Sometimes the best public diplomacy is unsaid.

"To my eye, at least, American public diplomacy has been virtually invisible in [the Gaza] crisis. I suppose that Alhurra [sic], the hugely expensive but little-watched American Arabic-language TV station, is still broadcasting (just as trees continue to fall in empty forests). 'DipNote', the State Department's blog, has barely registered: it posed an open question about how to 'resume a path toward Israeli-Palestinian peace' on December 29 and on January 7 posted the text of Secretary of State Rice's statement on a ceasefire (ditto for the Twitter feed). There's no evidence of senior officials speaking to the Arab media (I don't recall seeing any on al-Jazeera, and couldn't find any transcripts on al-Arabiya, the usual preference for such appearances, though I could easily have missed something)." Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy blog, 9 January 2009.
     Marc does not say whether U.S. public diplomacy should take a strong stand in support of Israel, or whether it should promote an immediate ceasefire. For the same reasons, U.S. public diplomacy is not effusive on this matter.
     Sometimes the best public diplomacy is sparse public diplomacy. Quantity of public diplomacy does not constitute quality.
     The Bush administration has positioned itself thus: it supports Israel's right to defend itself against missiles, but does not want to be portrayed as the authorizer, benefactor, and cheerleader of Israel's military campaign into Gaza. Nor does the administration want to join the global chorus of those who are condemning Israel, or calling for a ceasefire before Israel's objectives are met. In such a situation, the best thing to do, the only thing to do, is to keep one's own counsel.
     Now a blogger for Foreign Policy, Marc is writing less like the accomplished scholar that he is, and more like a blogger. The "[sic]" following "Alhurra" I suppose means he does not think Alhurra is "the free one." This is an interesting hypothesis that deserves substantive data that could be tracked down by Marc the scholar.
     As for Alhurra being "little watched," the research document released by the BBG on 11 December 2008 shows some viewing rates that are impressive by international broadcasting standards, including 31% in Lebanon and Morocco, 18% in Morocco, and 17% in the UAE. These won't be as large as the audiences for Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya, but they are respectable for a non-Arab station.
     It would be interesting to compare Alhurra's audiences with whose of the other major non-Arab Arabic-language channel, BBC Arabic TV, now that the latter is established. Another project for Marc the scholar. Posted: 10 Jan 2009 Permalink Print