America's Misguided Faith in Public Diplomacy

If you wait long enough, sensible things always happen in America, often among the armed forces’ senior command. One example was Commander of US Central Command General David Petraeus’ recent affirmation that resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict fairly is “very central” to the mission of American troops and diplomacy in the Middle East. This would create a much more favorable regional environment for the US and its allies, dampen the appeal of militants and terrorist groups, and remove threats to American troops. 

Coming from General Petraeus, this sensible and rather obvious conclusion appears now to be more widely shared among top Obama administration officials, who resist the desire of Israel and its Washington lobbyist-proxies to deal with Iran, and instead focus simultaneously on promoting Arab-Israeli peace.  

A second, more dramatic, example of sensible analysis and courageous honesty is this week’s article in Joint Force Quarterly by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen. He sharply criticized US government efforts at “strategic communication” with the Muslim world, noting that public relations alone will never generate the credibility the US seeks, if its foreign policy on the ground is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting.

“To put it simply, we need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate,” Mullen wrote. “Each time we fail to live up to our values or don’t follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are.”  

This is sensible and accurate analysis that Americans should listen to carefully, especially given its source. Since September 11, 2001, Americans – government, media, civil society, and plumbers everywhere – have been blinded by the rage they experienced due to the 9/11 terror attacks. An exaggerated focus on “Islam” and “Muslim extremists” was allowed to define intellectual analysis and foreign policy alike, stressing Islamic religion and culture over the policies practiced by all concerned, including Arabs and Islamic states as well as the US, Europeans and Israel.