At 21-years of age, US Sergeant Chuck Hagel volunteered to fight against the communist forces of North Vietnam. In April 1968, a land mine hurled searing bits of shrapnel into his face and chest. During his recovery, he vowed he would influence the future of US foreign policy in a way to guard against the horrors he had endured in the Vietnam War.
Thirty-five years later, Chuck Hagel is now a high-ranking member of the influential At a recent conference at the , a Washington research organization, Senator Hagel emphasized the importance of public diplomacy. ?It may be today, and for the future of our security and stability in the world, important that we focus on public diplomacy more than ever before. Raw power alone won't do it. If the people of Iraq or Afghanistan are against you - we learned a little something about that in Vietnam - you can 500,000 troops or more but it won't carry the day.?
Senator Hagel says public diplomacy is particularly important during wartime when fear often breeds rumors that can rapidly spread. International broadcasting - a major component of public diplomacy - is often an effective way to counter such talk with accurate information.
Michael Gloukhov, a reservist with US Naval intelligence, agrees broadcasting plays a critical role during war. During the NATO strikes against Serbia in 1999, a radar-seeking missile from a US warplane strayed into Bulgaria - a future NATO member - and struck a house near the capital Sofia. Mr. Gloukhov says ?that was immediately used by a hostile press stating that NATO is attacking us.? The missile was designed only to strike radar systems. Mr. Gloukhov says whenever an enemy activates its radar, the US plane detects the signal and sends a missile. Sometimes the radar is turned off intentionally after the missile is released. In this case, it deactivates in the air and falls to the earth, doing much less damage than if it had blown up.
Mr. Gloukhov says the Voice of America broadcast this information immediately after the missile fell in Sofia. ?When you explain the function of the missiles and why they went stray and why it did not explode because it did not hit a radar, that gives a very rational explanation. But if this explanation is not given, then it is open to interpretation and hostile forces will turn it against the United States any way they wish.?
The dangerous situation in Iraq today is fertile ground for similar rumors to spread and breed resentment. In the initial months after the war ended, many frustrated Iraqis said they couldn't understand why the world's superpower was unable to restore electricity. Many areas - especially in and around Baghdad - had only a few hours of power each day.
Rumors spread that US forces were intentionally keeping Iraqis in darkness and misery. The reality was far different: the lack of security prevented electricians from repairing Iraq's electricity pylons. Yet without adequate international broadcasting, analysts say this information does not reach local populations.
Some analysts say the vital task of international broadcasting is not part of the US military mission. The Pentagon is simply not designed to carry out diplomacy, says William Maurer, a former public diplomacy director. He believes the fight against international terrorism has put too much focus on the Pentagon and US national security. ?September eleventh and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have thrust the Defense Department into the forefront of our foreign policy,? he says. ?But I would argue that the Defense Department does not do public diplomacy because their focus is not on a foreign audience, but primarily on an American audience. The State Department focuses on foreign officials and public diplomacy officers focus on a foreign audience. The Defense Department - in its public statements, films and public relations - is focused on an American audience and they are not all that concerned about foreign reaction.?
Public diplomacy is often called people-to-people diplomacy. It includes cultural and academic exchanges, promotion of information on American democracy and values and broadcast of global news and US policies in native languages.