October 31

"We cannot for a second abandon propaganda. Propaganda is vital -- propaganda is the heart of all struggles."

--Fidel Castro, in a letter to a revolutionary colleague in 1954; image from

REPORT

Evaluation of the Youth Exchange & Study Program Final Report August 2009 Prepared for: U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Prepared by: InterMedia 1401 New York Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20005

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Interview With Wyatt Andrews of CBS - Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Department of State: CLINTON: “[T]he United States has always been a beacon of hope and opportunity to people, historically. And I think we still are. But I think we have to be more aware in this information world that we live in that everything we do is now not just communicated to governments, it’s communicated with the flick of a mouse.

I mean, everybody knows. And we have to be much more committed to public diplomacy. It is not 'You are with us or you are against us,' or, 'Take it or leave it.' It is, 'Let’s talk about this.'” Image from

Pakistanis Snub Clinton Diplomacy - Aamir Latif, Islam Online: "Meeting the same fate during her public diplomacy tour in the Muslim country, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed Friday, October 30, to win support of Pakistan’s tribal northwest for Washington’s anti-terror policies. 'It was a futile exercise (meeting),' Munir Orakzai, the head of a 18-member tribal parliamentary delegation, told IslamOnline.net on Friday, October 30. ... The tribal politicians also disparaged Clinton for resorting to force to tackle problems. ... 'I tried to convince her that tribesmen are not militants, and the militants are not tribesmen,' Orakzai said. ... The US repeatedly launches drone attacks in the tribal areas.

The attacks killed hundreds of Pakistani civilians, including women and children, while only a few Qaeda members were killed. 'Every drone attack is adding more and more militants to the Taliban folder,' warned Orakzai. ... Clinton faced the same fate during her three-day public diplomacy offensive in Pakistan. The top US diplomat faced hard-hitting questions from angry students at Government College University in Lahore on Thursday. ... [A] panel of famous Pakistani anchors gave [Clinton] a hard time to the visiting American official at a discussion. 'On the one hand, the US backs democracy everywhere in the world, but when Pakistani parliament adopts a unanimous resolution against drone attacks, America doesn’t care about that. What is this double standard,' Hamid Mir, a prominent Pakistani anchorperson, asked Clinton." ‎Image from See also (1)(2)(3)

That’s Not A Red Carpet In Pakistan - That’s A Blood-Stain- Rob Asghar, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "I’d been a staunch critic of President Bush’s policies in his war on terror and had been given new hope by Obama’s demonstrated willingness to understand and address root causes of anger. Bush’s aggressiveness seemed to unleash a Hydra effect, occupying a nation to kill five terrorists while inciting ten others to join the cause against the occupation. Obama seems to be operating the same way—openly in Afghanistan and by military proxy in Pakistan. As both military strategy and public diplomacy, his approach has been unfruitful so far."

Hillary's public diplomacy – Inayatullah, The Nation, Pakistan: "US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Pakistan on a mission to educate Pakistanis about what she chose to call American 'friendship' and 'partnership'. No high official in the preceding US administrations has ever spoken so much, to so many people on Pakistani soil in a short span of three days. Never before such sweep of public diplomacy. That she is good looking and well-mannered as also an American of high standing in her own right, certainly added to her position as one who could speak with authority on behalf of the US government and the people.

Secretary Clinton met the highest Pakistani government office-holders, the army chief, leaders of the opposition, students, businessmen and above all leading media representatives. She found time to visit historic places, mosques, shrines and even Iqbal's mausoleum. Except for certain strategic matters, she expressed herself candidly and even bluntly." Image from

Right Signals - Umesh Patil, 21stcenturypolitics.com: "It all started by Obama's Cairo Speech - campaign style politiciking in other country to achieve some diplomatic goals. Hillary's Pakistan tour is an exhibit A of such public diplomacy, an attempt to shape public opinions in a far way land. These are some 'high wire acts', quite impressive."

Govt to revise cost of land for US embassy - Sharafat Kazmi: Pakistan Observer: "The government is considering to revise the cost of 18.5 acres of land offered to the United States Embassy in Islamabad,

reliable sources told Pakistan Observer on Friday. The case regarding the new price of land is lying with Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani who has received a fresh summary from the Foreign Office that the rate of land fixed for the additional land of the embassy should be revised from Rs15,000 to Rs80,000 per sq yard (equivalent to $1000 per sq yard). ... The American embassy filed in October last its request, seeking allotment of ten to twenty acres of land adjoining the mission. The Foreign Office endorsed it and forwarded it to the CDA. On 19 August, US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale was quoted as saying that the embassy expansion reflected Washington’s added focus on its relations with Pakistan. She said the US focused on efforts to expand its relations with Pakistan and intended to fulfil its commitments with the people of Pakistan." Image from

Innovations In Global Public Diplomacy: The Implications For Foreign Policy And National Security - Ernest J. Wilson III, Newswire – CPD Blog & Blogroll, USC Center on Public Diplomacy:

"Despite the impressive spread of public diplomacy as an important instrument to achieve one’s international purposes, critical challenges remain." Image from

Colleen Graffy on the Rise of Public Diplomacy 2.0 - idiplomacy.org: "Colleen Graffy has an article, The Rise of Public Diplomacy 2.0, in the Fall issue of The Journal of International Security Affairs. Graffy is a professor at Pepperdine University’s law school and director of global programs. She recently served as the first deputy assistant secretary for Public Diplomacy to be appointed to the State Department, serving in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. According to her Pepperdine bio, 'Professor Graffy was the first high level US government official to actively advance ‘Public Diplomacy 2.0’ using Twitter and other social media platforms to further U.S. communications.'”

The Obama Administration's Ass-Backwards Approach to Public Diplomacy – Publius, litterblog.blogspot.com:

"We pissed on Poland and the Czechs, we continue to fail to ratify free trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia, and most recently after Pakistan's army launched and continues a bloody campaign stabbing the heart of insurgent held territory to try to dislodge Al Qaeda from its perch in the tribal wasteland of Pakistan's oxymoronically named Federally Administred Tribal Areas, Hillary Clinton went there and essentially publicly accused them of at the very least being inept in their pursuit of, if not corruptly in bed with or downright complicit with the Taliban and Al Qaeda." Image from

New VOA relays in Pakistan raise at least one eyebrow (updated again) - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy. Below image from

VOA and its wartime origins - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Two more Willis Conover stories - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

This was Radio Moscow! Voice of Russia marks 80th anniversary

- Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy. Image from

Local Public Affairs Corporate Representative / Southern California Edison / Santa Ana, CA – What Are Green Collar Jobs Info: Green Collar Job Postings and Information - "Job Title: Local Public Affairs Corporate Representative ... Basic Qualifications: Must possess three or more years experience working with, and a broad knowledge of, local and/or regional or state government agencies. Must have project management experience and/or utility experience. ... - Must have established strong interpersonal skills

and public diplomacy, business relationships with local entities or the demonstrated experience establishing relationships." Image from

RELATED ITEMS

Honduras 1, Hillary 0: A Honduran compromise provides Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with an elegant diplomatic exit - Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal: The big news in Honduras is that the good guys seem to have won a four-month political standoff over the exile of former President Manuel Zelaya. Current President Roberto Micheletti agreed yesterday to submit Mr. Zelaya's request for reinstatement as president to the Supreme Court and Congress, and in return the U.S. will withdraw its sanctions and recognize next month's presidential elections.

A win in Honduras: How the Obama administration outmaneuvered Hugo Chávez – Editorial, Washington Post: The beauty of the U.S.-brokered deal is that it is founded on democratic process -- the very thing the Chavistas want to destroy. The Honduran Congress will vote on whether to restore Mr. Zelaya to office for the three months remaining in his term. Mr. Zelaya says he has the votes to return as president, but if he does, he will head a "government of reconciliation," and the armed forces will report to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, a presidential election previously scheduled for Nov. 29 will go forward with international support and regional recognition for the winner. Neither of the two leading presidential candidates supports Mr. Zelaya or his agenda, which means that Honduras's democracy should be preserved, and Mr. Chávez's attempted coup rebuffed. Below Chavez image from


The universality of war propaganda: A soldier with the Russian army in Afghanistan recounts what they believed about their mission - Glenn Greenwald, Salon: What is most striking about war propaganda: no matter how many times it's re-cycled, regardless of by whom and for which wildly divergent ends, it never loses its efficacy.

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