September 8

“The Russians bombed us for 14 years and ended up destroying themselves.”

--Mohammed Haroon, a former Afghan militia fighter in his 50s who is now jobless

"Even unemployed mark Labor Day"

--USA TODAY headline; image from article: Shirley Harris, center, leads Service Employees International Union families down a Detroit street.

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

The A-List of E-Gov - Liz Losh, virtualpolitik: "Given the four-figure price tag for registering for this week's summit on Government 2.0, there should be some pretty swanky t-shirts and other swag for conference attendees. Clearly, in budget hard times, this isn't a conference designed primarily for public servants in the government sector. Instead, it is a summit intended for software and hardware manufacturers to help them position themselves for profitable contracting with the new administration. …

Former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta will also speak; Podesta served as the transition chief for the Obama administration and was the public face of the website Change.gov and the putative author of many mass e-mails received by those who visited Obama sites. Podesta will be speaking about public diplomacy online. Speaking of public diplomacy, a notable late drop from the roster is British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is also a blogger and YouTube personality as part of his online efforts at public diplomacy. Perhaps his office was engaged with the scandal involving the Megrahi affair and thought it was wise to stay home in the UK. … My main problem with this summit is that Web 2.0 is supposed to take on the functions of government somehow by fiat. There seems to be no legislative vision to this conference, where all the attention is on the star power of the executive branch." Losh image from her blog.

What does the political science literature on civil wars really say about Iraq? – Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: "[Comment:] Fraud is Afghanistan okay? Fraud in Iran okay? by Alex Tr. on Mon, 09/07/2009 - 11:30am I appreciate all your reporting on the talks you attend but how should the US respond to the allegations of fraud coming out of the Hamid Karzai camp in Afghanistan? What should the public diplomacy message be regarding an ally who cheats his way to the top? Is there a precedent in the Middle East where the US came out against a cheating ally in an election?"

Strategy for Iran revisited – Bruce Clarke, examiner.com: "My proposed strategy for Iran and discussion of missile defense against Iran were met with several critiques … .

What was truly underappreciated by some readers was the importance of public diplomacy. All of the activities suggested could never happen without first building a strong consensus and coalition which would be devoted to action, not just watching the US carry the burden." Image from

Vlora International Summer University "DEMOCRACY and PARTICIPATION", Edition VIII - freestudiesabroad.blogspot.com: "with the contribution of: ... PUBLIC DIPLOMACY DIVISION (NATO) PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE OF THE USA EMBASSY IN ALBANIA ... Edition 2009: 'Enlargement of EU and NATO; Democracy and the Peace-Building process in the Balkans, Europe and beyond' Are you interested and motivated into politics, democracy, society and public life? Would you like to learn more, debate and exchange ideas with known lecturers, public persons and young leaders from Albania and from other European countries? Apply to participate at the 8th Edition of the Vlora International Summer University 'Democracy and Participation' that will be held in Vlora (Albania), at the New York Hotel, from 18 to 27 September 2009."

The murder of Georgi Markov, of BBC, RFE, DW Bulgarian, was 31 years ago - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

RELATED ITEMS

Afghan Reaction To Strike Muted: Anger at Taliban, Apology by U.S. Deflect The Usual Outrage Over Civilian Deaths - Pamela Constable, Washington Post: When U.S. warplanes bombed two stolen fuel trucks in northern Afghanistan early Friday, causing an explosion that incinerated civilians as well as insurgent fighters, the incident could easily have turned into a propaganda opportunity for the Taliban. Instead, popular and official reaction to the lethal airstrike has been far more tolerant than after similar past incidents.

U.S. Strike an "Enormous Coup" for Taliban - Tucker Reals, CBS News: On Friday, just hours after the airstrike, CBS News' Khaled Wassef found a message posted on the Taliban's primary propaganda Web site claiming the Americans had deliberately struck the civilians around the tankers out of "anger and hopelessness" over their "elections farce." Image from article: Rahmatullah, 19, a victim of Friday's NATO airstrike, tries to sit up on his bed in a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2009


In Germany, Political Turmoil Over Ordering Of Airstrike - Craig Whitlock, Washington Post: German lawmakers demanded explanations Monday for how and why their soldiers in Afghanistan, normally restricted to peacekeeping duties, triggered a NATO airstrike that killed approximately 100 people. Political fallout from the attack jolted Germany's election campaign just weeks before the vote and threatened to sour relations with the United States.

Should Obama go 'all in' on Afghanistan? Before the president bets his chips on a military solution, he should figure out if there are other cards that can be played - Andrew J. Bacevich, latimes.com

Obama's quagmire - Jeffrey T. Kuhner, Washington Times: America is losing the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Obama should quickly withdraw most U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

News Analysis: Crux of Afghan Debate: Will More Troops Curb Terror? - Eric Schmitt and Scott Shane, New York Times: The administration’s “clear, hold, build” strategy is meant to win over Afghans.

It is based on the counterinsurgency principle of protecting the population -- or, in this case, at least Afghan population centers -- to win confidence and support, before isolating remaining insurgents to be killed or captured. Official Washington obsesses over the question: How do we win? Yet perhaps a different question merits presidential consideration: What alternatives other than open-ended war might enable the United States to achieve its limited interests in Afghanistan? Image from

The Afghan Stakes: A U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan would have terrible consequences in the war on terror – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal: it was the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan that laid much of the imaginative groundwork for 9/11. So imagine the sorts of notions that would take root in the minds of jihadists -- and the possibilities that would open up to them -- if the U.S. was to withdraw from Afghanistan in its own turn.

Will Obama Fight For Afghanistan? - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: The goals of the war have never been in doubt in any European or North American capital. "Winning" means we leave with a minimally acceptable government in place; "losing" means the Taliban takes over and al-Qaeda comes back.Obama has said many times that he supports the Afghan war in principle. Now we'll see whether he supports it in practice.

Eight Years Later and Still No Revenge - Richard Cohen, Washington Post: Leaving Afghanistan has the feel of whistling in the dark. It's as frightening as staying.

But when we go -- if we go -- we will have to acknowledge that we have broken our vow not only to Afghans who have supported us -- the Taliban, unlike us, will get its revenge -- but also with the dead of Sept. 11, 2001. Image from

The U.S. and Iran: It's time to talk: A conversation with the Tehran regime is the best option for dealing with our differences. The possibility of failure shouldn't Obama from making the effort –Editorial, Los Angeles Times: Bombing Iran is a terrible idea.

Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival - Nadeem Majeed, USA TODAY: Despite harsh sanctions against the Iraqi government and the despotic rule of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a vibrant arts scene in the years leading up to the war. Private galleries along the Tigris River regularly displayed artists' works, and the famous Mutanabi Street filled with booksellers did brisk business. But with the U.S. invasion in March 2003, Iraq's cultural identity also came under fierce attack. After the fall of Saddam, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"A presidential candidate opposed to the Iraq War is elected and enters the Oval Office. Yet six months later, there are still essentially the same number of troops in Iraq as were there when his predecessor left, the same number, in fact, used in the original invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Moreover, the new president remains on the 'withdrawal' schedule the previous administration laid out for him with the same caveats being issued about whether it can even be met. That administration also built a humongous, three-quarters-of-a-billion-dollar embassy in Baghdad, undoubtedly the most expensive on the planet. Staffed with approximately 1,000 'diplomats,' it was clearly meant to be a massive command center for Iraq (and, given neocon dreams, the region). Last weekend, well into the Obama era, the Washington Post reported that the State Department's yearly budget for 'running' that embassy -- $1.5 billion (that is not a misprint) in 2009 -- will actually rise to $1.8 billion for 2010 and 2011. In addition, the Obama administration now plans to invest upwards of a billion dollars in constructing a massive embassy in Islamabad and other diplomatic facilities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here, too, there will be a massive influx of 'diplomats,' and here, too, a U.S. command center for the region is clearly being created. What's striking are the continuities in American foreign and military policy, no matter who is in the White House."

--Tom Engelhardt, "Tomgram: David Swanson, The More Things Change," TomDispatch; Engelhardt image from; see also