A couple weeks ago one of my professors talked about the relentless US effort to "win hearts and minds" in Muslim countries. He mocked most of our efforts, such as the millions of dollars we sink in satellite television channels that nobody watches. Then he gave three rules that Americans should follow if they sincerely want to win Muslim hearts and minds. He said these tongue-in-cheek, but they're kind of profound:
1. When you visit, show us the courtesy of respecting and adopting our culture.
2. Be friendly, smile, and greet us in our language.
3. Don't invade and occupy our countries.
The way he frames it might make us uneasy, but it strikes to the heart of the matter. We all know that actions speak louder than words, but now you have it from someone in the region.
2 comments:
Agree that 1 & 2 are key and essential to building trust with any nation and certainly those we'd like as allies. That's exactly why you're there and why the USN, USAF and USMC are finally taking the role of the Foreign Area Officer more seriously these days.
As for "don't invade and occupy", I wish that were practical. When a nation, by the actions of its leadership, proves to be a danger to its neighbors (Iraq) or it lacks the capacity to eradicate transnational threats on its own soil (Somalia and Afghanistan), then the US may show up uninvited. I wish locals could solve local problems, but that's proven not to be the case everywhere. I'm skeptical of your prof's comment re: "nobody's watching".
Just discovered your blog in the last week. Well-written and I'm enjoying your insights on the local culture over there. Best wishes!
Scott, thanks for the comments.
I fully agree with you. I don't endorse my professor's remarks, but share them because I think it's valuable to understand local perspectives.
What these comments show, however, is the extraordinary challenge we face with public diplomacy. On the scales of local opinion, no amount of public diplomacy will outweigh the reality of American invasion and occupation (especially in Iraq). Although many Americans find that criticism unfair, it's the perception that we have to deal with.
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