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The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 1, January 02-January 15, 2009

Hard Times for Soft Power

In June-July 2008 (PR_IV.14: The Crisis of US Public Diplomacy) recently sworn in Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, James Glassman, in the Wall Street Journal, described the newly defined ‘war of ideas’ as "an early renaissance…we have the opportunity to leave a robust legacy for the next administration."

On his Mountain Runner blog, Matt Armstrong responded favorably to Glassman’s assertions, considering the approach "more like the aggressive information activities of the early Cold War than the passive beauty contest of the last couple of decades." In the Nevada Appeal, Guy Farmer concluded that Glassman’s first public announcements were "a promising mission statement."

Yet by the end of July 2008, opposition to Glassman’s ‘war of ideas’ was reported in PR_IV.16. Emphasizing America’s Middle East policies, particularly though concerning a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, George Hismeh for Gulf News explained that Glassman was "unable to, or unwilling to acknowledge a connection with these misconceived policies and the low American standing, or more accurately, the unpopularity of the Bush administration."

Rami Khouri, writing in Arab Media Watch, supported Hismeh’s thesis. Khouri argued Glassman’s approach to addressing the sense of injustice felt by many in the Arab-Islamic world, "leaves irresolvable the fact that American policies are so pro-Israeli and pro-Arab autocrats in the Middle East these policies are core drivers of Arab radicalism and terrorism."

Importantly, Glassman’s new ‘war of ideas’ also focused on the harnessing of new technology in innovative, appealing ways, as mentioned in August’s PR_IV.18: Managing the Battle of the Hearts and Minds. On Mountain Runner, Armstrong quotes Glassman as advocating the maximal use of "the tools of ideological engagement, words, deeds, and images, to create an environment hostile to violent extremism."

Armstrong, though, remained skeptical, contending that Glassman’s vision was limited in terms of vision and efficiency, and ignored the potential of open-source counter-propaganda. In this regard, USA Today’s Jim Michaels uses a SITE Institute report to question whether US public diplomacy could hope to emulate the "wide [online] distribution" that terrorists had gained for their attacks.

Attempts to utilize new technologies, specifically social networking sites, as public diplomacy techniques have also met with some cynicism. Steve Clemons for The Washington Note, introduced in December the State Department’s new Co.Nx web-based exchange tool, adding to DoS’ Facebook page.

However, Ilan Berman at the American Foreign Policy Council believes "something appears to have been lost in translation." Berman uses the Twitter page of Colleen Graffy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, to claim "public diplomacy and strategic communication are not about total transparency." In response, Graffy argues that tools such as Twitter put a "human face on a message that otherwise might not get through."

Thus, what is the state of US public diplomacy today? Rob Asghar of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy describes the Iraqi shoe-throwing incident as that "of a grown child’s sudden eruption up at a nauseatingly tense Thanksgiving family meal," brought about by misconceived notions of hard and soft power.

On the History News Network, John Brown criticizes Glassman’s ‘war of ideas’ for simplifying the "complexity and changeability" of the United States and being "simply dumb," and dismisses it as a "crude propaganda campaign thinly disguised."

The Federalist goes further than Brown, accusing Glassman of following a "business as usual" approach to Al-Hurra that avoided the known criticisms of the channel’s management and programming. The incoming Obama administration, according to the Federalist, should seek a replacement for Glassman, and "sort through the debris of US public diplomacy…to determine what is salvageable."

Finally, President-elect Obama is receiving positive reviews for his handling of US public diplomacy thus far. First, Matt Armstrong on Mountain Runner has praised reports of a greater role for the State Department in the shaping of US diplomacy. Armstrong notes "a very promising beginning to what appears will be active leadership at the State Department."

Obama’s decision to visit a Muslim capital during the first 100 days of his administration is also lauded by Saad Eddin Ibrahim in the Washington Post in December. Seen as an "excellent idea," Ibrahim believes that an Obama visit has the potential to heal the deep grievances abundant in the Muslim World.