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John Brown aggregates all the most recent public diplomacy related news, including current issues in U.S. foreign policy, international broadcasting and media, propaganda, cultural diplomacy, educational exchanges, anti-Americanism, and the reception of American popular culture abroad.

PDPBR FOR DECEMBER 5-6
by John H. Brown

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PRESS AND BLOG REVIEW, DECEMBER 5-6, 2006 “IT’S A REMARKABLE COUNTRY WHEN MILLIONS PRAY FOR ME AND LAURA.” —President George W. Bush, cited in Dan Froomkin, “‘The Load Is Not Heavy,’ Bush Denies Reaching Out to Dad”(washingtonpost.com, December 5) LINK “BOMBASTIC, JINGOISTIC AND TOTALLY DEVOTED TO THEORIES OF FORCE AND POWER AS THE ONLY WORTHWHILE ELEMENTS IN THE WORLD.” —How, according to president Dwight D. Eisenhower in a letter to his brother Edgar (1955), the rest of the world views the United States; cited in “Worth Repeating: Eisenhower: What It Takes to be a Leader” (Chicago Tribune, December 6)  LINK A) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 1. IRAQ STUDY GROUP’S RECOMMENDATIONS: THE 79 SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP - (WALL STREET JOURNAL, DECEMBER 6): RECOMMENDATION 19: The President and the leadership of his national security team should remain in close and frequent contact with the Iraqi leadership. These contacts must convey a clear message: there must be action by the Iraqi government to make substantial progress toward the achievement of milestones. In public diplomacy, the President should convey as much detail as possible about the substance of these exchanges in order to keep the American people, the Iraqi people, and the countries in the region well informed. LINK PAID SUBSCRIPTION Full text of report at LINK 2. CONTAINING IRAN WITH THE GULF MINNOWS WILL BE TOUGH - EMILE EL-HOKAYEM (DAILY STAR, DECEMBER 5): For the moment, Iran has won the public diplomacy campaign in the Arab world—a reversible achievement in today’s tense, sectarian climate. But the US is poorly positioned to effect this change: In the wake of the Iraq fiasco, the US must seriously, and humbly, consider whether it can wage an effective diplomatic and communications campaign to counter Iranian influence by playing on sectarian tensions. LINK 3. IS AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR MIDDLE EASTERN DISSIDENTS THE KISS OF DEATH? - MICHAEL RUBIN (MIDDLE EASTERN OUTLOOK, AEI ONLINE, DECEMBER 5): As he traveled through the United States, former Revolutionary Guard member-turned-investigative journalist Akbar Ganji was vocal in his opposition to funding other dissidents. Such sentiments, though, reflect poor U.S. public diplomacy more than the taint of outside assistance. LINK 4. EAST ASIAN FIASCO: GEORGE BUSH’S TOUR OF EAST ASIA AFTER ATTENDING THE APEC SUMMIT DOES NOT PRODUCE ANY MAJOR SUCCESS STORIES -  P. S. SURYANARAYANA (FRONTLINE, INDIA, DECEMBER 5): The U.S. and Singapore have a vibrant economic relationship, underpinned in more recent times by a free trade agreement, and China has never really figured as an issue of concern to either side in this bilateral equation. This has remained the defining feature of their public diplomacy, despite Singapore’s well-known identity as a multi-cultural society with an ethnic Chinese majority. LINK 5. WHY NEWT IS RIGHT – JOSH MANCHESTER (TSC DAILY, DECEMBER 5): A cultural war against extremism, in addition to physically stopping or legally outlawing the ideas behind radicalism, might seek to propagate competing memes, which appeal to the same core demographic that is apt to become extremists. To…... FULL TEXT
 
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