“What’s gone wrong with America’s image and why – reprise 2006”. For more food for thought on this subject there is lot to chew on in WhirledView.
Some excerpts:… “An America that does not understand – and makes little effort to understand – why it has become so unpopular abroad is almost certain to find itself both disliked and ineffective in many parts of the world.
“The W administration response? Convene a new-old committee to draw up a classified list of a dozen target countries most in need of U.S. public diplomacy attention and most of whom anyone with half a brain could identify while taking a shower. Give me a break.
“The GAO, however, suggests other ways the State Department could improve America’s image-burnishing process. This even if only dealing at the margins – until the unilateralist, over-militarized, secrecy-fixated W administration has finally been put to rest in some out of the way cemetery in Crawford, Texas. Please, let’s keep Washington’s National Cathedral and the Capitol Rotunda for people who deserve to be honored by this country.
“Pew provides the evidence, Rieff explains the consequences, the GAO helps explains why.
“While the Pew study is financed and conducted by the private sector, GAO’s was congressionally mandated. Combined, they represent yet more stinging indictments of the Bush administration’s continuing failure to establish a coherent approach to ‘telling America’s story to the world’ in the post 9/11 era. This despite budget increases of 21-28 percent for public diplomacy projects in the Muslim world– especially for increased exchanges of people (mostly from there to here). But the staffing has not kept up with the funding for projects since before Powell left in 2004.
“Rice’s approach is to shift staff – about 28 public diplomacy positions all told – through something cutely labeled ‘transformational diplomacy’ from Europe and Washington, D.C. to the Muslim world, India, China and Latin America.
“In fact, ‘transformational diplomacy’ is a farce. Look at the numbers. There are about 58 Muslim majority countries in the world alone. Add in India, China and most of Latin America and the number of increases in positions Condi plans represents probably between one-quarter and one-half a person per country.
“As the GAO emphasizes, public diplomacy staffs overseas just can’t handle the increased funds and programs. This problem is at its worst in the Muslim world where tours of duty are short, positions are left unfilled because of staff shortages and these shortages are made worse by positions siphoned off to shore up the ill-fated Iraq venture. Further, only 60 to 70 percent of the American officers who fill these positions have even minimum proficiency in the language of the country to which they are assigned. Those there are cooped up in crusader castle embassies with drawbridges up, moats brimming and soldiers guarding the gates.
“Seven strikes and you should be out, but . . .
“In my view, the GAO and Pew 2006 reports demonstrate just one more reason that the dismemberment of the U.S. Information Agency in 1999 was a huge mistake. State has now had almost seven years to get public diplomacy right. Thus far it has failed miserably.”…
As a senior editor (during 1993-1994) with the more than four decades old wellknown SPAN magazine – that was once under the USIS and now the American Embassy in New Delhi, I can understand the point being made here so forcefully.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.