PUBLIC DIPLOMACY RESOURCES
Bruce Gregory's Updated Public Diplomacy Resources; Gregory image from
DOCUMENT
FM 3-05.30 MCRP 3-40.6 Psychological Operations April 2005 Headquarters, Department of the Army
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS
The Interested Third Party? Deciding who Decides in Libya - dptrombly, slouchingcolumbia.wordpress.com: "The outrage of many in the Arab world and the delivery of a UNSC resolution condemning the violence in Libya has resulted in some push-back to the dismissive attitudes that commentators such as myself have heaped upon the idea of intervention. If Arab NGOs and intellectuals seem to want international response, and Libyans
are clearly willing to die to remove Gaddafi, then why would Libya have to become a public diplomacy disaster, or a protracted and risky undertaking? Well, the first problem is that even on theory, on paper, the situation in Libya is messy and complicated. ... The United States should not seek to act as a revisionist power in a political situation where the endgame is so far from being clear." Image from article
Libya and the EU: Ashton's moment of truth - Ruth Hanau Santini, EUobserver.com: "While Tripoli is on fire and the US public diplomacy machinery is in full swing, Europe, once again, struggles to formulate an approach beyond dealing with the upcoming wave of migrants."
Gaza and the world today - thenewsalerts.com: "Be it Palestine, Pakistan or Afghanistan, the USA needs to realize that some of its acts justify a local sense of anti-Americanism. They leave the field open for extremists who have twisted it for their own personal interests. Consequently,
many of its positive efforts throughout the world have misted away, hurting its peace corps and many of its diplomats who are doing public diplomacy in most nations. Before it gets too late, the U.S needs to reaffirm its commitment to international justice and uphold the universal values enshrined in its constitution." Image from
Monday, February 28, 2011 - Rush Limbaugh Report: "US FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS JUDITH MCHALE 8:45 a.m. Under Secretary McHale speaks with Russian Ambassador Mikhail Shvydkoy,
co-chair of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE) 9:15 a.m. Under Secretary McHale joins Deputy Secretary Nides’ meeting with the Assistant Secretaries, at the Department of State. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE) 2:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale meets with her public diplomacy leadership team, at the Department of State. (CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE) 3:00 p.m. Under Secretary McHale attends a briefing by the Office of Opinion Research.(CLOSED PRESS COVERAGE)." McHale-Shvydkoy image from
Mind Games: Why Rolling Stone's article on the military's domestic psy-ops scandal gets it so wrong - Matt Armstrong, Foreign Policy: "Rolling Stone characterized the 1948 bill [The Smith-Mundt Act] as legislation to 'prevent the State Department from using Soviet-style propaganda techniques on U.S. citizens.' ... [But] [t]he Smith-Mundt Act does not apply to the whole of government, the Defense Department, or even the whole of the State Department. ... Introduced in Congress in October 1945, the prohibition on domestic dissemination of material intended for foreign audiences by the State Department was to protect the government and the American public from the 'drones,' 'loafers,'
and 'men of strong Soviet leaning' within the department." See also. Image from
Dissecting the Runaway Journalist - Joe Harlan, "As far as the legality of using IO officers for this [the task of collecting bios on visitors] it’s the operation, not the officer, that matters. ... [T]he Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. ... prohibit[s] public diplomacy material from being disseminated in the United States, and that it doesn’t apply to any other agency besides the State Department."
Army Propaganda Unit Ordered To Illegally Target US Senators With Psy-Ops Propaganda - techdirt.com: "[I]t appears that some of the top Army brass in Afghanistan made it clear that the psy-ops team was to focus almost exclusively on visiting Americans, rather than influencing locals. The goal was to convince US politicians to keep sending more money and more men. The psy-ops team resisted and complained, but were continually ordered to do so. When the head of the team consulted a lawyer about the issue -- and was told by the lawyer that his concerns appeared valid -- the army retaliated by
opening an investigation of the guy, Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, with what appear to be ridiculously trumped up charges (such as accusing him of using Facebook too much -- something he'd been encouraged to do by his commanders)." Image from
Ironman Soldiers share tips with Afghan journalists - Troop Scoop: Positive daily updates about our heroic troops and their successes in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Staff Sgt. Greg Zuercher ... taught a news-writing segment of the 2-day professional development seminar. ... On the first day of the seminar, Feb. 22, Mahtab Farid, a native of Calif., and U.S. State Dept public diplomacy officer, who has worked as a journalist in the U.S., ... stressed that the most important factor in any story, is to present the truth with confirmed facts from reliable sources."
Peace Corps Celebrates 50th Anniversary! - James E Lassiter, Being Human: [T]he US Dept of State has its own well-funded US Information Agency to praise its efforts and do other things through 'public diplomacy.' You will never hear State or USIA admit US foreign policies are bad for global needs, restrict freedom, or tolerate suffering.
You only hear such after a new regime enters the White House." Image from
VOA correspondent shoved and detained by police in Beijing - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on INternational Broadcasting
No More Voice of America Radio to China and No Apology from BBG Officials for Allowing Iranian Cyber Attack on Voice of America - freemediaonline.org
What International Broadcasting and the NFL Have in Common - Diplomatic Studs: A collection of unique perspectives on current public diplomacy issues - "[Walter] Issacson, BBG chairman, says the 'free flow of information will promote forces of tolerance and democracy.' Certainly, an important element of IB is the transmitting of values. But values are but a thin veneer over the essential nature of IB. At its core, though, IB is not that different from the swaggering, expletive-laden locker-room interviews and press conferences of the NFL."
latest American cultural center in Jakarta is [at] America - Sharehouse Jakarta: [Google translation:] "The brand-new @America center is a free, high-tech public diplomacy project concept that opened last month. The motto is 'explore, experience, express.' The mission is to wow and woo young people in Indonesia with wrap-around media, Apple iPads and opportunities to study in the US."
Social Media and Public Diplomacy - Alexandra Nemeth, Key to the Future: "Last week our class had an AWESOME guest speaker, Christopher Dufour, who discussed the role of social media in PD. Du4 explained that social media on its own will not be the saving grace for U.S. PD or PD run by any other nation. ... Du4 said that Facebook and Twitter are just tools, which can help facilitate PD, but alone do not suffice. ... These electronic mediums will not and cannot replace the human element that is necessary to make PD a success." Below vulgar image from
Social Media and Political Change - Faizullah Jan, Terse Words: "Christopher Dufour, who spoke in our class last week, summed it up succinctly: 'There is no Twitter revolution; there is a revolution that uses Twitter.' He was equally forthright when he said that if you wanted to influence someone, grow bigger ears to listen to them, which, in my view, is a case against relying only on broadcast media as a tool of public diplomacy."
U.S. Foreign Relations in the Digital Domain: Public Diplomacy 2.0 - Dan Whalen, iposgoode.ca: "In 2006, the US State Department founded the Digital Outreach Team (DOT), a group of ten civil servants directed to 'explain U.S. foreign policy and to counter misinformation.' ... This new approach to foreign relations was recently assessed in a report prepared for UNESCO, entitled 'Public Diplomacy 2.0.' ...
[T]he authors’ ... discovery [is] that DOT posts seem to work counterproductively in generating more, not less, negativity towards the U.S." Image from
US diplomat in Rome hails from Leesville - Wanda Beaird, Leesville Daily Leader: "Nathan Bland, a 1996 graduate of Leesville High School who works as a United States diplomat assigned to the United States Embassy to the Holy See, attributes part of his success to the diversity
and support he found in his hometown. ... To Bland ... [t]he current trend for Black History Month in the United States and in our public diplomacy efforts overseas ... is to get beyond Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and explore other areas of African-American heritage that are not commonly showcased." Bland image from article
Russian delegation to visit Fremont on Thursday - Fremont News Messenger: "WSOS will host 10 professionals from Northern Caucasus of Russian [sic], mainly from Republics of Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechnya and Dagestan. ...The visit is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Community Connections Program. It ... is designed to promote public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural ideas and values among participants."
Friends, foes set for showdown at Israeli Apartheid Week - Gil Shefler, Jerusalem Post: "StandWithUs,
one of a coalition of Israel advocacy groups organizing pro-Israel rallies this month, said it had adopted a nuanced approach toward debunking the analogy between Israel and Apartheid-era South Africa. ... [T]he Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs ... [l]ast week ... sent a delegation of black Israeli Jews, gay rights activists and Israeli Arabs to speak from their own experience as members of minorities in Israeli society." Image from
The Israel Project on Arab Revolutions: ‘Good for the Jews?’ - Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place: "Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, which has been among the very few groups to engage in outreach to the Arab world [:] ... '[P]ro-Israel activists are getting used to a new language when communicating with the Arab world. ... Israel, in this new public diplomacy reality, is no longer referred to as the 'only democracy' in the Middle East, but rather as the 'most stable democracy' in the region, pro-Israel activists said.' ... I am glad though they’re finally giving up the 'only democracy' slogan since it’s been a lie since Turkey and Lebanon elected democratic governments."
Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu -- Israel Defense Forces Spokesman - defensenews.com: "Benayahu has served as grand strategist for public diplomacy, shaping the agenda by controlling the message beyond the IDF command chain and into the government writ large."
Benayahu image from
Israel Public Diplomacy gets a new face - [Goggle translation] - germanmediawatch.posterous.com: "Liebe Alle, Dear all, Israel Public Diplomacy bekommt ein völlig neues Gesicht Israel Public Diplomacy gets a new face Was kann eine Gruppe ehemaliger israelischen Soldaten tun, wenn Israels-Weltöffentliches-Bild so verzerrt ist und am Boden liegt? Sie starten eine eigene Initiative, um ein anderes Gesicht des IDF's (IL Armee)
zu präsentieren. What can a group of former Israeli soldiers do when Israel World Public image is so distorted and lies on the ground, please start your own initiative to face the IDF's (IL Army) to present another one. Sie präsentieren eine Seite des IDF's die die internationale Medienlandschaft kaum darüber berichtet. They present one side of the IDF's international media barely reported the above. Die Gruppe hat eine neue Website, Soldat und Freund ( www.friendasoldier.org ) The group has a new website, soldier and friend ( www.friendasoldier.org ) lanciert und ermutigt die Besucher/Innen, ex-IDF SoldatInnen die als 'Good-Will-BotschafterInnen' agieren, fragen zu stellen. launched and encourages the visitor, ex-IDF soldiers as 'Good-Will Ambassadors' act, shall ask." Image from
Strangers no More - thinknow-thinknow.blogspot.com: "The movie about the Bialik-Rogozin school from Tel Aviv, where big or small children from 48 countries and different religious background are receiving fundamental education won an Oscar. A good opportunity for public diplomacy!"
We need to broadcast to the world, not whisper - Alex Oliver, Sydney Morning Herald: "There are serious concerns that inattention to the basic tools of public diplomacy will find it [The West] unprepared for whatever the developing world has in store. ... [I]t looks as if Australia's international broadcasters are about to weather another storm, if the Australian government takes its cue from the US and Britain, cutting its public diplomacy programs and with them, Australia's voice to the region."
Public Diplomacy 2010: Public Diplomacy in Globalised World – Key Note Address by Smt Nirupama Rao [Video] - "Public Diplomacy in the Information Age[:] In the contemporary global world, people to people diplomacy is playing an important role in international relations."
Indian Soft Power in Afghanistan - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence
Sexism thrives in the EU bubble - Hector Mata, New Europe: "Sexist remarks,
unwelcome flattering, hands on thighs and suggestions of fun in a conference hotel; all near daily occurrences in EU-Brussels. ... NATO, also based in Brussels, has not given me the impression of being any better in this respect. I did once a half-hearted attempt at discussing current affairs with a man from their public diplomacy department. ... I found myself on the receiving end of the official's personal interest which culminated in his remarks on a ring I was wearing; why had I agreed to meet him as it seemed I was engaged?" Image from
Kosovo asks Zambia for recognition - Zambian Watchdog: "Kosovo, whose capital is Pristine, is a tiny state in the Balkans. ... Berisha [James Berisha, a pilot for ‘Flying Kosovo’ ... [who] delivered a written request to the Zambian government to recognise his country] said in Lusaka that the recognition of Kosovo by Zambia and other a African countries will enable Kosovo to enhance trade, investment and promote cultural exchanges. In response, Zambia’s foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande who received the request said the Zambian government will scrutinize the request and put it under security scrutiny. ... [Comment] Anna ... @ BMC I wouldn’t describe it as strange but as nice and wise; the endeavorer is a typical public diplomacy act."
25 Indian VCs for Canada education summit - sify.com: "Twenty-five Indian vice-chancellors will participate in the Canada-India Education Summit to be held at Ottawa's Carleton University as part of the Year of India in Canada.
... Carleton is the only university in the world to have a full-fledged India-centric Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy to raise awareness about bilateral studies and public diplomacy, and develop initiatives to build a better understanding of both countries." Image from
What benefits can a well-run foreign ministry offer the government? - Reflective Diplomat: "In the area of public diplomacy, a well-run MFA can also
provide direction and implement activities such as cultural promotion, people to people exchanges, that enables the government to pursue its national objectives." Image from article
GLOBSEC security forum starts on Wednesday - thedaily.sk: "On Wednesday 2 March the Kempinski Hotel in Bratislava will be host to top security officials from all over the world, as they descend on the city for the GLOBSEC 2011 security forum. ...
The event is organised by the Slovak Atlantic Commission under the auspices of the Foreign affairs minister Mikulas Dzurinda and in cooperation with the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic and the NATO Public Diplomacy Division." Image from article
Twitterers of the World Revolution: The Digital New-New Left - K. R. Bolton, alexandravaliente.wordpress.com: "Movement.org’s inaugural summit in 2008, which the April 6 Youth Movement attended, included a gala hosted by MTV in Times Square. Sponsors of the summit were AT&T, Howcast, Google, Facebook, MTV, and Gen-Next. ... Guests included ... Ambassador Stuart W Holiday from Meridian House, a 'public diplomacy institution [that] works closely with the U.S. Department of State, other government agencies, NGOs, international governments, and the private sector to create global leadership programs.'”
Former Australian Ambassador to Turkey to speak at Festival - cowracommunitynews.com: The Cowra Festival of International Understanding committee is delighted to announce attendance of Mr Peter Doyle as guest speaker at the Rotary International Dinner to be held on Thursday 10 March 2011.
Mr Doyle ... will commence in the position of Assistant Secretary responsible for Public Diplomacy in March 2011. Image from
L’organigramme du service diplomatique devient … définitif - Nicolas Gros-Verheyde, bruxelles2.eu: "La direction des instruments de politique étrangère qui est un service de la Commission apparait sur l’organigramme en tant que telle. ...
Son directeur est le Luxembourgeois Tung Lai Margue. Elle est chargée de gérer [inter alia] ... la public diplomacy et les missions d’observations électorales (Oliver Nette ad interim)." Image from article
Life of an au pair. [Começo, meio e fim] [Beginning, middle and end] - anyevidadeaupair.blogspot.com: [Google translation from the Portuguese]: "I talked to my FH this week, they told that they were preparing to go to Los Angeles, staying there until next Monday 07/03 days, the day of my departure ... minha hosta trabalha com public diplomacy e também com intercambistas, ela vai trabalhar uma semana lá com um internatinal group for snowboarding competitions, como disse meu hostO,
enquanto ela trabalha ele tiro uma semana de férias Skiing. my hosta works with public diplomacy and also exchange students, she will work for a week there with a group for internatinal snowboarding competitions, as I said my host, he shot while she works a week's vacation skiing." Image from
Citytv Launches Bid for Local TV - citytvbroadcasting.co.uk: "Jacques de Suze was a key figure in the development of the Citytv concept in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. ... For the U.S. State Department de Suze served as consultant for Public Diplomacy in Lebanon and The Gulf and chaired the first conference on independent media in the Middle East."
Copy of 3rd Annual Gravity Summit at UCLA - currencytradingexchangeguide.com: "A mesmerizing speaker, Simon Mainwaring іѕ a branding consultant, author, blogger аחԁ speaker. A former Nike creative аt Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, аחԁ worldwide creative director fοr Motorola аt Ogilvy, һе now consults fοr brands аחԁ creative companies tһаt аrе re-inventing tһеіr industries аחԁ enabling positive change. Hе іѕ a member οf tһе GMI Digital Advisory Board, AdAge Power150, TED аחԁ tһе Advisory Board οf tһе Center fοr Public Diplomacy аt tһе Annenberg School."
RELATED ITEMS
Oh, What a Lucky Man - Roger Cohen, New York Times: This is an uprising of Arabs, by Arabs, for Arabs. Obama has managed to seize this moment without stealing it. Obamaism
is taking form. Its themes are nonviolence, youth-driven social media as engines of change and limiters of autocratic brutality, and the universality of those rights listed in Cairo. Image from
Conservatives shouldn't be so surprised by freedom - Michael Gerson, Washington Post: While the Arab revolution is democratic in form, it may take a while to get the content right. Perhaps conservatives should delay their criticisms of Islam's irredeemable violence until after the inspiring, courageous, mainly peaceful protests of Muslims in the Middle East draw to a close.
The Arab revolution swells - Editorial, Washington Post: More than ever, the American interest lies in encouraging more rather than less freedom and in reaching out to those Arabs who seek genuine democracy.
The Reluctant American: Time to recognize the Libyan provisional government - Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal
Obama's Libya response lacks courage, direction - Jonah Goldberg, USA Today
Westerners, be careful the company you keep - Anne Applebaum, Washington Post: If Western governments want to have any credibility in the post-revolutionary Arab world, they need to stop hiring people, even as "envoys," who are already in the pay of current or former Arab dictators.
Obama administration joins critics of U.S. nonprofit group that oversees Internet - Ian Shapira, Washington Post: The California nonprofit organization that operates the Internet's levers has always been a target for such global heavies as Russia and China that prefer the United Nations to be in charge of the Web. But these days, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is fending off attacks from a seemingly unlikely source: the Obama administration. Concerned about the growing movement to cede oversight to the U.N., the U.S. government, which helped create ICANN in 1998,
has been reprimanding the nonprofit group to give foreign nations more say over the Web's operations. Image from
America’s Food Image Needs to Get a Move On - Jaxiecracks, The Cultural Diplomacy of Food: Americans are often criticized for lacking a real culture, and thus for lacking a real cuisine. But a national school lunch program that reinforces the vision of a fit and healthy youth can be a start in building a national food identity that conveys more than just overindulgence, laziness, and convenience.
Keep Quiet About Psy-Ops, Gov't Tells Military - english.chosun.com: The government has apparently told the military to keep quiet about psychological warfare operations against North Korea.
Cartoon Characters in Propaganda During World War II - Jaffa Mood, mickey-mouse.cartoons-world.info.
Image from
AMERICANA: HOW THE US GOVERNMENT WORKS
From Peter Nelson, "Rumsfeld vs. Rice: The Most Important Passive-Aggressive E-mails in America, esquire.com; via:
"The 'My Time Is More Valuable Than Yours' Note
October 26, 200l
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Schedule
It isn't possible to have a 7:15 a.m. phone call, an NSC meeting and then two PC meetings in one day. That takes most of the day.
I need time with my staff. Let's try to figure out a different way to do our business…
The 'Do You Think You're On Entourage?!' Note
- - -
December 13, 200l
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: PC Meeting
We just had the Principals Committee meeting on Iran and Russia. At the last minute, we were told not to bring the 'plus one.' I arrive, and I see you have Steve Hadley, Bob Joseph, Robin Cleveland, and Al Gonzales there-and I am like a one-armed paperhanger.
I am going to start bringing 'plus one' to my meetings at the White House, unless there is just an enormously good reason not to. I sure cannot imagine what it would have been on that meeting, particularly since there were so many people in the room anyway…
The 'You're Terrible At Your Job And You Can't Even Explain Why, Dumbass' Note
- - -
May 20, 2002
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Moscow Proposals
I just saw this article from the London Times saying, 'President Bush will propose . . . that Russia and the United States join forces to develop the controversial Star Wars missile defense system . . .'
What is that about?
Second, I have asked repeatedly for a copy of these other documents that are supposedly going to be dealt with by President Putin and President Bush in Moscow. I still haven't seen a copy of anything other than the treaty. I need to see them. Please get them over to me.
Thank you.
The 'She's Either Dumb, Deaf, or Secretly British, and Therefore, an Obtuse Asshole' Note
- - -
August 22, 2002
TO: Paul Wolfowitz [Deputy Secretary of Defense]
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT:
Call Condi Rice. She said to me that we have got to get the detainee mess sorted out, that nobody is able to get answers. I think she is getting this from the UK. Call her and find out what she is talking about. She always comes in with these cryptic messages as thought [sic] the Pentagon is messed up, and I don't have any idea what she is talking about…
The 'You're Such an Idiot You Can't Even Run a Schedule' Note
- - -
October 4, 2002
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: North Korea
I thought you told the President in my meeting that there werent going to be any meals at the North Korean event. I notice they had one or two dinners.
Thanks.
The 'How I Subvert Your Time-Sucking Meetings' Note
- - -
October 30, 2003
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: NSC Meetings
We have an NSC meeting scheduled for Monday with no subject. I like to be prepared for meetings, but if we don't have the subject of the meeting a working day ahead of time, then there is no way for us to be prepared…
The 'You're Not Early Enough For Us, Slackass' Note
- - -
November 5, 2003
TO: Honorable Condoleezza Rice
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Agendas and Schedules for PC and NSC Meetings
…If you want people from DoD to do something, please tell us that, not in the meeting, but the day before—and we will do our best…
The 'And By Tactical Errors She Means 'My Bad Hair Days'' Note
- - -
April 04, 2006
TO: Stephen J Hadley [National Security Advisor]
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
I think we better get some talking points on what Condi thinks she meant when she said we have made 'thousands of tactical errors.'
I keep getting asked the question, and I don't know the answer. I don't know what she had in mind.
Thanks."
