Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PROPAGANDA AND THE GWOT Year 4 - 2005
U.S. must get its story across to Arab world by Lee H Hamilton 
Lee H. Hamilton U.S. must get its story across to Arab world March 14, 2005 There is a troubling communication gap between the United States and the Arab world. Even with potentially seismic changes in the Middle East since the Iraqi elections, the United States is still widely mistrusted, hated or feared. Public diplomacy must be an important part of how we reverse that trend. Public diplomacy is how America communicates with the world. Our task is to tell the truth about America as persuasively and widely as possible -- about our policies, values, ideals and even our shortcomings. We must reach audiences that are skeptical, if not hostile, to our power and purposes. That means directly addressing the lies, illusions and misinterpretations that so often circulate about us. And it means building up the level of understanding about America and its intentions. This is an essential element of how we stop people from coming here to kill us. On the 9/11 commission, we found that American public diplomacy in the Arab world is not performing well. Poll after poll makes clear that favorable views of the U.S. have plummeted in recent years, while Osama bin Laden is often viewed more favorably. We have excellent public affairs officers. But the resources we put into public diplomacy are inadequate -- each year we spend on public diplomacy what the Defense Department spends in a day. Our approach also lacks nuance. Too often, people around the world feel that America is talking at them rather than talking with them. To succeed in building trust, public diplomacy efforts must cultivate a two-way dialogue with the Arab world that listens to others and builds relationships. " First, we need a stronger public affairs presence at U.S. embassies in the Middle East. We need more libraries, English language instruction, and the kinds of cultural and educational programs that inform people about America and its values. We need more Arabic speakers staffing embassies and better training for diplomats. And we need to find a way to protect our diplomats without cutting them off from local populations. " Second, we need more exchange programs with the Arab world. There is no better way to enhance appreciation and understanding of the U.S. than through exchanges. For instance, foreign leaders always have a better grasp of our perspective when they have had the opportunity to study here. Certainly, we must monitor foreign visitors to ensure that they are who they say they are and abide by their visas. But if we wall ourselves in, we lose an opportunity to reach a generation of young Muslims. We should aim for a constant flow of people between the U.S. and the Arab world: students, scholars, performers, artists, athletes, farmers and tourists. " Third, we need to tell our story through international broadcasting. Since 9/11, we have launched two new ventures in the Middle East -- Radio Sawa and the satellite television station Alhurra. It will take time to judge the effectiveness of these experiments, but the goal of finding our voice in the Arab world must be pursued. In the Cold War, efforts such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America were important tools of outreach across the Iron Curtain. We must now be willing to invest in different formats and broadcasting concepts to communicate with the world's Muslims. Going forward, we must recognize the limits of public diplomacy. After all, public diplomacy can only present policies, it cannot shape them. Much Arab antipathy toward the United States is based on our support for repressive regimes in the region, the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict and our presence in Iraq. On each of these three points, we can take tangible steps forward by supporting pragmatic political reform, pursuing a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, and building a stable and self-governing Iraq founded upon democratic principles. Today, too many Arabs grow up with a distorted and negative view of America. Often our sins are exaggerated, intentions misstated and good deeds unrecognized. We bear some responsibility for these misperceptions. To better communicate with the Arab world and protect the American people, the United States must enhance its efforts to convey our message of freedom, hope, opportunity and justice. Hamilton is the director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. |