US evacuating embassy staff as bombs, fighting rock Iraq
Re the above cited article may I offer the observations of a somewhat dated piece as a possible solution:Published on Monday, June 11, 2007 by Center on Public DiplomacyA Modest Proposal: Let's Just...
View ArticleUSIS vs. ISIS
As a former member of the Cold-War USIA (known overseas as USIS -- United States Information Service), I am gratefulthat there are different letters of the alphabet. On ISIS, see.--Above Image from;...
View ArticleHey, we've always got Joe!
In his appearance on CNN, Mr. Graham [Sen. Lindsey Graham] noted the irony of the U.S. and Iran both looking to prop up the central government in Baghdad, and while he answered “hell no” when asked...
View ArticleWe're engaged!
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Sunday the U.S. embassy in Baghdad will remain open and “will continue to engage daily with Iraqis and their elected leaders — supporting them as they...
View ArticleMore engagement, or Hertling more!
The Iraqi Army was becoming “good” while U.S. forces were there to train, equip and mentor them; they were polishing their battlefield skills by fighting alongside Americans in combined operations....
View ArticleEngagement is hard ...
"Engagement is hard, but over time it can succeed."--Washington Post pundit Fred Hiatt; image from
View ArticleJune 14-16 Public Diplomacy Review
"My ideal elementary-school curriculum would ... require all children to learn: (1) the times tables up to, say, 25; (2) a foreign language, preferably obscure; (3) the geography of a foreign land,...
View ArticleThe kind of "Kommunications" report you want to read to your lover at a...
June 16, 2014Email Print Free Newsletter USC Annenberg Releases Results of Eighth GAP Study Assessing PR Industry Trends and PracticesSHARE THIS:Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on...
View ArticleJune 17 Public Diplomacy Review
"The first page of Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America notes that there are more public library branches in the United States than there are outlets of McDonald's."--Colin...
View ArticleA Bloody Mess, European-Style: Notes for a lecture, "E Pluribus Unum? What...
From Greg Sheridan, "A bloody mess, European-style," The AustralianJB note: Interesting that the author does not mention UkraineLike so much today, the Middle East’s illogical national boundaries go...
View ArticleThe Middle East Turned Upside Down
The Middle East Turned Upside Down: As power shifts violently, will Obama help restore a sustainable order from today's chaos?By WILLIAM A. GALSTON, Wall Street Journal June 17, 2014 7:23 p.m....
View ArticleJust a little slaughter from Dr. Slaughter ...
From: Don’t Fight in Iraq and Ignore Syria - Anne-Marie Slaughter, New York Times:What course of action will be best, in the short and the long term, for the Iraqi and Syrian people? What course of...
View ArticleAnd now we gonna "retrain"/"restrain"'em Iraqis
From: USA Today (6/19/2014):President Obama said Thursday he will send up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help retrain Iraqi security forces as they battle an insurgent invasion.For a historical...
View ArticleUSA/CIA Art at its Best?
FromCIA crafted prototypes of bin Laden 'demon' dollNatalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY1:17 p.m. EDT June 19, 2014(Photo: AP) 83CONNECT 42TWEET 8LINKEDIN 10COMMENTEMAILMOREThe CIA once considered a 12-inch,...
View ArticleState Department Ceremony for an Intellectual Fraud
See: "10 Percent Intellectual": The Mind of Condoleezza Rice"See http://www.prwatch.org/news/2008/05/7327/10-percent-intellectual-mind-condoleezza-riceU.S. Department of State added 3 new photos.5 hrs...
View ArticleBlast from the Past: They're Supersizing the Baghdad Embassy (2004)
washingtonpost.com They're Supersizing the Baghdad Embassy. Big Mistake By John H. BrownSunday, July 11, 2004; Page B03"This embassy is going to have a thousand people hunkered behind sandbags. I don't...
View ArticleBlast from the Past: Found on the Web re Iraq
Interview with John H. Brown, Ret. State Department, Foreign Service OfficerBrown | InterviewJuly 15th, 2004Transcription by John D. PearceECHO CHAMBER PROJECT: Why don’t you go ahead and introduce...
View ArticlePropaganda at its most risible worst
FromNumerous Russian mainstream media outlets have falsely claimed that a General of the Ukrainian military got on his knees in front of a former Ambassador from the U.S. in May of 2014. Russian media...
View ArticleJune 18-20 Public Diplomacy Review
"Why didn't they have George Bush paint it? That could have been GREAT."--Princess Sparkle Pony, regarding the unveiling of the official portrait of Dr. Condoleezza Rice (see below), former Secretary...
View ArticleDying Vet's Letter to George Bush and Dick Cheney
DYING VET’S ‘FUCK YOU’ LETTER TO GEORGE BUSH & DICK CHENEY NEEDS TO BE READ BY EVERY AMERICAN Via Facebook03.19.201311:11 amTo: George W. Bush and Dick CheneyFrom: Tomas YoungI write this letter on...
View Article