[iwar] Effort to Promote U.S. Falls Short, Critics Say

Effort to Promote U.S. Falls Short, Critics Say
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS

ASHINGTON, Dec. 23 b9 America, the land that gave the world Coca-Cola,
"Titanic" and the Marlboro Man, is having a hard time selling itself.

The government's public-relations drive to build a favorable impression
abroad b9 particularly among Muslim nations b9 is a shambles, according to
Republican and Democratic lawmakers, State Department officials and
independent experts. They say the effort, known as public diplomacy, lacks
direction and is starved of cash and personnel.

Washington has failed to capitalize on the ouster of Saddam Hussein, those
critics say, and did not maintain the sympathy generated by the Sept. 11
attacks. In Iraq, occupation officials routinely place blame for their
miscalculations on pessimistic American news media, a reflex that even some
hawks denounce as deceptive.

Public diplomacy is "a complete and utter disaster in Iraq," said Mark
Helmke, a senior staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who
holds that the occupation authority has done little to counter criticism
that it is an imperial, occupying force. "We have four different agencies
running media operations there. There's no coordination, no strategy."

A senior State Department official, who is active in public diplomacy, says
he starts his day pondering the antipathy to the United States.

"Why, in Jordan, do people think Osama bin Laden is a better leader than
George Bush?" he asked. "It's not just Arabs who are angry with the United
States. It's worldwide."

Nearly two years ago, the Bush administration, hoping to tap the expertise
of the private sector, hired Charlotte Beers, a Madison Avenue advertising
whiz, as officials built their case for war with Iraq. After producing a
feel-good video about Muslims in the United States, which was rejected by
some Arab nations b9 and even scoffed at by some State Department colleagues
b9 Ms. Beers retired in March, citing health reasons.

Now, the administration is turning to an old government hand, Margaret D.
Tutwiler. She is a former State Department spokeswoman and former ambassador
to Morocco, and it falls to her to convey the administration's intentions in
the Middle East and elsewhere, and to counter the virulent anti-Americanism
that fosters terrorism.

As she settled into her offices this month, Ms. Tutwiler offered only a
terse comment: "I hope that I am able to contribute to the overall public
diplomacy efforts of our government."

The enthusiasm over her arrival is widespread. Colleagues said they expected
her to ask Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, one of the administration's
most popular figures, to embark on a "listening tour" in crucial Muslim
nations.

Of course, nothing persuades like success. Some administration officials
insist that tempers from Jakarta to Jidda will start to cool if security is
established in Iraq and leadership is transferred.

The capture of Mr. Hussein, and the announcement by the Libyan leader, Col.
Muammar el-Qaddafi, that he will forswear unconventional weapons, evinces a
grudging respect for the administration's military strategy, but even some
hard-liners voice doubts about the plan and how it is being promoted. Robert
D. Novak, a syndicated columnist, recently cited the need for an overhaul of
the American leadership in Iraq and "an end to the deceptive public
relations favored by the inner circle at the Pentagon."

Some foreigners say all the fretting is overblown. Hesham El Nakib, a
spokesman for the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, says that even the term
"anti-Americanism" is too harsh.

"To say that it is like a wildfire is an overstatement," he said. "There are
some resentments from the policies here and there."

Still, there is general agreement that the United States rarely gets credit
for the support it provides, especially in the Middle East. Dr. El Nakib
acknowledges that the average Egyptian may not be aware that the United
States is an ally that provides nearly $2 billion in aid each year.

Many Muslims say American policy favors Israelis over Palestinians and needs
to be altered before sentiments will change. James Zogby, the president of
the Arab American Institute, says the standoff weighs heavily throughout the
Arab world. "The policy issues have taken a toll," he said.

Some Americans exploring ways to improve public diplomacy say they have been
astonished by the depth of feeling on that issue.

"I was really shocked by the level of animosity over our policies toward
Israel and the Palestinians, even in places like Turkey," said James K.
Glassman, a journalist and resident fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute, who served on a Congressionally mandated advisory panel that
toured the region this year.

Beyond the policy questions, experts say the American outreach has been
hampered by inattention and the challenge of a changing world. These are
among the problems they cite:

B6America's interlocutors in the Muslim world are increasingly seen as the
backers of bankrupt regimes. For decades, the United States looked to an
elite, older generation of decision-makers b9 judges, journalists, lawyers b9
to cast American policies sympathetically. The younger generation has little
connection with the United States, beyond a taste for its fashions and
entertainment.

B6Security concerns have undercut face-to-face diplomacy. Many American
diplomats spend their days in fortresslike embassies. One French diplomat
recalled that an Arabic-speaking American envoy based in North Africa begged
off from meetings with local residents because he was forbidden to leave his
compound at night.

B6There is a lack of cultural knowledge of the Muslim world. Americans tend
not to study Arabic and other languages and traditions of predominantly
Muslim countries, preventing them from presenting their policies directly to
people.

B6The State Department has had a back seat to the Pentagon in public
diplomacy. The occupation destroyed, then took over, the Iraqi national
television station. A defense contractor, SAIC, hired to run the operation,
broadcast on the same frequency used by the widely ridiculed Iraqi Ministry
of Information; the contractor's contract will not be renewed, officials
said.

B6Congress and successive administrations have cut budgets for public
diplomacy in recent years. A Republican-led reorganization folded the United
States Information Agency b9 which included the Voice of America and Radio
Free Europe b9 into the State Department, reducing its number of employees by
40 percent.

"Our government probably made a mistake when they abolished U.S.I.A.," said
Representative Frank R. Wolf, Republican of Virginia, who voted for the
State Department reorganization in 1998. "Right now, we're not very
successful in telling the good news."

-- This communication is confidential to the parties it is intended to serve --
Fred Cohen - http://all.net/ - fc@all.net - fc@unhca.com - tel/fax: 925-454-0171
Fred Cohen & Associates - University of New Haven - Security Posture

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Received on Tue Dec 30 08:11:21 2003