$1 billion international image campaign isn't enough to buy U.S. love

[salin]

$1 billion international image campaign isn't enough to buy U.S. love

By Carl Weiser, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration spends $1 billion a year trying to polish the United States' image around the world, yet polls show anti-Americanism rising to record levels, especially in Muslim and Arab nations where the government is concentrating its efforts.
Now, a new report from Congress' General Accounting Office explains why the federal government's efforts at "public diplomacy" have been such a failure.

The report, released Sept. 4, concluded that the State Department's efforts have been scattershot and uncoordinated, foreign service officers charged with promoting the nation's image too often get stuck filling out paperwork, and one in five foreign service officers who are supposed to be helping America's image aren't fluent enough in the language of the country in which they're stationed.

salin comment: er.. maybe its also because we have just set the precedent of unprovoked preemptive war? and that in the process we treated the international community and the UN as patsies? could it be that the behavior and policies of this particular administration are so distrusted that regardless of how well coordinated their efforts might be... they couldn't be successful.

Most damning, the report said the government isn't even trying to scientifically measure whether its public relations efforts are having any effect on foreign hearts and minds. Instead, it gauges success through anecdotes or even by how many speeches a local ambassador gives.

salin comment: of course they don't want to measure the success they need to keep justifying spendng the money. what putzes.

article (without salin's comments in ital): http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-09-14-praw...

[Don_G]

1. Either....

Haliburton is running the ad campaign, or the world dosen't trust this guy....

[belab13]

7. LOL

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. Shit! We could get rid of Bush and his admin and improve it for free!

[havocmom]

3. can't buy respect

and we sure haven't done much lately to earn it. {sigh} yeah, like shrubster & company would ever understand the conecpt of earning anything...

[Aristus]

5. I think simply stepping up to the plate and voting the Chimp and

his intergalactic carnival freak show out of office next year will go a long way to refurbishing and burnishing our rather rusty and dented suit of armor.

[kskiska]

4. Could it be, Salin?

Naaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!

[Zo Zig]

6. The White Man's Orientalism

Rejected by people who know that our hegemonic uber empire is designed to control the natural resources and the labor, no our policies are so goood, democratic slavery for all!

[rocktivity]

8. "It's so important because the Bush administration believes

public relations is a key part of the war on terror."

And what is that supposed to mean? That everything possible must be done to make the Bush Regime's "belief" come true? Or are they that convinced that controlling reality is as easy as controlling perception? As long as there's a major credibility gap between what we are told and what we see, all the public relations in the world isn't going to help.


rocknation

[Clyde39]

9. Dems should point out that the money is needed here

Social Services in my city would love to see a tiy bit of the PR money. They could put it to much better use!

[hatrack]

10. Fits neatly with Bush "strongly believing" in the presence of WMDs

So you see, boys and girls, it's really all just a question of clapping your hands hard enough for Tinkerbell.

Bush may "strongly believe" that Saddam had opened a Iraq-wide chain of Chock Full O Nukes donut and take-out tactical weapon shops. Of course, now that we haven't found jack shit, it doesn't really matter what he "strongly believed" back at the beginning of March.

For that matter, I can "strongly believe" that Kraft Parmesan in the green metallic can is the Body of Christ. I can "strongly believe" that Ethel Merman invented powered flight. I can "strongly believe" that fiberglass insulation mixed with roofing tar makes a delicious, low-calorie lunch when spread on pumpernickel. I can "strongly believe" that Britney Spears is the second coming of Maria Callas, but this time with more talent.

Ain't necessarily so, but little things like objective reality aren't going to stop ChimpCo, Inc. from burning through a billion a year on PR bullshit and ambassadorial speeches. Whores and fools, one and all.

[young_at_heart]

11. Anti-Americanism at record levels

Boy does that make me want to have the Bush Corporation leading our country!!! I imagine people like Rush Limbaugh think that is great news. Let's hope the majority are outraged.

[TahitiNut]

12. So, what global media pockets get filled with ...

... those taxpayer dollars? I'd be far more interested in that than in the bullshit specious "objective". Can we say "buy off the media"? It's one of the more interesting line items on campaign expenditures, too.

[Dirk39]

13. Dear Mr. Bush, you don't have an image problem...

you have a problem with reality. Otherwise 1 Dollar would be enough...
Greetings from Germany,
Dirk

[arcane1]

14. how can the average repube not see that they'll do it here too?

if they are going to spend that much money 'branding' themselves overseas using textbook PR tricks, one would have to be easily-fooled to deny that those same tricks are being played right here at home...