Briefly, last night, 172 days after Karen Hughes resigned, and after a hold and a squabble, Jim Glassman was confirmed as the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
3 thoughts on “172 days later, the U.S. has an Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy”
Unfortunately, it has taken so long to approve him that he may have a mere six months on the job. Hopefully he will be able to get up to speed quickly enough to actually move things forward.
USIP on the mall.Private NGOs made up of retired federal employees.
A war memorial to the planning and funding of the Afghanistan war by the Intelligence Committee and their ear marked NGOs.
It looks like a memorial for successful CIA planning.
Well it’s about time. I went to see Glassman speak at the Heritage Foundation a few weeks ago and he clearly has a sense of purpose and I don’t doubt that given the time he could run a good operation. However as Darren points out he only has a short window in which to act and given the track record of his predecessors I have to admit that I’m a tad bit pessimistic as to his prospects. The reality is that while there are individuals in government who “get it” with regards to strategic communication, the US government in general doesn’t. Here we are creeping up on 7 years since 9/11 and our leadership is so uninterested in winning the war of ideas that they let this post stand vacant for half a year. I wish Glassman luck and hope that he can accomplish something in the time that he has. But we need to shift our thinking to the long term. What is our plan for waging the war of ideas over the next 5, 10, 20 years? What kinds of institutions do we need? What strategy should we pursue? We can’t assume that the next administration will take the war of ideas any more seriously than the current one has, and so what should our plan be in that eventuality?
Unfortunately, it has taken so long to approve him that he may have a mere six months on the job. Hopefully he will be able to get up to speed quickly enough to actually move things forward.
USIP on the mall.Private NGOs made up of retired federal employees.
A war memorial to the planning and funding of the Afghanistan war by the Intelligence Committee and their ear marked NGOs.
It looks like a memorial for successful CIA planning.
Well it’s about time. I went to see Glassman speak at the Heritage Foundation a few weeks ago and he clearly has a sense of purpose and I don’t doubt that given the time he could run a good operation. However as Darren points out he only has a short window in which to act and given the track record of his predecessors I have to admit that I’m a tad bit pessimistic as to his prospects. The reality is that while there are individuals in government who “get it” with regards to strategic communication, the US government in general doesn’t. Here we are creeping up on 7 years since 9/11 and our leadership is so uninterested in winning the war of ideas that they let this post stand vacant for half a year. I wish Glassman luck and hope that he can accomplish something in the time that he has. But we need to shift our thinking to the long term. What is our plan for waging the war of ideas over the next 5, 10, 20 years? What kinds of institutions do we need? What strategy should we pursue? We can’t assume that the next administration will take the war of ideas any more seriously than the current one has, and so what should our plan be in that eventuality?