PUBLIC DIPLOMACY IN THE NEWS

JUL 18, 2008
Brand New Thinking on Being Baltic
Business New Europe
What have Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Finland and Sweden got in common? Anyone who answers "a Baltic coastline" may think they are on the money. But for those behind moves to create a Baltic Sea Regional Brand (BSRB), that simple answer isn't good enough. There has to be something else – only no one seems quite sure what.   Read more...

JUL 18, 2008
Netherlands Concerned about Al Qaida in North Africa
NIS News
The Netherlands is concerned about the increasing influence of Al Qaida in North Africa. The Hague wants to step up its partnership with Algeria against terrorism, Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told the Lower House on Friday.  Read more...

JUL 18, 2008
Iranian hoopsters in Utah say basketball - not politics - is their game
Salt Lake Tribune
The State Department encourages "people-to-people" relations, and approved the idea. McIntyre said Jazz owner Larry Miller did, too, despite recent escalations in tensions between the rival nations over issues such as Iran's nuclear program. "Everyone said, 'It's not a bad thing to do, let's go along with it,' " McIntyre said. "Sports through diplomacy is not a bad thing." It might already be working, too.   Read more...

JUL 18, 2008
Hysteria alert: Barack Obama starts world tour
The Times
You have to go back to the Beatles' first US tour to find a transatlantic trip freighted with the sort of pregnant excitement that attends the one Barack Obama is about to make next week...He will remind Europeans that they have obligations as noisy supporters of multilateralism as well as rights. In Afghanistan, over Iran's nuclear programme and in the broader war on terrorism, he will tell weak-willed European publics (and some governments) that the soft power they value so highly is not enough, and that a bit more hardware is needed. Of course, he will do his utmost to emphasise his affinity with European values on the great defining cultural issue of our times - global warming.  Read more...

JUL 17, 2008
It’s Time For Americans To Master A Second Language
The Miami Herald
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's recent comment that Americans should get their children to study Spanish or another second language has drawn an avalanche of criticism from English-only advocates and cable television anti-immigration zealots. But Obama couldn't have been more right. Whether it's Spanish, or other languages, Americans are way behind the rest of the industrialized world when it comes to mastering other languages.  Read more...

JUL 17, 2008
Bill Would Amend Smith-Mundt Act, Let Al-Hurra Broadcast In U.S.
InsideDefense.com (subscription)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) is poised to introduce a bill amending a Cold War-era law restricting how the U.S. government communicates with Americans at home, which could open up U.S. airwaves to al-Hurra, a controversial U.S.-sponsored Arabic-language satellite TV network.  Read more...

JUL 16, 2008
Defense Chief Gates Wants to Spend More on U.S. Diplomacy
The Los Angeles Times
Gates has made the argument before, most notably in November in an address at Kansas State University. But his speech Tuesday, before a group of business and nongovernmental groups in Washington, included some of his most pointed language yet, including a call for the U.S. to repair its standing in Muslim countries. But he said efforts to buff America's image were unlikely to help. "The solution is not to be found in some slick PR campaign or by trying to out-propagandize Al Qaeda, but through the steady accumulation of actions and results that build trust and credibility over time," Gates said.  Read more...

JUL 16, 2008
Report Blasts Agency Over Martí No-Bid Deals
The Miami Herald
The investigating branch of the U.S. Congress has accused the federal agency that oversees radio and television broadcasts to Cuba of awarding more than $1 million in contracts to two Miami news outlets without following regular contract-bid procedures.  Read more...

JUL 16, 2008
Obama Takes Show onto Global Stage
The Christian Science Monitor
Obama is a subject of intense interest overseas, and all signs point to a turnout of large crowds to greet him in Europe. John F. Kennedy, as both a candidate and chief executive, was greatly bolstered at home by similar turnout. "It's not like Americans will base their voting judgment on what foreigners think. But the contrast with the current administration could convey the sense that the world would work with the US [if Obama wins]," says Norman Ornstein, resident scholar and political expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.   Read more...

JUL 16, 2008
NATO Looks to Polish its Global Image
International Herald Tribune
A top executive at Coca-Cola, Michael Stopford, spends much of his working life guarding its image. But in August, he starts working on an even more powerful global name: NATO...By hiring Stopford, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has shown how determined it is to revamp its image as it approaches its 60th anniversary in 2009.   Read more...

JUL 16, 2008
The Image Makers: Estonia
The Baltic Times
In the first of a three part series, Mike Collier talks to the people charged with promoting the image of each Baltic state overseas. Launching the series are Erki Peegel and Leitti Mandmets of Enterprise Estonia, who have overseen the phenomenon that is 'Brand Estonia'.   Read more...

JUL 16, 2008
Gates Warns of Militarization of US Foreign Policy
Associated Press
The U.S. military's growing role in rebuilding war-battered nations has fueled concerns about a "creeping militarization" of American foreign policy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday...Instead, he has called for more support for so-called soft power, with civilians contributing more in nonmilitary areas such as communication, economic assistance and political development.  Read more...

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