OPPapers.com

Bush

Of the many responses of the Bush administration to the events of September 11, 2001, one of the most significant and most widely discussed was its intensified and greatly expanded propaganda program for the Middle East. Announced innovations have included the appointment of advertising executive Charlotte Beers to lead State Department efforts to win hearts and minds, the establishment of a radio station to broadcast pop music, Eminem, and an American slant on the news to young listeners, the creation of Arabic-language web sites; and the placement of U.S. government-sponsored commercials and advertisements in Middle Eastern media outlets. The government has discussed ways to improve the U.S. image abroad with motion picture executives. The White House established an Office of Global Communications to coordinate U.S. propaganda worldwide. The Defense Department developed plans for an Office of Strategic Influence to sway international opinion, but backed off following published reports that stories placed by the Pentagon would include disinformation. Further propaganda activities correlated directly with the Bush administration's planned war against Iraq are underway.
With the attacks, the magnitude of Middle Eastern disaffection for the United States was brought, violently, to the attention of official Washington, and a new focus on propaganda was one result. According to the Bush administration, "a deep misunderstanding of the United States and its policies" created this hostility. It argues that a more assertive campaign of self-promotion would reverse these views. It says that the end of the Cold War led to neglect of "public diplomacy", resulting in a diminution of U.S. prestige and global effectiveness.
This is hardly the first time that the U.S., in response to international developments, has attempted to revitalize its propaganda activities in the Middle East. An earlier episode occurred early in the Cold War, during the Truman and...