'Dramatic Change of Direction' Coming for Iraq

[SWJED]

Newsweek, 29 August 2006 - Voice of America. BTW - his job speciality is public affairs...

Alberto Fernandez says he can't keep his mouth shut. "I'm Cuban," he says. "We can't close our big mouths. Cubans love to talk, love to argue, love to engage in repartee." His garrulousness might be a liability for an ordinary diplomat—but Fernandez is anything but ordinary. As one of the few genuinely fluent Arabic speakers at the U.S. State Department, Fernandez has become a one-man public diplomacy machine, appearing in Arabic media on almost a daily basis. Although most Americans have never heard of him, his rare linguistic skill, together with his trademark blend of compassion and sass, have made him the face of the United States in the Middle East.

On paper, at least, Fernandez's job is basically that of a high-powered booker, coordinating appearances of high-level State Department officials on Arab media. But in reality, he's the main act. According to his own conservative estimates, he has done about 200 interviews with Arabic media in the past year—with almost 60 media appearances in July alone. "As far as I am aware, he is the only Arabic speaker from the U.S. government who appears on Al-Jazeera says Abderrahim Foukara, managing editor at the network's Washington offices. "Sometimes we'll even have him on three or four days in a row."

More than being one of the few people qualified for the job, Fernandez is one of the few who are willing to take it on. After 9/11, most high-level U.S. leaders preferred not to spend time speaking directly to an Arab public they felt was hopelessly anti-American. Even among those who saw a value in public diplomacy, like Bush and Condoleezza Rice, many refused to appear on Al-Jazeera—despite it being the No. 1 satellite channel in the Arab world—in protest at what they deemed to be its biased coverage...

[slapout9]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/...21/1007/NEWS05

Read the above link of what a 16 year old did on the capitol Steps yesterday in Montgomery,Al. Read the whole article and look at the planning and thought that went into this. If we had I/O people like this working for the US things might be better.

[marct]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/...21/1007/NEWS05

Read the above link of what a 16 year old did on the capitol Steps yesterday in Montgomery,Al. Read the whole article and look at the planning and thought that went into this. If we had I/O people like this working for the US things might be better.

*Very* well organized. Maybe Saul Alinsky should be required reading for I/O...

Marc

[marct]

At CNN.com

(CNN) -- A senior U.S. State Department diplomat told Arab satellite network Al Jazeera that there is a strong possibility history will show the United States displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity" in its handling of the Iraq war.

Alberto Fernandez, director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Near East Affairs, made his comments on Saturday to the Qatar-based network.

"History will decide what role the United States played," he told Al Jazeera in Arabic, based on CNN translations. "And God willing, we tried to do our best in Iraq."

"But I think there is a big possibility ... for extreme criticism and because undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq," the diplomat told Al Jazeera. (Watch Fernandez on Al-Jazeera -- :19)

"I can only assume his remarks must have been mistranslated. Those comments obviously don't reflect our policy," a senior Bush administration official said.

Fernandez told CNN that he was "not dissing U.S. policy."

"I know what the policy is and what the red lines are, and nothing I said hasn't been said before by senior officials.

"Nothing I said during this interview broke new ground," the diplomat told CNN.

Fernandez referred to a speech made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in March in Blackburn, England.

"I am quite certain there are going to be dissertations written about the mistakes of the Bush administration," Rice said.

"I know we've made tactical errors, thousands of them, I'm sure," Rice said. "But when you look back in history, what will be judged" is whether the "right strategic decision" was made.

Fernandez's comments came as President Bush gathered his senior generals to discuss changes to strategy in Iraq, where violence has spiked in recent days.
..... More, including video links

[Merv Benson]

Fernandez now says the translation into English of his remarks in Arabic were not an accurate reflection of what he said. If that is so, why doen't he say what he meant?

[SWJED]

Alberto Fernandez says he can't keep his mouth shut...

[marct]

Fernandez now says the translation into English of his remarks in Arabic were not an accurate reflection of what he said. If that is so, why doen't he say what he meant?

Hmmm, not qute....

A senior Bush administration official says they might not have been [translated correctly]. The official says, "Those comments obviously don't reflect our position."

And a State Department spokesman says the diplomat, Alberto Fernandez, doesn't think the reports of his comments are an "accurate reflection of what he said."

Note that "the Bush administration" and "a State Department spokesman" are the ones saying the translation was inaccurate. Fernandez will probably have a press conference soon to "clarify" his remarks - after he has been called on the carpet. I'll keep an eye out on CBC to see if they print a "retraction".

Marc

[SWJED]

23 October New York Times - To Stand or Fall in Baghdad: Capital Is Key to Mission by Michael Gordon.

After three years of trying to thwart a potent insurgency and tamp down the deadly violence in Iraq, the American military is playing its last hand: the Baghdad security plan.

The plan will be tweaked, adjusted and modified in the weeks ahead, as American commanders try to reverse the dismaying increase in murders, drive-by shootings and bombings.

But military commanders here see no plausible alternative to their bedrock strategy to clear violence-ridden neighborhoods of militias, insurgents and arms caches, hold them with Iraqi and American security forces, and then try to win over the population with reconstruction projects, underwritten mainly by the Iraqi government. There is no fall-back plan that the generals are holding in their hip pocket. This is it.

The Iraqi capital, as the generals like to say, is the center of gravity for the larger American mission in Iraq. Their assessment is that if Baghdad is overwhelmed by sectarian strife, the cause of fostering a more stable Iraq will be lost. Conversely, if Baghdad can be improved, the effects will eventually be felt elsewhere in Iraq. In invading Iraq, American forces started from outside the country and fought their way in. The current strategy is essentially to work from the inside out.

“As Baghdad goes, so goes Iraq,” observed Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, who commands American forces throughout Iraq.

Many ideas — new and not so new — are being discussed in Washington, like a sectarian division of Iraq (which the current government and many Iraqis oppose); and starting talks with Iraq’s neighbor, Iran (which the Iraqi government is already doing, but the United States is not). Some of these ideas look appealing simply because they have not been put to the test...