us department of defense
One of the most impressive online U.S. public diplomacy venues is Magharebia, a website and news service for North Africans that is published by the United States African Command (AFRICOM).
U.S. and Pakistani defense officials wrapped up a four-day session in Pakistan today aimed at expanding the two countries’ defense relationship to address current and future threats. The Pakistan-U.S. Strategic Dialogue Defense Working Group, known as the Exchange on Defense Planning, met at Pakistan’s Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi as part of the strategic dialogue process, embassy officials in Islamabad reported.
The problem we face today is one of imbalance. The Defense Department has an annual budget in the range of $750 billion. Compare that with all diplomatic, civilian efforts — which ring in at $50 billion... There are three obvious roles for diplomatic efforts: before, during and after conflicts.
The effectiveness of information campaigns today will more often dictate a victory than how well bullets and bombs are put on a target. Putting information on target is more important when dealing with an asymmetric adversary that cannot – and does not need to – match the military or economic power of the United States and her allies.