To the Point
America's Image Abroad
It-s time for the Bush White House to get serious about America-s image overseas according to a report to Congress last month that says hostility towards the United States has reached -shocking levels,- especially in Muslim countries all over the world. The recent effort to -brand- America as warm and friendly fell flat when the State Department-s television commercials were banned in Arab countries. Can propaganda be replaced by -public diplomacy?- Is the real problem not America-s image but its policies? Will the world-s only superpower always be seen as an imperialistic bully? We ask a Middle East specialist from the Brookings Institute, a former executive of both the Voice of America and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and former officials of the State Department, including Secretary Madeleine Albright. (This segment was originally broadcast October 3.) Reporter's Notebook: Restoring Iraq-s Fabled Marshes In the months leading up to the war in Iraq, the plight of the Marsh Arabs became an international cause cel-bre. Their forced exile was a symbol of Saddam Hussein-s brutality, and there were promises that, when he was gone, the wetlands would be restored. Iraqi exile Azzam Alwash, an engineer project manager of -Eden Again,- reports on the intricate efforts to get the water flowing again. (This segment was originally broadcast on August 11.)
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readIt-s time for the Bush White House to get serious about America-s image overseas according to a report to Congress last month that says hostility towards the United States has reached -shocking levels,- especially in Muslim countries all over the world. The recent effort to -brand- America as warm and friendly fell flat when the State Department-s television commercials were banned in Arab countries. Can propaganda be replaced by -public diplomacy?- Is the real problem not America-s image but its policies? Will the world-s only superpower always be seen as an imperialistic bully? We ask a Middle East specialist from the Brookings Institute, a former executive of both the Voice of America and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and former officials of the State Department, including Secretary Madeleine Albright. (This segment was originally broadcast October 3.)
Restoring Iraq-s Fabled Marshes
In the months leading up to the war in Iraq, the plight of the Marsh Arabs became an international
cause cel-bre. Their forced exile was a symbol of Saddam Hussein-s brutality, and there were promises that, when he was gone, the wetlands would be restored. Iraqi exile Azzam Alwash, an engineer project manager of -Eden Again,- reports on the intricate efforts to get the water flowing again. (This segment was originally broadcast on August 11.)