassy reporting officers: interchangeable? - (Life After Jerusalem: The Adventures And Musings Of An American Indian, Native Sandlapper (South Carolinian) Serving As A Public Diplomacy-Coned Foreign Service Officer, February 1): “This is an interesting piece from The Cookie Pusher. I can’t decide if I agree or not. I think the argument has valid points, and as a Public Diplomacy coned officer, I certainly believe we could do our jobs better if we were integrated into political and economic sections. ... But if you think of public diplomacy not in terms of being a feel good cone and more in terms of a tool to advance foreign policy (and I do), whether it be by explaining clearly our foreign policy or by working with political and economic officers to make sure people they identify as good contacts or future leaders get to participate in the International Visitor program, then having the sections united makes sense.”
http://lifeafterjerusalem.blogspot.com/2008/02/embassy-reporting-officers.html

18. Iniquities of War, Inequities of Life - Ray McGovern (Consortium News, January 31): “The three who killed themselves [at GUantanamo on June 10] incurred the wrath of Guantanamo commander, Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris, Jr., who announced that the suicides were ‘not an act of desperation, but an act of asymmetrical warfare against us.’ In similar spirit, Colleen Graffy, deputy assistant secretary of state for public diplomacy, told the BBC that the suicides ‘certainly (are) a good PR move to draw attention.’ I wonder how Graffy would describe the actions of those U.S. veterans experiencing such suffering that they, too, commit suicide.”
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/013108a.html

19. My government is retarded - Curzon (ComingArnarchy.com, February 2): “The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has now taken a tactic unfortunately typical of government under the Bush administration—instead of improving their shitty services, they’ve started a blog, Evolution of Security at tsa.gov, to tell you about the great job they’re doing. ... Part of this is just as sad as sending Karen Hughes to run US public diplomacy in Saudi Arabia...”
http://cominganarchy.com/2008/02/02/my-government-is-retarded/

20. Meeting Of The U.S. Advisory Commission On Public Diplomacy – (Media Note, Office of the Spokesman, U.S. Department of State, February 1): The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy will meet on Thursday, February 21, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon in Room 602 (Lindner Family Commons) at the Elliot School of International Affairs, George Washington University, 1957 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. The meeting is open to the public. The Commissioners plan to discuss public diplomacy issues, including the application of political communication theory, and associated disciplines, in U.S. government public diplomacy efforts.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/feb/99952.htm

21. Public Diplomacy: Reinvigorating America’s Strategic Communications Policy (Heritage Foundation; posted at James’ DC Event Feed, February 1): This panel will address the efficacy of the current administration’s strategy and give recommendations for the next administration, whether it is Democrat or Republican. Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2008. Time: 12:00 - 1:30 PM. Location: The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium.
http://districteventfeed.blogspot.com/2008/02/public-diplomacy-reinvigorating.html

22. US Mission to European Union - Derek Lough (Hotel Brussels, February 1): “After a much welcomed morning off from any meetings or responsibilities (which most of us used for sleep), our group spent the afternoon at the United States Embassy talking to directors from the United States Mission to the European Union. Public Diplomacy Officer Merry Miller offered her insight and experience into becoming and working as a Foreign Officer for the United States government to the delight of several political science majors in our group.”
http://sentsq.blogspot.com/2008/02/us-mission-to-european-union.html

23. United States Policy Guided by Belief that Sri Lanka Engrossed in Ethnic Warfare than Counter-Terrorism - Daya Gamage(Asian Tribune, February 2): “The Sri Lanka administration acts as if there is only one issue in Sri Lanka: the ethnic Tamil issue. They have to realize that Sri Lanka’s major national issues do not necessarily revolve round the ethnic Tamil issue. Sri Lanka’s overseas public diplomacy is so weak that they do not know how to get about in the important area of men and matters. “
http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/9405

24. Forum discusses Taiwan’s public diplomacy - Allen Hsu (Taiwan Journal, February 2): To further understand how Taiwan’s public diplomacy has been conducted so far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs convened a forum Dec. 24, 2007 in Taipei where distinguished guests were invited to deliver keynote addresses and share their expertise on this matter. Speaking of new ways to boost public diplomacy, board member on the Taiwan-U.S. Fulbright Foundation William C. Vocke mentioned Japan’s anime subculture, New Zealand’s sports, and Malaysia’s creative campaign titled “Malaysia, truly Asia.” In his eyes, Taiwan is acknowledged internationally as employing “fairly good” public diplomacy. http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=27506

25. Editor’s Notes: Looking the other way - David Horovitz (Jerusalem Post, February 2): Dismally, and in marked contrast to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s careful investment in PR advice for his own political well-being, inadequate thought, to put it mildly, was devoted to the public diplomacy aspect of this Gaza power reduction. Israel’s deficient emphasis on public diplomacy, indeed, meant that after Israel merely cut back fuel supplies to the Strip, Hamas exploited a non-existent crisis to ensure that Israel was blamed for maliciously causing a humanitarian disaster.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1201523805719&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

26. Bahrain Honors Michael Rice – (Bahrain News Agency, Bahrain, February 2): “Michael Rice [Chairman of Bahraini Society ] has been the ambassador of public diplomacy between Bahrain and Britain without presenting official credentials and found doors set open for his mission so he rendered great services to Bahrain society to grow and become one of the biggest and most active friendship societies.”
http://english.bna.bh/?ID=66554

27. Russia’s Regression: Now a crackdown on the British Council - Michael Weiss (Weekly Standard, January 31): One theory popular among Putin’s domestic enemies is that the FSB is quite happy to level charges of espionage and “provocation” at so harmless an outfit as the British Council because its own agents desire to live in England. After all, the greater the supposed threat posed by Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the more spies from the other sides are required for surveillance and counterintelligence.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/672tfwyz.asp

28. School Official Loses $200,000 in Attack - David Nowak (Moscow Times, February 1): The deputy head of the British International School was assaulted and robbed of more than $200,000 after he left a bank in western Moscow carrying a bag of cash, police said Thursday.
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2008/02/01/013.html

29. Another new FCO blogger (ish) - Simon (puffbox, February 1): “The Foreign Office launched itself into blogging last September, with a couple of ministers and a couple of high-profile ambassadors joining in the fun. Indeed, I note they’ve been scoring some PR points with it: Jolyon Welsh, FCO’s head of ‘Public Diplomacy’ presented a case study on it at a conference last week.”
http://puffbox.com/2008/02/01/another-new-fco-blogger-ish/

B) RELATED ITEMS (US torture, 30-33; Iraq, 34-36; Afghanistan, 37-40; Pakistan, 41; North Korea, 42; France, 43; Serbia, 44; democracy in world, 45-47; Rice, 48-49)

30. It’s torture; it’s illegal: The attorney general’s evasions on waterboarding are repugnant, and set a dangerous global precedent – Editorial (Los Angeles Times, February 2): The attorney general of the United States, Michael B. Mukasey, testified this week that he would consider waterboarding to be torture if it were done to him, but that he cannot say it’s always illegal. Such repugnant equivocation will be mimicked and distorted in dark corners around the world, and will make it more likely that waterboarding and other forms of torture will be used against U.S. soldiers and civilians.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-mukasey2feb02,0,7921898.story

31. Tortured Testimony: Mr. Mukasey shows why Congress needs to intervene – Editorial (Washington Post, February 1): The Bush administration’s use of torture and continued use of extreme interrogation techniques have done untold damage to the moral standing of the United States. Having the attorney general state flatly that the technique is illegal could help the country begin to rehabilitate its image in the eyes of the world.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012902723_pf.html

32. Mukasey’s confession: Is waterboarding torture? It it’s done to him, it is; if it’s someone else, uh, he’s not sure - Tim Rutten (Los Angeles Times, February 2): We have suffered terrible casualties in the war with the Islamic terrorists, but the only real victory they’ve achieved was the one the Bush administration handed them when it replaced law with vengeance and sanctioned torture.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rutten2feb02,0,6941133.story

33. Torture or Mystery? Waterboarding - William Loren Katz (CounterPunch, January 31): Isn’t it time to come clean about torture—and about the adherence to law and democracy we expect from our leaders?
http://www.counterpunch.org/katz01312008.html

34. 126 Reporters Have Been Killed in Iraq Since the Start of the War: The Most Dangerous Country in the World for Journalists -Patrick Cockburn (CounterPunch, February 1)
http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick02012008.html

35. Fear of Looking Weak - Dan Froomkin (washingtonpost.com, February 1): How would it look to the world if we left Iraq now? President Bush and Vice President Cheney both expressed concern yesterday that it would make the United States look weak.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/02/01/BL2008020101486_pf.html

36. Why the Surge Worked - Michael Duffy (Times, January 31): One year and 937 U.S. fatalities later, the surge is a fragile and limited success, an operation that has helped stabilize the capital and its surroundings but has yet to spark the political gains that could set the stage for a larger American withdrawal.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1708843,00.html

37. The NATO Emerging in Afghanistan - Victoria Nuland (Washington Post, February 1): Despite some dire headlines, there were major successes in the past year for the Afghans and their 40 international security partners, including all members of NATO. (The writer is U.S. ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013102545_pf.html

38. Talibanization and nukes - Arnaud de Borchgrave (Washington Times, February 1): NATO allies are already tiring of the Afghan campaign. NATO’s future is now clearly at stake in the Pakistani-Afghan mess.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/COMMENTARY/941131447/1012&template=printart

39. US Faces Unraveling Afghan Mission – IslamOnline (February 2)
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280074336&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

40. A Pair of Allies, Self-Destructing - Jim Hoagland (Washington Post, February 3): The United States still has a chance to save Karzai and Musharraf from the extremists. Washington has no chance, however, of saving them from themselves. That task belongs to them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/01/AR2008020102665_pf.html

41. Pakistani P.R. - Editorial (New York Times, February 1): Successfully moving Pakistan from military rule to civilian-run democracy is essential to combating extremism. Mr. Musharraf has a major role in making this happen. The United States and its allies must keep reinforcing that message.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/opinion/01fri1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

42. In North Korea, Process Over Progress - Michael Gerson (Washington Post, February 1): Having begun the path of negotiations, the State Department has consistently moved the goal posts closer to keep North Korea at the table.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013102628_pf.html

43. Sarkozy and Kerviel chase a French-American dream - Paul Betts (Financial Times, February 1): For all the fear and loathing of capitalism in France and its criticisms of the US system, the country is not only becoming more American but has always embraced the American dream.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3406dc12-d0d2-11dc-953a-0000779fd2ac.html

44. Losing Belgrade: Russia’s gain - Jason Epstein (National Review, February 2): Washington became a reckless cheerleader for Kosovo’s independence. In the process, a resurgent and less than amiable Russia exploited Serbia’s quest for diplomatic support to regain its sphere of influence in the Balkans. American foreign policy toward Serbia needs an adjustment.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTcxYzlhOGMyZTYzYmI5NjMzYzM1NmI3Nzg1MTQyODM=&w=MA==

45. Rights Group Faults U.S. for Support of Autocrats - Nora Boustany (Washington Post, February 1): In its latest report, Human Rights Watch, a New York-based advocacy group, delivers a harsh critique of the Bush administration, suggesting that by accommodating autocratic allies in the fight against terrorism, it has failed to meet its declared goal of promoting democratic values.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013103575_pf.html

46. New human-rights report: Around the world, “sham democracies” thrive – Edward M. Gomez (World View, SF Gate, February 1)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=23916

47. Athens or Rome: which will it be? – Patricia H. Kushlis (Whirled View, February 1): Americans too forget that one size, or model, doesn’t fit all and that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Neither are democracies.
http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2008/02/athens-or-rome.html

48. Are You Ready for Formal Ursula? - Princess Sparkle Pony ‘s Photo Blog: I keep track of Condoleezza’s hairdo so you don’t have to, January 31): PHOTO: Austrian Vice Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer, Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and Education Minister Claudia Schmied during the opening of Vienna’s traditional Opera Ball, on Thursday, January 31, at Vienna’s State Opera. COMMENT: “If this public appearance doesn’t cement the affable Austrian giantess’ reputation as the Anti-Condi in every way, I don’t know what could. Ursula, tonight, was ab so lute ly stunning; almost regal, but relaxed. Oh, Ursula, please come and rescue us all!”
http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2008/01/are-you-ready-for-formal-ursula.html

49. This Time It’s the Frog Who Comes to Rescue the Princess - (Princess Sparkle Pony’s Photo Blog: I keep track of Condoleezza’s hairdo so you don’t have to, January 31): PHOTO: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice greets French Defense Minister Herve Morin, Thursday, Jan. 31 in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington.
http://sparklepony.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-time-its-frog-who-comes-to-rescue.html

C) ONLY IN AMERICA?

50. Elderly nun gets jail time in sex case - AP (USA Today, February 2): A 79-year-old nun was sentenced Friday to one year in a county jail for sexually abusing two teens when she was their principal four decades ago.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-02-church-abuse-nun_N.htm

D) ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“When the president of the United States—the leader of the free world, the guy with the nuclear football doohickey and therefore the power to end human if not cockroach civilization—comes to town today to update Las Vegas on the war on terrorism, he will not be standing in a stadium, behind a church pulpit or in a rugged pose in front of Red Rock. Not even in a high school auditorium. No, the president will be at the back of an office park overlooking a rock quarry and snake habitat disguised as an expensive golf course named Badlands.”

--Brendan Buhler, “Bush is on his way, so beat it or else ...” (Las Vegas Sun, February 1)
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/31/bush-his-way-so-beat-it-or-else/#/George_Bush/

E) STALIN JOKES
http://www.folklore.ee/~kriku/HUUMOR/STALIN_FIN.pdf

F) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: BOOKS, ARTICLES, WEBSITES #37

Intended for teachers of public diplomacy and related courses, here is an update on resources that may be of general interest. Suggestions for future updates are welcome.

Bruce Gregory
Director, Public Diplomacy Institute
George Washington University
(202) 994-0389
BGregory@gwu.edu

Andrew J. Bacevich, “Prophets and Poseurs: Niebuhr and Our Times,” World Affairs, Winter 2008, Vol. 170, No. 3, pp. 24-37. Bacevich (Boston College) examines the current relevance of 20th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s thinking about “myths and delusions” in the way Americans see themselves and project themselves to the world. Drawing on Niebuhr’s The Irony of American History (1952, soon to be reprinted), Bacevich explores Niebuhr’s views on four themes: (1) the persistence of American exceptionalism, hypocrisy, and pride in America’s self-perception; (2) history as an opaque drama in which the story line and denouement are hidden; (3) the persistence of overconfidence and the false allure of simple solutions; and (4) the imperative of appreciating the limits of power. (Available by subscription)
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/winter-2008/abstract-prophets.html

Nathan Brown and Amr Hamzawy. “Arab Spring Fever,” The National Interest, September/October, 2007, pp. 33-40. Brown (George Washington University) and Hamzawy (Carnegie Endowment) write that Washington’s “manic debate” on political change in the Middle East misses gradual change “driven to a great extent by an indigenous freedom agenda.” The authors find stunning impatience in Washington’s approach and call for greater realism, a mix of policies, sustainable efforts, and recognition that political realism may be occurring “but not on any U.S. administration’s timetable.”
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=19554&prog=zgp&proj=zme

Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA), America’s Role in the World: A Business Perspective on Public Diplomacy, October 2007, pp. 1-18. Written by Tom Miller (BDA Vice President), this report examines definitions of public diplomacy, discusses problems for the U.S. economy driven by the decline in America’s global public image, and recommends ways the U.S. business community can help in structuring and promoting an effective public diplomacy strategy. BDA’s recommendations: (1) creation of an independent Corporation for Public Diplomacy (CPD) and a cross-agency National Communications Council (NCC) reporting to the President; (2) development of a “public diplomacy and communications strategy” employing the skills, techniques and processes of global businesses; (3) an increase in public diplomacy resources from $1.5B to $3B; and (4) establishment of a “reserve” Foreign Service Officer and “Goodwill Ambassador” corps.
http://www.businessfordiplomaticaction.org/action/a_business_perspective_on_public_diplomacy_10_2007_approvedfinal.pdf

Andrew F. Cooper. Celebrity Diplomacy, (Paradigm Publishers, 2008). Cooper (University of Waterloo and Centre of International Governance Innovation) looks at the role of celebrities in diplomacy from Ben Franklin to Shirley Temple Black and Octavio Paz to today’s Bono, Angelina Jolie, and Bill Gates. He examines analytical, normative, and practical issues in the associations of state and non-state actors with celebrities who attract attention and mobilize activists on global issues. His book addresses questions of boundaries, legitimacy, limits, and consequences—and the arguments of critics—in a “mix of public diplomacy and advocacy through both official and unofficial mechanisms.”

CSIS Commission on Smart Power, A Smarter, More Secure America, Co-Chairs, Richard L. Armitage and Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Center for Strategic and International Studies, (2007), 1-79. Armitage (former deputy secretary of state), Nye (Harvard), and a bipartisan commission of American scholars and practitioners call for the next U.S. president to implement a smart power strategy that complements military and economic might with greater investments in soft power. Recommendations focus on six areas: reinvigorated alliances, partnerships, and institutions; elevated global development; strengthened public diplomacy; economic integration; technology and innovation; and creative approaches to how the government is organized, coordinated, and budgeted. Public diplomacy recommendations include increased exchanges with a focus on youth, U.S.-China and U.S. India Educational Funds, expanded Middle East language competencies, and creation of an independent, nonprofit “center for international knowledge and communication.”
http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/071106_csissmartpowerreport.pdf

Steven R. Corman and Kevin J. Dooley. Strategic Communication on a Rugged Landscape: Principles for Finding the Right Message, Report #0801, Consortium for Strategic Communication (CSC), Arizona State University, January 7, 2008. The authors build on an earlier CSC paper (A 21st Century Model for Communication in the Global War of Ideas, April 2007, which argued that U.S. strategic communication is based on an outdated “message influence model.” In this new CSC study, they assert that U.S. communication efforts are limited by a fruitless quest to centralize and tightly control its messages. Using the metaphor of a rugged landscape with many peaks, Corman and Dooley call for a new approach with “multiple integral solutions,” greater tolerance for experimentation and random variation in communication, and recognition that “failure is normal part of the path to success.” (Courtesy of Stephanie Helm)
http://www.comops.org/article/121.pdf

Brent Cunningham. “The Rhetoric Beat,” Columbia Journalism Review, November/December, 36-39. CJR’s managing editor examines the crucial political role of the press in its choices of words, metaphors, and linguistic frames. Cunningham looks briefly and selectively at framing literature and media framing choices in the decision to go to war in Iraq. He proposes that news organizations employ “rhetoric reporters” to research the history and use of words applied to policies and actions “to help keep political discourse as clear and intellectually honest as possible. 
http://www.cjr.org/essay/the_rhetoric_beat.php

Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic Communication, Report on Strategic Communication in the 21st Century, Chair, Vincent Vitto, January, 2008, 1-149. In its third year-long study since 2001, the Defense Science Board’s (DSB) Task Force has substantially refined and updated its views with particular attention to deep comprehension of attitudes and cultures, relationships between government and civil society, adaptive networks within government, new media, and technology transformation. The Task Force, comprised of members from government (diplomacy and military) and the academic and non-profit research communities, urges a national commitment to strategic communication “supported by resources and a strength of purpose that matches the nation’s commitment to defense, intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security.” Key recommendations: amplification of the DSB’s call in 2004 for an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan Center for Global Engagement to leverage knowledge and skills in civil society (beginning with a “deep understanding of cultures and cultural dynamics, core values of other societies, and media and technologiy trends"); a permanent strategic communication structure within the White House; strengthened capacity in the Departments of State and Defense; and a thorough review of the mission, structure, and functions of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. 
http://www.acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2008-01-Strategic_Communication.pdf

Daniel W. Drezner, “Foreign Policy Goes Glam,” The National Interest, No. 92, November/December 2007, pp. 22-28. Drezner (Fletcher School, Tufts...