George, there is one good Arab out there–
fourth row to the left (credit: AFP)
Karen Hughes has taken on a thankless task and one which two previous State Department officials have failed at–remaking the U.S. image abroad and specifically in the Arab world (Bush Picks Adviser to Repair Tarnished U.S. Image Abroad).
It appears that Hughes’ job will be, like the Apostles, to spread the “good news” of President Bush’s call for freedom, liberty and democracy in the Arab world. All I can say is: “good luck!” There isn’t much “good” about the news Bush is spreading in the Arab world (at least to the Arabs themselves). They detest us pretty much everywhere and mostly for good reason. Even where there may be glimmers of hope (such as Lebanon), I fear that Bush’s calls for Syrian withdrawal again do not take into account what will happen the day after a full Syrian pullout. What would George Bush put in Syria’s place? What would hold Lebanon together and prevent it from falling into the same chaos that befell it during the civil war?
Elizabeth Bumiller sympathetically portrays Hughes interest in promoting women’s rights in Afghanistan as one of the reasons this new job appeals to her. Whenever I hear of American diplomats and consultants spearheading efforts to advance the cause of women in countries like Afghanistan with centuries long histories of oppressing women I wonder how much good their efforts are really doing. Is it a good thing to help poor women in Muslim countries to better their lot? Of course. But are you (the American diplomat) willing to stick with this cause for the decades it will take to ensure that there is no fallback into the old ways of oppression? Are you willing to provide these women the everyday protections they will need to ensure they are not physically intimidated or harmed by men who want to return to the good old days? I have my doubts that the Karen Hugheses of this world have the commitment to do this job for the long term.
Finally, this appointment avoids facing the real problem for the United States abroad and in the Arab world. Our main problem is not poor communications it is our policy itself. Even the best communicator (and admittedly Hughes is one of Bush’s better ones) will fail in this job because they don’t have any policies that appeal to audiences overseas and especially not in the Arab world:
Some senior State Department officials say that the problem is American policy, not inadequate public relations, and that no amount of marketing will changes minds in the Muslim world about the war in Iraq or American support of Israel.
If you liked what you read here you might want to check out the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Blog Directory, which features eight other Jewish and Arab bloggers with progressive views on the conflict.
