"Don't think. If you must think, don't speak. If you must speak, don't write anything down. And if you write something down, don't sign it. And if you do all that, don't be surprised."
--An official who grew up behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War recalling a communist-era joke as he discussed the consequences of the WikiLeaks saga; image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY/RELATED ITEMS
Headlines
Obama's Missed Opportunity in Egypt
Day 817- Did Carter Do Anything Right?
Tough times for diplomacy in post-WikiLeaks world
Alhurra finally receiving some press mentions relating to Egypt and neighboring crises
Publicity Alhurra could probably do without: Rep. Moran on race and the 2010 election
In rare display of USIB synergy, RFE/RL mentions Alhurra and VOA reports on Egypt
Jaipur Literary Festival: The Jaipur Literary Festival stands as the world's largest literary festival, and also its grandest
Obama administration aligns itself with protests in Egypt with call for 'orderly transition'
Egypt's uprising should be encouraged
A proud moment in Egypt's history: The revolt is the Middle East's version of Berlin in 1989. President Obama and the U.S. should show their support for the protesters
Our view on Egypt: Moment of truth for U.S. policies
The Two Likeliest Political Outcomes for Mubarak: Egyptian society needs time to prepare for free elections and to remediate years of government oppression
The Internet and the Bill of Rights
How to filter State Department propaganda
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Obama's Missed Opportunity in Egypt - Philip Seib, Huffington Post: "Not much was needed; just some phrasing such as, 'President Mubarak has served his country well, and ensuring peaceful transition to new leadership would continue that service.'
If President Obama had said something like that, Hosni Mubarak would have been furious and probably ignored the advice, but Egyptians and others throughout the Arab world and beyond would have seen that for once the United States was not defending a dictator, but rather was standing on the side of democracy. Instead, Obama was overly cautious, and the moment was lost. There are times when caution should be set aside, and this was one of them. The essence of public diplomacy is communicating directly with people in other countries. Through Al Jazeera and other news organizations, words from the White House reach not only those in the streets of Egypt, but millions of others throughout the region whose mistrust of America is profound. When Obama gave his heralded speech in Cairo in 2009, its impact was short-lived because of too little follow-up. Now, by facilitating historic change in Egypt, Obama could put some substance behind his words. ... [[T]he era of relying on bought-and-paid-for dictators is passing. It would be nice, for a change, to see the United States ride the crest of a wave rather than splash forlornly in its wake." See also. Image from
Day 817- Did Carter Do Anything Right? - daysofchange.wordpress.com: "It’s probably not fair to blame Jimmy Carter for the current unrest in Egypt, but it may not be right to praise him for the peace accords that were not to be. Bush’s declarations of war lasted longer than most of the peace accords other presidents have tried in past administrations. There are basically three options. You can ignore everything the rest of the world does. You can wait until your interests are at stake and let the bombs fly. Or you can do what we always do, try to influence the winners and losers with public diplomacy and private dealmaking. Everybody is an armchair diplomat. If you think your personal vision of the world is going to fly, it would make an entertaining disaster for the rest of the world. In situations like Egypt, we learn that whatever we do, we will end up watching and waiting and hoping. You can’t control everything but you have to try to control something."
Tough times for diplomacy in post-WikiLeaks world - Paul Taylor, Reuters: "If ministers and diplomats have learned a single lesson from the WikiLeaks saga, it is this: write nothing down. ... One European minister said the greatest
blow may have been to Washington's reputation for competence in keeping secrets. The orgy of indiscretions could undermine U.S. leadership at a time when economic shifts were already tilting the balance of global power toward China, he observed. 'This has deeply shaken every U.S. foreign service officer and every ambassador,' said a former U.S. diplomat who is now a consultant on public diplomacy." Image from
Alhurra finally receiving some press mentions relating to Egypt and neighboring crises - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Publicity Alhurra could probably do without: Rep. Moran on race and the 2010 election - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting.
Image from
In rare display of USIB synergy, RFE/RL mentions Alhurra and VOA reports on Egypt - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting
Jaipur Literary Festival: The Jaipur Literary Festival stands as the world's largest literary festival, and also its grandest - [Paul Rockower], indiafutureofchange.com: "With a multitude of panels, performances and workshops, the Jaipur Literary Festival offered a little bit for everyone—hence why the festival was noted
by the Los Angeles Times as the 'thinking-person’s carnival.' ... One of the beauties of the Jaipur Literary Festival is that it is ultimately a platform of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy for India." See also. Image from article
JOTW 05-2011 - nedsjotw.com: "Welcome to the JOTW network. ... This network is all about connecting communicators and sharing opportunities. And speaking of sharing, since the JOTW newsletter was started almost ten years ago, more than 30,000 job opportunities have been listed and shared with members of this network. ... 67.) Communication and Public Diplomacy Specialist - AIPMNH Program, Coffey International Development, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia."
RELATED ITEMS
Obama administration aligns itself with protests in Egypt with call for 'orderly transition' - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
Egypt's uprising should be encouraged - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: We should speak directly to the Egyptian public, not only to its leaders. We should congratulate
Egyptians for having the courage to take to the streets. We should smile and embrace instability. And we should rejoice - because change, in repressive societies, is good. Image from
A proud moment in Egypt's history: The revolt is the Middle East's version of Berlin in 1989. President Obama and the U.S. should show their support for the protesters - Scott MacLeod, latimes.com
Image from article
Our view on Egypt: Moment of truth for U.S. policies - USA Today: The rosy way to look on the daily images of Egypt in flames is to recognize that the match was struck not by Islamist radicals but by young people using social media to demand democracy. But those who start a fire do not control its course, and this particular conflagration seems destined to singe, if not incinerate, assumptions that have guided U.S. policies in the Middle East for decades. There seems little doubt that an era is ending — if at uncertain speed — and the United States will have to adapt. It is not a comforting prospect.
The Two Likeliest Political Outcomes for Mubarak: Egyptian society needs time to prepare for free elections and to remediate years of government oppression - Stephen J. Hadley, Wall Street Journal: Some critics argue that no U.S. administration went far enough in pressing President Mubarak—including the administrations in which I served. As important as the "freedom agenda" was to President Bush, there were other issues—terrorism, proliferation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to name a few—that required us to deal with the Egyptian government. Perhaps as important, the Egyptians are a proud people. No nation wants to be seen to be giving in to public pressure from another state—even a close ally.
The Internet and the Bill of Rights - Francine Hardaway, Huffington Post: "Whom do we think we are here in America? If I were a young Egyptian, I'd be furious at us. We export all our propaganda, our consumerism, our culture, and our heightened expectations for democracy in the rest of the world. But when they act on our words and take to the streets to emulate us, we slink away and hide behind the facade of the White House, hoping things will resolve without us, so the fallen dictator, replaced president, exiled buffoon, can make it out of the country safely and we won't get blamed if it doesn't happen (see Iran)."
How to filter State Department propaganda - Bob Morris, polizeros.com: "It’s quite clear, isn’t it, that the real agenda is more about supporting the status quo, as corrupt and depraved as it might be, because plenty of elites are making lots of money that way and Mubarek may be a thug but he’s our thug.
We certainly can’t favor revolution especially if it’s violent, can we? Oh wait, the US was born in a violent revolution, wasn’t it? Oopsie." Image from
Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South) – 310200UTC Jan 11 - MILNEWS.ca Blog
