Emile A. Nakhleh has stated the obvious in 162 pages in the book titled “A Necessary Engagement: Reinventing America’s Relations With the Muslim World”. However this too shall fall on the proverbial American tin ear.

Women's rights will not be sacrificed in any settlement between the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Taliban militants, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday. Clinton ruled out U.S. support, or at least her own, for negotiations with anyone who would roll back advances for Afghan women achieved since a U.S.-led invasion ousted the militant Islamic Taliban movement from power in 2001.

One of the most successful U.S. public diplomacy efforts of the late 20th century was a program known as the Jazz Ambassadors, and music today remains an important part of U.S. cultural outreach...The legacy of the original Jazz Ambassadors still lives through a modern-day State department program called Rhythm Road...

Fourteen U.S. service members have received Germany's Gold Cross Medal for their bravery in extracting wounded German soldiers from a firefight in northeast Afghanistan -- the first time the award has been given to troops from another nation.

While President Obama's strenuous, year-plus effort to restore American prestige already has achieved measurable success, most of the Arab world remains suspicious and often hostile. Hurting more than helping is Al-Hurra, the official Arab-language broadcasting outlet sponsored by the U.S. government...

Don't confuse these talks with Kissinger-era shuttle diplomacy, when American envoys stayed in the region for weeks, moving back and forth to close the gaps; chief negotiator George Mitchell went home right after last weekend’s opening session and doesn’t plan to return before next week.

With the recent earthquakes that devastated Haiti and Chile, the concept of aid diplomacy has arisen in the global consciousness. Aid diplomacy is predicated on the notion that in times of crisis, nations can do well in public diplomacy terms by doing good works for those in need.

In his telephone call to new British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday night, President Obama underscored his commitment to the "special relationship" between the two countries. That was a diplomatic necessity given the long alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, but the reality might be that the concept has outlived its usefulness.