The Layalina Review
VOL. V NO. 12, May 22-June 04, 2009 The General Accounting Office criticized the insufficient efforts of the government in public diplomacy in a recently published report entitled US Public Diplomacy: A Congressional Oversight, informs Matt Armstrong on his blog Mountain Runner. The article reports that, “The United States’ current national communication strategy lacks a number of desirable characteristics identified by GAO, such as a clear definition of the problem, desired results, and a delineation of agency roles and responsibilities.” The report further notes that despite the ten billion dollars spent in public diplomacy to advance US strategic interests abroad since 9/11, foreign public opinion polling data shows that negative views towards the United States persist. Among other recommendations, the report advises developing performance measurement systems to assess the success of outreach efforts, reports the GAO. It further adds that staff and financial shortages in the State Department should be addressed, as it severely hinders outreach efforts. Additionally, the article promotes better interagency coordination in order to adopt a new approach in public diplomacy which entails the use of social media. However, Matt Armstrong points out that as valuable as the GAO recommendations are, it seems the report overlaps with strategic communication and public diplomacy, presenting the first one as a subset to the latter, and at other moments, interchanging both terms. “The report fails to reconcile the Defense Department concept of strategic communication that often includes the five pillars of Information Operations, Public Affairs, and Defense Support to Public Diplomacy,” argues Armstrong. Armstrong further admonishes the report for forgetting to mention important elements such as the abolishment of Defense Support to Public Diplomacy, the existence of the Global Strategic Engagement Center, or other interagency mechanisms beyond the PCC (Policy Coordinating Committee). Not to mention the “problems caused by the Smith-Mundt Act.” Although the report commented on the impact had by a lack of consistent leadership on formulating a strategy and improving the practice of public diplomacy, it failed to address the problems related to the leadership and the power of the Under Secretary. The GAO finds weaknesses in US international communications efforts and notes that the President must issue a new comprehensive communications and public diplomacy strategy by December 2009, reports Omb Watch. In reference to interagency work, the news site further reports that development of a new strategy creates an opportunity for the US nonprofit sector to urge greater recognition of the role of philanthropy and aid and development programs in countering violent extremism, as well as the development of policies that encourage and facilitate that work.
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