The Counter-deception Blog

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.

PDPR FOR SEPTEMBER 28-29, 2005
by John Brown

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PRESS REVIEW, SEPTEMBER 28-29

QUOTATIONS FOR THE DAY

“I GO OUT WITH MY DRIVER.”

--One Saudi female student, reacting to Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes’s concern that women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia; cited in Guy Dinmore, “Saudi Students Rebuff US Communications Guru” (Financial Times, September 28)
LINK
SEE ALSO BELOW ITEM 6

For more quotations for the day, please scroll down to Section C

EXCHANGES SUPPLEMENT

by Elizabeth Nagem Kuhn
LINK

REPORT

A PDPR subscriber has kindly provided a report on “The Power of Great Music in the Revival of U.S. Public Diplomacy,” an event held at the Library of Congress on September 28. Please scroll down to Section D for the text of the report.

A) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

1. US BEGINS NEW PITCH TO MUSLIM WORLD: CLOSE BUSH ADVISER KAREN HUGHES IS TOURING EGYPT, SAUDI ARABIA, AND TURKEY - DAN MURPHY (CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, SEPTEMBER 28): Karen Hughes, a folksy Texan and longtime confidante of President Bush, has one of the toughest jobs in the US government: convincing the rest of the world, particularly the Arab world, that US policies are in their best interests. She started her first week as the State Department's top public relations officer with a "listening tour" of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. But she won't have to listen too closely to hear the widespread anger over perceived US arrogance and heavyhandedness -- perceptions difficult to undo as she engages with the Middle East for the first time in her career.
LINK

2. TURKISH WOMEN BLAST KAREN HUGHES WITH IRAQ WAR CRITICISM - GLENN KESSLER (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 28): A group of Turkish female activists confronted Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes Wednesday with heated complaints about the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, turning a session designed to highlight the empowering of women into a raw display of the anger at U.S. policy in the region. Hughes later flew had meetings with religious leaders -- part of an effort to promote interfaith dialogue -- and with Turks who have participated in U.S. exchange programs. She returns to Washington Thursday.
LINK

3. U.S. ENVOY'S MESSAGE FALLS FLAT AGAIN, THIS TIME IN TURKEY - STEVEN R. WEISMAN (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 28): Under Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes, seeking common ground with leading women's rights advocates in Turkey, was confronted instead today with anguished denunciations of the war in Iraq and what the women said were American efforts to export democracy by force. It was the second straight day that Ms. Hughes found herself at odds with groups of women on her "public diplomacy" tour, aimed at improving the American image in the Middle East. On Tuesday, she told Saudi Arabian women she would support efforts to raise their status, but she was taken aback when some of them responded that Americans misunderstand their embrace of traditions. She also held an "interfaith dialogue" with Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish leaders. It was another staple of this trip, which is intended to emphasize that Muslim countries with large devout populations should understand that Americans are also guided by religious convictions.
LINK
SEE ALSO
LINK

4. GUL SUGGESTS US STEP FORWARD ON PKK FOR POSITIVE IMAGE - SULEYMAN KURT (ZAMAN.COM, SEPTEMBER 29): Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has suggested to Karen Hughes, the US Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs that she "take a concrete step in the fight against PKK. This will be effective on Turkish public opinion as well."
LINK

5. SAUDI WOMEN HAVE MESSAGE FOR U.S. ENVOY - STEVEN R. WEISMAN (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 28): Ms. Hughes has churned through meetings in which she has tirelessly introduced herself as "a mom," explained that Americans are people of faith and called for more cultural and educational exchanges. Her efforts to explain policies in Iraq and the Middle East have been polite and cautious. At meeting with Saudi women, Ms. Hughes found herself on the defensive simply by saying that she hoped women would be able to vote in future elections.
LINK

6. HUGHES RAISES DRIVING BAN WITH SAUDIS: MORE POLITICAL FREEDOM FOR WOMEN ALSO URGED - GLENN KESSLER (WASHINGTON POST, SEPTEMBER 28): Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes questioned Tuesday the Saudi ban on driving by women, telling a crowd of several hundred Saudi women, covered head to toe in black clothing, that it had negatively shaped the image of Saudi society in the United States. "We in America take our freedoms very seriously," Hughes said. "I believe women should be free and equal participants in society. I feel that as an American woman that my ability to drive is an important part of my freedom."
LINK

7. WALKING A MILE IN THEIR ABAYA: UNDER SECRETARY HUGHES GETS AN EARFUL IN JIDDAH - PAUL D. KRETKOWSKI (BEACON NO. 67, SEPTEMBER 28, 2005): Karen Hughes spoke on September 27 to an all-women audience at a university in Jidda, Saudi Arabia. Whereas audience participation at her Egypt stops went pretty well according to plan -- mild, respectful, friendly comments given and received -- some in the Jidda audience questioned the very underpinnings of the under secretary's "listening tour" in the Middle East. While the people planning the under secretary's events may have been mortified I hope Ms. Hughes sees that this session is actually an excellent development for both the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
LINK

8. U.S. SEEKS SAUDIS' AID IN COMBATING HATE TRACTS - TIMES WIRE SERVICES (LOS ANGELES TIMES, SEPTEMBER 28): U.S. envoy Karen Hughes said Tuesday that Washington was concerned about hate literature in American mosques and had asked the Saudi government for help in getting rid of it. The disclosure by Hughes, whose job as undersecretary of State for public diplomacy is to counter the negative U.S. image among Muslims and explain President Bush's policies, came during a meeting with Saudi journalists.
LINK

9. HUGHES OFFERS STEPS, NOT SPIN - GEOFFREY COWAN (USA TODAY, SEPTEMBER 29): After years of foundering, the Bush administration has put America's public diplomacy in the hands of a team of talented professionals. As the Washington Post noted, the selection of Karen Hughes "is seen by many in Washington as a coup," bringing to the job an almost unique combination of communication expertise and high-level credibility and clout, earned as a result of her close relationship with President Bush. Hughes understands that public diplomacy is not primarily about "spin." It has more to do with: Accurately communicating American values and rebutting misinformation; helping international audiences learn about our people, institutions and polices; taking actions that improve our image in the world, as happened after the USA's massive tsunami-relief efforts. In sum, she seems determined to implement "Murrow's Law." As legendary CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow famously noted when he headed the United States Information Agency for President Kennedy: "We need to be in on the takeoffs, not just the crash landings." While there are limits to what public diplomacy can do in the face of unpopular or unwise policies, ideally Hughes will be involved in decision-making in order to improve our takeoffs and help us avoid so many crash landings.
LINK

10. SALES PITCH FALLS FLAT – EDITORIAL (USA TODAY, SEPTEMBER 28): In the aftermath of 9/11, the world erupted in an outpouring of sympathy and support for the USA. The plummeting of regard ever since -- opinion polls, even in friendly countries, record little admiration -- is not just distressing. It's dangerous. President Bush has an image czar -- the official title is undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs -- charged with turning that around: Karen Hughes. This week, Hughes, who has little foreign policy experience, has been on a "listening tour" of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Her trip has been much like a political campaign: She delivers a message to select audiences. She has at times come across as preachy and culturally insensitive and gotten, by charitable description, a lukewarm response. Changing the world's "We Hate America" tone to "We Love America" won't be easy. But the kind of ties that worked so well in the past could better bring about a genuine image makeover than a superficial PR blitz.
LINK

11. THE UNDERSECRETARY'S DANGEROUS TRIP: KAREN HUGHES TAKES HER "INNOCENTS ABROAD" TOUR TO THE MIDDLE EAST -- AND PLAYS INTO THE HANDS OF OSAMA BIN LADEN - SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL (SALON): After two undersecretaries of state for public diplomacy resigned in frustration in the face of the precipitous loss of U.S. prestige around the globe, Bush found a new slot for Hughes this year. She may be the most parochial person ever to hold a senior State Department appointment, but the president has confidence she can rebrand the United States. "Many people around the world do not understand the important role that faith plays in Americans' lives," says Hughes. With these well-meaning arguments, Hughes has provided the exact proof for what Osama bin Laden has claimed about American motives. Says Robert Pape, a University of Chicago political scientist who has conducted the most extensive research into the backgrounds and motives of suicide terrorists: “If you read Osama's speeches, they begin with descriptions of the U.S. occupation of the Arabian Peninsula, driven by our religious goals, and that it is our religious purpose that must confronted. That argument is incredibly powerful not only to religious Muslims but secular Muslims. Everything Hughes says makes their case."
LINK

12. PUBLIC RELATIONS: MANIPULATION REPLACES AUTHORITY - M. ASADI (SELVES AND OTHERS, SEPTEMBER 29): Karen Hughes, the public face of the Bush Presidential Campaign (in 2000), was sworn in as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy recently. The president explained during the swearing in ceremony that Hughes is being appointed to explain "our policies and fundamental values" to people around the world, specifically to the Arab and Muslim world (Bush names aide to sell US image). Before embarking on this huge task, Ms. Hughes would do well to begin at home. Recent polls suggest that not only are people around the world weary of the policies pursued by this American administration, its own citizens are beginning to show discontent and are questioning its "values and policies.”
LINK

13. KAREN OF ARABIA - JULIETTE KAYYEM (TPMCAFE, NY, SEPTEMBER 29): What is interesting about Hughes' trip isn't so much that she is facing criticism from the very part of the world where public diplomacy (so derided by her President, but now back in vogue because, well, the military mission has stalled) is badly needed, but instead her decision of where and who she has decided to talk to.
LINK

14. KAREN HUGHES, AMERICAN RUBE: A NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT: WHITE HOUSE REBUKED BY THE VERY ARAB WOMEN THEY'RE TRYING TO "SAVE" - JEFF KOOPERSMITH (AMERICAN POLITICS JOURNAL, FL): What is she doing there, this Texas country bumpkin who pretends to be one of the geniuses who put George W. in the White House despite the fact that he is a dry drunk, a consistent destroyer of his own business interests, the biggest spender in Presidential history and, of course, the dumbest President ever? Well, Ms. Hughes, yesterday, was lecturing five hundred Saudi women at a local university, spreading the Bush line of absurdity that whatever's American is better than anything else.
LINK

15. ADDITIONAL COVERAGE OF HUGHES’S MIDDLE EAST TRIP AT:

U.S. MEDIA

LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK

FOREIGN MEDIA

LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK
LINK

16. REPORT FINDS NEGATIVE IMAGE OF U.S. ABROAD - ASSOCIATED PRESS (NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 28): As Karen Hughes works to repair the United States' image in a trip overseas, her State Department colleagues have received a report by the Advisory Commmitee on Cultural Diplomacy underscoring how tough a task she faces. Based on their own travels to the Persian Gulf, Egypt and Britain, the nine-member advisory committee headed by former Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff found widespread hostility toward the United States and its policies, especially the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
LINK

posted by Dr. Frank Stech  # 10:37 AM