U.S. may be losing the war for Mideast minds

The September 11 attacks prompted the United States government to launch a public relations campaign of a type never seen before. Hired by Colin Powell as the undersecretary for public diplomacy, Charlotte Beers, a once notorious advertising expert, is perhaps the most important person in Washington, DC.

She will have to refurbish America's image abroad. But at a time when the U.S. is engaged in a unilateralist move to launch an attack on Iraq and shows less concern vis-à-vis the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, recasting the image of the U.S. in the Arab world proves to be more and more challenging.

Explaining his choice for Beers as the new propaganda chief, Colin Powell said "Well, guess what?

She got me to buy Uncle Bens rice and there is nothing wrong with getting somebody who knows how to sell something." But many analysts doubt that she would meet the same luck in winning the hearts and minds of millions of Arabs and Muslims who have a poor opinion of America.

If the terrible September 11 attacks sparked a strong need to review the U.S. relationships with the Arabs and Muslims, public diplomacy is still unable to find its way, mainly due to an escalating political rhetoric and a prevailing tension in the air.

Seemingly undaunted, Ameri-can diplomats are already engaged in a spectacular campaign to inform and influence public opinion in the Arab world.

But the question remains, what is it that enabled Osama bin laden in his hermitic caves to out-communicate the greatest technological empire of all times?

The answer lies in a long history of scepticism and mistrust. The Arabs accuse the U.S. government of the ongoing plight of the Palestinians and a drive to impose U.S. supremacy in the region.

Meanwhile the Americans accuse the Arabs of harbouring radicalism and anti-Semitism. But if political impotence and the feelings of humiliation fuel anger among the Arabs and Muslims, the Americans have their share of responsibility in the widespread wave of anti-Americanism.

For five decades, the Americans did little to help implement democracy and civil society in the Arab world. However, it made it clear that it will resort to all means to secure the flow of oil to its markets and to guarantee the military superiority of Israel.

Osama bin Laden came when all the conditions were ripe to unleash anti-U.S. radicalism. If anti-Americanism was in the Sixties and Seventies the product of anti-capitalist leftists, it seems now to come from a broader popular and political landscape from Rabat to Jakarta.

This negative perception drove many advisory bodies, such as the Foreign Relations Council, to criticise the White House for its appalling response countering a deteriorating reputation in many countries.

But sometimes the American media show a disturbing lack of ability to tell the difference between disagreeing with American policy and making anti-American statements.

However, U.S. propagandists seem more optimistic about the future. They have crafted a new strategy based on four goals as was highlighted by Beers.

First, articulate U.S. policies and actions "accurately, clearly and swiftly".

Second, present the values and beliefs of the American people that stand behind these policies. Third, demonstrate the essential role of democracy for peace, prosperity, and opportunity.

And finally, communicate America's support for education as the key to hope and opportunity for the future.

In a bid to catch the attention of Arab youth, the U.S. has launched a new propaganda tool, a new station "Radio Sawa" that has replaced the VOA Arabic language service. It is catching on like fire among young Arabs for its Arab and American pop tunes.

But when it comes to the news, most of them will rush to Al Jazeera or Abu Dhabi, the most popular TV channels in the Arab world to follow breaking news coverage of the turmoil in the Palestinian territories or the crisis in Iraq, or the War on Terrorism.

TV and radio spots, booklets and web sites are just one step in a long and painful process. The Arabs and Muslims need to understand that the U.S. policies are not motivated by a desire to dominate the Middle East and vilify Islam. The U.S. support of Israel, seen by many Muslims as unfair, fuels more scepticism and mistrust in the region.

The Arab media are seen by many Western observers as inflammatory and imbalanced. The U.S. Administration has often complained about the TV coverage of the Intifada or War on Terrorism saying that it enhances anti-American feelings.

In fact, it is through these outlets that Americans are trying to gauge which messages might promote a positive image of the U.S.

Ironically, most of the Arab governments are not happy either. They find the emerging new outlets as a threat to their national security and prestige. Caught between these two realities, Arab TV stations will have to find their way and keep breaking the taboos without enraging Arab regimes.

The flow of uncensored news in the Arab world is introducing a revolution in a region where political life has been stagnating for decades. The Arab media are to the Arab world what Gutenberg is to the Western world.

The U.S. government needs to devise a comprehensive campaign based on a new bold approach to the Arab world where many consider the U.S. arrogant, hypocritical and self-indulging.

Helena Kane Finn, who is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute For Near East Policy puts it in this way; "For those who do the work of winning the 'hearts and minds', it is necessary to know not only the thoughts, the official positions, the facts, but to understand in a profound way the sentiments and values of the culture in which one works."

Public diplomacy will depend more on polling in the Muslim countries and communities to provide policy makers with valuable information on foreign public's attitudes, perceptions and opinions so that the U.S. messages can be more effectively targeted.

But inhibitions and silence most often convey stronger signals than words do. Only trust and mutual understanding are the prerequisite to get deeper to these unexplored spheres. Changing perceptions should not be the main task of American diplomacy; rather it is restoring credibility to American rhetoric that should be set top on the agenda.

We are witnessing a propaganda blitz which will dominate for decades, while the attention has shifted from old tools of diplomacy to media, as the most sophisticated way of reaching and influencing the masses within very few seconds.

But who will buy into these messages if the context is being blurred by a history of miscommunication and misjudgment?

Enough effort and time have been given to the official side of the Arab-American relation. Is it not the best moment to give the civil society on both sides a chance to fix the anomaly and turn the page on the chapter of antagonism?

Hashem Ahelbarra is an Abu Dhabi television journalist.