The Public Diplomacy Council and its members, events and activities
The situation in the strategically important South/Central Asian country of Afghanistan is crucial in the foreign policies of the U.S. and its NATO partners in the days ahead. In Afghanistan itself, August 19 would normally be a day of celebration: independence from British control on that date in 1919. That’s hardly the case in 2021.…
Following is the text of a letter from the Public Diplomacy Council and the Public Diplomacy Association of America to members of congressional foreign affairs committees regarding public diplomacy on the situation in Afghanistan. The Public Diplomacy Council and Public Diplomacy Association of America are non-partisan, non-profit organizations committed to promoting the professional practice,…
As the Associated Press put it in a dispatch from Beirut on August 4: “United in grief and anger, families of the victims and several thousand Lebanese gathered at the port as the country marked the first anniversary of the horrific explosion of 2020. “That blast killed at least 214 people and devastated entire neighborhoods…
By Alan Heil Please forgive these midsummer musings. When the Heils moved to their retirement community in the mountains of northern Maryland in 2018, we were awed by the beauty of the surrounding forestland. On a trail encircling our community, we noted 30 weathered one-holed birdhouses, modestly constructed with all the same dimensions. But there…
By Alan Heil In rapid succession, new developments to the south are potentially threatening U.S. security. Among them, crises in Haiti and Cuba. According to Politico, the Pentagon has made it clear it has no appetite for new U.S. military engagements nearby, yet experts and former officials are calling on President to devote more resources…
By Alan Heil The small Caribbean state of Haiti is once again plagued by seemingly unresolvable deadly turmoil. Located at the western end of the island of Hispaniola 400 miles south of Florida, this tiny country of 11 million people once again finds itself in the most horrific crisis this year in the Western hemisphere.…
By Alan Heil Let’s imagine for a moment that we’re expert scientists from a distant universe with our first opportunity for a close-up view from space of what its inhabitants call Planet Earth. Their recent studies have detected a recurring increase in surface temperatures on that planet. What we see in this first closeup glimpse…
By Dr. Sherry Lee Mueller, PDC President This July 4th requires a reckoning of who we are and our place in the world. This first July 4 after the tragedy of January 6 must be about more than spectacular fireworks, tantalizing tastes, and backyard BBQs. Almost a century ago in 1922, Elihu Root, who served…
By Alan Heil Today’s news that the United States and NATO allies have departed the Bagram Air Base, the largest military installation in Afghanistan, calls for reflection. Twenty years ago, U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan. That was just a couple of weeks after al-Qaeda terrorists from Afghanistan killed 2,977 Americans in the infamous September 11 attacks…
1. U.S. IMAGE REBOUNDS DUE TO “THE BIDEN EFFECT”: Many Americans — and most foreigners — feel that four years of the Trump presidency did considerable damage to the country’s reputation around the world. Since June 10, 2021, they have some solid, independent research to support that conclusion. A Pew Research Center survey of 16 publics…