Yesterday I wrote a blog piece about the letter written to the US Secretary of State John Kerry, here, recommending that a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) should be recommended for the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs following the term of Tara Sonenshine, who is slated to step down in July.
I only found out today that that letter had been delivered to the Secretary Kerry and to National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon at 10 am that morning. The two links I had at the bottom of the page were pre-letter.
I spoke with one of the signatories this morning about a number of topics, including my blog piece. He sent me two very useful links: Letter highlights need for public diplomacy champion at State Department and a piece by the Public Diplomacy Council: Ambassadors Call for a Public Diplomacy Professional at State Department
He also reiterated that the letter is not a statement about Tara Sonenshine, this much is certain. Secretary Kerry’s father was a FSO, so the signatories believe he may have better appreciation for FSO professionalism, expertise and experience and will more likely place an FSO into the opening position.
I heartily endorse the selection of a Foreign Service Officer for the position of Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, as this person will have a better understanding of public diplomacy, its intricacies and effects. This person will manage our Public Diplomacy efforts worldwide, we need the best and brightest.
Related articles
- 37 Former Ambassadors Urge Appointment of a Career Diplomat to State Dept’s Public Diplomacy Bureau (diplopundit.net)
- Don’t Blame the Message/Messenger, Blame the Institution (pddialogues.wordpress.com)
- Public diplomacy what and why (pddialogues.wordpress.com)
- What is Public Diplomacy? Is it important? (sis628e91l.wordpress.com)
- The State Department’s Revolving Door of Public Diplomacy (heritage.org)
- Letter to the Secretary of State about Public Diplomacy (toinformistoinfluence.com)
- Public diplomacy just as important now (apdgroup5.wordpress.com)
- Ain’t No Sonenshine When She’s Gone… (takefiveblog.org)
- Can Non State Actors Do Public Diplomacy? (pdnetworks.wordpress.com)
The Honorable John F. Kerry
Seal of the United States Department of State. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Washington DC 20520
Dear Mr. Secretary:
We urge that a career foreign affairs professional be appointed as the next Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Such an appointment would support your efforts fully to integrate public diplomacy into U.S. foreign affairs.
No career professional has served as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Coincidentally or not, today there is a wide consensus that U.S. perspectives are less well understood abroad, and people-to-people exchanges are less robust than they should be. In today’s globalizing but still threatening world, and as our military forces abroad are drawn down, it is more important than ever that America strengthen its “soft power.” For this, public diplomacy is an essential and powerful tool.
A career foreign affairs professional, with years of overseas and Washington experience, is more likely to understand the larger world context and how public diplomacy can help achieve America’s policy goals. And it is challenging to direct and energize public diplomacy if the leadership has brief tours or vacancies are lengthy. Prior to the incumbent Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, leaving after just over a year in office, the previous four served, on average, nearly two years. By comparison, the previous four Under Secretaries for Political Affairs, all career professionals, served, on average, nearly three-and-one-half years. The U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy reports that the position of Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs has been vacant more than 30% of the time since it was created in 1999. The position of Under Secretary for Political Affairs has been vacant only 5% of that time.
Studies by the Defense Science Board, RAND, and other independent groups have found that America’s engagement with foreign publics succeeds best when led by experienced officials having the authority to establish priorities, assign responsibilities, transfer funds, and concur in senior appointments. Leaders must have direct access to you and the President on critical communication issues as policies are formulated and implemented.
When done well, public diplomacy works. Large numbers of foreign heads of government, legislators, and social, economic, and political leaders — many of them America’s staunch allies and stalwart friends — have participated in U.S. public diplomacy programs. The University of Southern California recently reported that of individuals exposed to U.S. public diplomacy, 79 percent have used what they learned to bring about positive change in their own communities by running for political office, organizing a civil society group, doing volunteer work, and starting a new business or other projects. Fully 94 percent say the exposure has increased their understanding of U.S. foreign policy, and America’s people, society, and values.
The President’s and your public engagements are among our country’s greatest diplomatic assets. You have over a thousand skilled, culturally-aware, and language-trained public diplomacy officers ready to leverage advanced technology and person-to-person communications skills in order to change foreign outcomes in America’s favor. All they need is truly professional, experienced leadership.
Respectfully,
Leonard J. Baldyga, Career Minister (Retired), U.S. Information Agency
Adrian A. Basora, Ambassador (Retired), Director of the Project on Democratic Transitions, Foreign Policy Research Institute, and Past President, Eisenhower Fellowships
John R. Beyrle, Director, U.S. Russia Foundation, and former Ambassador to Russia and Bulgaria
Barbara K. Bodine, former Ambassador to Yemen
Edward Brynn, former Ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ghana, and Acting Historian of the Department of State
Brian Carlson, former Ambassador to Latvia and Public Affairs Officer (PAO) in Spain, Norway, and Bulgaria
John Campbell, Ambassador (Retired), Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
William Courtney, former Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia
Shaun Donnelly, former Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives
Craig G. Dunkerley, former Special Envoy for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe
Sally Grooms Cowal, former Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, PAO in Mexico, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Walter L. Cutler, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Zaire
John Evans, former Ambassador to Armenia
Linda Jewell, former Ambassador to Ecuador
Robert Finn, former Ambassador to Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and Opening Chargé d’affaires in Azerbaijan
Jacob P. Gillespie, former PAO in Spain and El Salvador
Robert R. Gosende, former Special Envoy for Somalia and PAO in the Russian Federation and South Africa
Donna J. Hamilton, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs
John R. Hamilton, former Ambassador to Peru and Guatemala
William Harrop, former Ambassador to Israel, Kenya, Zaire, and Guinea, and Inspector General of the Department of State
Arthur Hartman, Career Ambassador (Retired)
Dennis K. Hays, former Ambassador to Suriname and President of the American Foreign Service Association
H. Allen Holmes, Ambassador (Retired), former Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs
Robert E. Hunter, former Ambassador to NATO (non-career) and senior member of the National Security Council (NSC) Staff
Morris Jacobs, former President of the Public Diplomacy Council
Linda Jewell, former Ambassador to Ecuador and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Joe B. Johnson, Public Diplomacy Council and former PAO in Ireland and Panama
Richard D. Kauzlarich, former Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dr. William P. Kiehl, President & CEO, PDWorldwide, and former PAO in Czechoslovakia, Finland, and Thailand
Melinda Kimble, Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation, and former Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment, and Science
Daniel Kurtzer, former Ambassador to Egypt and Israel.
Bruce Laingen, former Ambassador to Malta and Chargé d’affaires, Tehran
Richard LeBaron, former Ambassador to Kuwait and Founding Coordinator of the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications
Melvyn Levitsky, former Ambassador to Bulgaria and Brazil, and Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters
Thomas E. McNamara, Ambassador (Retired), former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs
Richard Miles, former Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and Georgia
John O’Keefe, former Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic
Thomas R. Pickering, former Ambassador to Nigeria, Jordan, El Salvador, Israel, the United Nations, India, and Russia, and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Christopher Ross, Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara, and former Special Coordinator for Public Diplomacy and Ambassador to Algeria and Syria
William A. Rugh, former Ambassador to Yemen and to the United Arab Emirates, and PAO in Egypt and Saudi Arabia
Harold H. Saunders, former senior member of the NSC Staff, Director of Intelligence and Research, and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs
Michael Schneider, Senior Executive Service (Retired), U.S. Information Agency
John W. Shirley, former Ambassador to Tanzania, PAO in Warsaw and Rome, and Counselor of the U.S. Information Agency
Katherine Shirley, former ambassador to Senegal
Pamela Hyde Smith, former Ambassador to Moldova and PAO in the United Kingdom
Patrick Nickolas Theros, former Ambassador to Qatar
Hans N. Tuch, Career Minister (Retired), former PAO in the USSR, Germany, and Brazil, and Deputy Chief of Mission in Bulgaria and Brazil
Alexander F. Watson, former Ambassador to Peru, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative at the United Nations, and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Marcelle M. Wahba, former Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and PAO in Egypt,
Jordan, and Cyprus
Philip C. Wilcox, Jr., Ambassador (Retired), former Chief of Mission in Jerusalem and Ambassador at Large for Counterterrorism
Kenneth Yalowitz, former Ambassador to Belarus and Georgia
cc. National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon
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See Hear (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I stumbled across the following clip today. If one is completely naive, this should shatter your innocence.
The bottom line is almost everything one reads, hears or is shown on radio or video can be altered to completely change the intended perspective, change the attitude of the reader, listener or viewer and it’s not really all that difficult.
Proof? Sorry, seldom is there absolute proof that has not undergone rigorous forensic analysis. ”I saw it with my own eyes”? Even worse, ten eyewitnesses will have ten different perspectives.
Does this make one a cynic? Perhaps. My suggestion is to view everything with a bit of skepticism. I wrote a paper about five years ago with a quote at the end: question everything.
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From a BBG Press Release: 
May 23, 2013
Washington, DC – Broadcasting Board of Governors leader Michael Lynton has informed the White House that he is leaving the BBG effective today.
“It has been an honor to serve our country by taking part in the work of this board, which was established to oversee an agency with a complex and vital calling,” Lynton wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama about his decision. “Time and time again, we have seen that the journalists and other staff of the BBG are dedicated to the agency’s mission: to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. They prove it around the clock and against steep odds, in many cases amid some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
“In an effort to sustain this mission, I was proud to work with fellow board members on promoting long-needed reforms of the agency’s structure and governance– among them, enhancing collaboration between the broadcasters and establishing the position of a Chief Executive Officer with day-to-day operational responsibilities,” he continued. “I wish the current members and our successors the very best in seeing these reforms through.”
Lynton thanked his fellow Governors for electing him to lead the Board in February 2012, adding, “circumstances kept me from taking part in their recent formal meetings, but it is my hope that the BBG board will enjoy a full and productive membership soon.”
Michael Lynton is CEO of Sony Entertainment, Inc. He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc’s Penguin Group.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Lynton serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Rand Corporation, and the Harvard Board of Overseers. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Lynton was named the BBG’s interim presiding governor following the departure of Chairman Walter Isaacson. He joined the board on July 2, 2010, serving a term expiring on August 13, 2012. By law, any member whose term has expired may serve until a successor has been appointed and qualified. His departure leaves the Board with four members, including Secretary of State John Kerry, who serves as an ex-officio member.
Here is the full text of Lynton’s resignation letter:
May 23, 2013
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
With this letter, I submit my resignation from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) effective May 23rd. 2013.
It has been an honor to serve our country by taking part in the work of this board, which was established to oversee an agency with a complex and vital calling. Time and time again, we have seen that the journalists and other staff of the BBG are dedicated to the agency’s mission: to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. They prove it around the clock and against steep odds, in many cases amid some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
In an effort to sustain this mission, I was proud to work with fellow board members on promoting long-needed reforms of the agency’s structure and governance– among them, enhancing collaboration between the broadcasters and establishing the position of a Chief Executive Officer with day-to-day operational responsibilities. I wish the current members and our successors the very best in seeing these reforms through.
And I’d like once more to thank fellow board members for asking me to take the reins more than a year ago. Circumstances kept me from taking part in their recent formal meetings, but it is my hope that the BBG board will enjoy a full and productive membership soon.
Respectfully,
Michael Lynton
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- U.S. Broadcasting Affected by Obama Administration Culture of Intimidation (heritage.org)
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Is Woolwich the Final Straw?
I watched the videos in horror, as two Muslims in the London, UK neighborhood of Woolwich brandished bloody knives, their hands covered with blood, after
English Defence League (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
apparently just beheading a young British soldier, video is here and here. ”An eye for an eye”, they said into the camera shooting a video. They made no attempt to run or to hide, they waited some 20 minutes for the police to show up and attempt to arrest them, getting shot.
Now the English Defence League or EDL has taken to the streets in London, saying “enough is enough”, video here.
In London there are certain areas where non-Muslims are physically kept from entering. There are patrols enforcing Sharia Law in these areas. Sharia Courts have the final decisions in many family matters.
The problem is not with Islam, the problem is with extremists. For their acts, the EDL can also be considered extremists.
The police have responded appropriately to the EDL, with riot gear, including shields and billy clubs. Who will control the Muslim extremists?
ps. At one point I included the words ‘graphic’ beside the links to the videos. But, what the heck, all you see is blood. I think this PC crap has gone a little far. I may have seen more blood, guts, gore and grime in my lifetime than most 20 men combined, but for goodness sake, it’s just blood. My own mother saw more of my blood than most 20 mothers combined. I remember one time…
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Two More Memorable IO Blogs
English: Socks the Cat (1989-2009), also known as “First Cat”, presiding over a White House press conference during Clinton presidency.(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yesterday I published a blog piece “On IO Blogs”, here. But I messed up and forgot two very, very good blogs. I woke up at 3 am and just had to write this update.
Healthy Influence Blog or Persuasion Blog. This excellent blog deals with the science of persuasion, written by Dr. Steven Booth-Butterfield. Steve’s blog really gets into the breadth and depth of persuasion, his blog pieces are intricately accurate and one can almost write a master’s thesis about the subject if you would read all his blogs, I believe. Steve is a really nice guy and absolutely brilliant. He literally wrote the book on persuasion.
Selil. Dr. Sam Liles almost defies description, but, simply put, his blog is an excellent must-read for anything cyber. Sam is also an endurance motorcycle rider, like me, so I happily read his occasional article about his motorcycle and currently his Iron Butt Rally preparation. This past February, when there was snow on the ground, Sam rode his bike from Perdue University in Indiana to Washington DC to participate in a seminar on cyber. Sam is also a former police officer aka cop, he’s also a really nice guy and absolutely brilliant. Sam also has this unique ability to see through the bullcrap being thrown around Washington when it comes to cyber, both offensive and defensively and somehow manages to keep me straight. But, be prepared, he tells the truth. If I’m wrong about something, and that’s more often than not, he’ll tell me.
Please, if there are any other blogs out there related to IO, tell me? I don’t want to overlook anyone and I especially don’t want to hurt any feelings.
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On IO Blogs
Side view of a U.S. Air Force O-2 of the 9th Special Operations Squadron dropping Chieu Hoi leaflets over the Republic of Vietnam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I received a comment today to an ancient blog, asking what other blogs talk about the same subject. I wrote out a response and realized I wanted to share this with everyone. So I told the original commenter to read this blog.
This blog is on Information Operations, running the gamut from general IO to cyber to MISO/Psychological Operations to Electronic Warfare to Deception to OPSEC to Strategic Communication to Public Diplomacy to… just about everything a country or a military does to influence another country. Speaking of Strategic Communication, I had a former NSC staffer question me about that today because of the bogus memorandum OSD published, stating that Strategic Communication no longer existed. That thing has caused nothing but trouble because it was released before coordination and not at all official.
Information Operations
Political Warfare.Org, at http://jmw.typepad.com/political_warfare/, deals with all the same subjects with a distinct political flavor, great course. Dr. J. Michael Waller also wrote the book “Fighting the War of Ideas like a Real War“. He really owes me for all the recommendations I’ve given him, now he owes me one more.
Leonie Industries used to have a nice blog, but it’s gone fairly inactive. http://www.leoniegroup.com/blog/tag/information-operations/ I’ve talked with these folks often, they really get IO.
Two updates:
Healthy Influence Blog or Persuasion Blog. This excellent blog deals with the science of persuasion, written by Dr. Steven Booth-Butterfield. Steve’s blog really gets into the breadth and depth of persuasion, his blog pieces are intricately accurate and one can almost write a master’s thesis about the subject if you would read all his blogs, I believe. Steve is a really nice guy and absolutely brilliant. He literally wrote the book on persuasion.
Selil. Dr. Sam Liles almost defies description, but, simply put, his blog is an excellent must-read for anything cyber. Sam is also an endurance motorcycle rider, like me, so I happily read his occasional article about his motorcycle and currently his Iron Butt Rally preparation. This past February, when there was snow on the ground, Sam rode his bike from Perdue University in Indiana to Washington DC to participate in a seminar on cyber. Sam is also a former police officer aka cop, he’s also a really nice guy and absolutely brilliant. Sam also has this unique ability to see through the bullcrap being thrown around Washington when it comes to cyber, both offensive and defensively and somehow manages to keep me straight. But, be prepared, he tells the truth. If I’m wrong about something, and that’s more often than not, he’ll tell me.
The US Army’s Information Proponent at Fort Leavenworth has a blog at http://usacacblogs.army.mil/informationproponentoffice/2012/01/68/ and if you can past the opening screen, you’re a better person than I am. There is a more direct link to their IO resource page at http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/IPO/
Larry Dietz runs the PSYOP Regimental Blog at http://psyopregiment.blogspot.com/ Of course it has somewhat of a PSYOP / MISO flavor to it, but I forgive him.
Not Blogs but Great IO Sources
Now this is not an IO blog but they post the newsletter from the JIOWC, the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center. http://www.phibetaiota.net/2013/01/information-operations-newsletter-vol-13-no-03/ It would be a good place to start to read their newsletters. Be one with your Google and search here… in my best Dalai Lama voice. Okay, bad joke, but it made me laugh.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Air University ‘online library’ at http://www.au.af.mil/info-ops/ This is a truly great collection of discussions of all things IO. Not a blog but a reliable source to link to. This is a labor of love, so I’ve been told, this is the work of volunteers.
RAND publishes a lot of really good studies on IO, here: http://www.rand.org/topics/information-operations.html Not a blog, but great for an evening with your tablet by the fire. How romantic, eh? Just don’t forget to lift your pinkie finger, show some class.
There are a few blogs out there on similar subjects.
Cyber
I’m waiting for a good cyber blog to pop up. The media is publishing all kinds of great articles on cyber and there are a lot of blogs that pick up on those stories, but it doesn’t appear as if anyone with real experience is blogging about the field. The offensive side of the house is all written in Chinese, so I’m at a loss there. Oops, did I just type that out loud?
Actually, the offensive side of the house at the US Cyber Command will forever be dark. ’nuff said.
Advanced Persistent Threats. I’m getting way deep involved with this, so I should have a ton of stuff right here, in the future.
Public Diplomacy
John Brown has a very active blog on Public Diplomacy at http://publicdiplomacypressandblogreview.blogspot.com/
Matt Armstrong publishes MountainRunner.US, he deals with Public Diplomacy, but sadly it’s gone dark. Matt is writing a book, however and the White House just published an “intent to nominate” Matt to the Board of Governors for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, here! Great things are in store, ahead!
The Public Diplomacy Council has a really nice blog going here, http://www.publicdiplomacycouncil.org/.
Warning!
Don’t be fooled by most blogs that deal with “Information Warfare”, I seldom find anything dealing remotely with the subject. Also, stay the heck away from Alex Jones and Infowars.com, it is so completely bogus and conspiracy theory prone as to melt one’s brain. If they ever read this they’ll probably steal that idea.
One last generic warning. There is no such thing as a government program to brainwash the American people or anyone in a foreign country. Also HAARP is not a program to somehow magically shower you with radio waves, causing you to begin singing “God loves America” or any such tomfoolery. If you read anything about Psychological Warfare, be prepared to run away. Also, if you ever read a blog citing the IO Roadmap as proof that the US is doing anything good, bad or indifferent, close your eyes before they melt. That little POS never seems to go away.
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- Understanding false flags, PSYOPS, and media fakery (john-friend.net)
- Do not go gentle into that good night (toinformistoinfluence.com)
