9/11 was a wake-up call for the U.S. which had abandoned public diplomacy soon after the end of the Cold War. But its initial reaction was counter to public diplomacy when President George Bush used the word Crusade for war on terror which carries a religious connotation. Similarly, he set the U.S. on the path of unilateralism by raising the slogan of 'either with us or against us', using phrases like 'axis of evil' for Iran, North Korea and Iraq.
President Ronald Reagan had called the Soviet Union an 'evil empire'. This shows the Cowboy nature of the U.S. diplomacy which can be traced back to its Calvinistic history. President Bush in one of his national addresses had used the word 'evil' for no less than 14 times. Guantanamo and Abu Ghuraib damaged the high moral standard of the U.S.
These initial missteps of the U.S. tarnished its image as custodian of democratic values and human rights and supporter of democratic forces across the world. In Third World Countries, where dictators had always been supported by the U.S. for its strategic interests, democratic forces found themselves orphaned in the absence of moral and political courage from the world's largest democratic power.
However, all these foul-ups swung the U.S. into action and it set on a damage control trail to win 'hearts and minds' of the Muslim world. In the past few years the U.S.'s ratings have soared in the Muslim world, especially in the wake of the 2005 tsunami, when America contributed generously to the rehabilitation and reconstruction in the affected countries.
Recently, when devastating floods hit Pakistan, the U.S. was the largest contributer while its armed forces open-heartedly helped in rescue and relief goods' delivery efforts. By opening a special office in the State Department for winning over the people of the Muslim world is also paying in dividends. But, still, the U.S. has to do a lot to live up to its image of being a friend of democracy everywhere. It has to shut Guantanamo, get out of Iraq and Afghanistan after shoring up democracies in those countries.
Simply toppling dictators like Saddam Hussein and ruthless rulers like the Taliban is not enough. Replacing them with a democratic set-up, restoring their autonomy and helping them to stand on their own feet is the best public diplomacy which can restore the image of the U.S. and make the world more safer. The U.S. needs to make sure that its story wins, not that of the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban who thrive on American excesses in Muslim countries.
Cultural Diplomacy recieves its largest budgets during and directly after times of war (thus the lapse between the Cold War and 9/11). Unfortunate. As JFK said, The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. If we as a nation can maintain and expand our cultural diplomacy efforts long after we've pulled out of Iraq and Afghansitan, relocated our prisoners in Guantanamo, and modeled ourselves as a democracy (as opposed to insisting that others become one) then perhaps we will be respected and heard again.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up many good points from cross-cultural studies when you mention the Calvanist value of "good versus evil" that is deeply rooted in American culture. Bush's use of "evil" in reference to 9/11 shows the naivety of the American people as it was the first time the United States was attacked on its own soil by international terrorism. I can understand that having no precedent, this attack would have caused the United States to go on the offensive as to not expose vulnerability. However "American exceptionalism" shows that everybody knows the United States is a superpower, and I don't think it's always in its best interest to flaunt it. In terms of public diplomacy, I think it will be productive for the United States to show humility so others can relate to American on a human level. The "us against the world" mentality is clearly failing and hopefully the Obama adminsitration has sucess in rebuilding some bridges that Bush may have, though inadvertantly, burned.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Bush's use of the word "Crusade" before 9/11 was far more than another failure of his and Dick Cheney and Karl Rove's simplistic diplomacy skills. "Crusade" meant far more than mere "religious connotations" to millions of Muslims and their friends the world over. For them the Crusades were a murderous Holy War initiated by European infidels, hell-bend on committing cultural genocide against traditions and their very lives all over the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteOn 18th September 2001, Jeremy Paxman on BBC 2 Newsnight told the truth about the brainwashed Christian savages who called themselves "Crusaders" for centuries, when the alleged "God" and State were seen as one-and-the-same in much of Europe and the Middle East. Paxman stated: "I was not the only one who was knocked for six when the born-again Christian President Bush of the USA called for a "crusade"! The next day the Taliban called for a Holy War."
Jeremy Paxman interviewed an American professor who said, "For the President to use the word crusade was a massive mistake." It was also a deadly mistake that has cost the world hundreds of thousands of needless deaths and trillions of dollars in blood and treasure.
"Of all the tyrannies that afflict mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst. Every other species of tyranny is limited to the world we live in, but this attempts a stride beyond the grave and seeks to pursue us into eternity." - Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
"The most honest and credible way to be good and do good is with no expectations of an alleged heaven nor make-believe hell." - Me, Chris Aable, shamelessly quoting myself as I am disinclined to inhibit my youthful exuberance!
Well said, as usual, Chris Aable.
Delete- Steve Miller, RCM, Inc.