US not living up to Obama message'

'US not living up to Obama message' Barbara Ferguson | Arab News

WASHINGTON: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that no amount of public relations will establish credibility if American behavior overseas is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting, referring to the government efforts at "strategic communication" with the Muslim world. The critique by the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, was published Friday by Joint Force Quarterly, an official military journal, and comes as the United States is widely believed to be losing credibility on the war of ideas against extremist Islamist ideology. "To put it simply, we need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate," Adm. Mullen wrote in the critique. The critique is particularly relevant as the Obama administration has made a deliberate effort to counter militant propaganda, part of its broader strategy to defeat the Taleban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. "I would argue that most strategic communication problems are not communication problems at all," he wrote. "They are policy and execution problems. Each time we fail to live up to our values or don't follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are." "It's not about telling our story," he stated. "We must also be better listeners." While President Obama has made an effort to differentiate himself and his administration from his predecessor, George W. Bush, in the eyes of the Muslim world - including through a widely praised speech in Egypt on June 4 - the perception of America as an arrogant oppressor has not changed noticeably, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, where United States forces remain engaged in war, and in Pakistan, where American-launched missiles aimed at militants from the Taleban and Al-Qaeda have killed civilians. Adm. Mullen's sharp remarks have caused a stir within the ranks of the military. One Marine officer currently based in Iraq, on his fourth deployment, responded to the remarks with glee: "This is why he is the chairman!" he said in an email to this reporter. Many currently working in the region say that despite the Obama Administration's best efforts - the perception of America as an arrogant oppressor has not changed noticeably, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, where United States forces remain engaged in war, and in Pakistan, where American-launched missiles aimed at militants from the Taleban and Al-Qaeda have killed civilians. Last week, during a visit to Pakistan by Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy, Pakistanis told his entourage that America was widely despised in their country because, they said, it was obsessed with finding and killing Osama Bin Laden to avenge the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Adm. Mullen also expressed concern over a trend to create entirely new government and military organizations to manage a broad public relations effort to counter anti-Americanism, which he said had allowed strategic communication to become a series of bureaucracies rather than a way to combat extremist ideology. He also challenged a popular perception that Al-Qaeda operates from primitive hide-outs and still wins the propaganda war against the United States. "The problem isn't that we are bad at communicating or being outdone by men in caves," Adm. Mullen wrote. "Most of them aren't even in caves. The Taleban and Al-Qaeda live largely among the people. They intimidate and control and communicate from within, not from the sidelines." American messages to counter extremist information campaigns "lack credibility, because we haven't invested enough in building trust and relationships, and we haven't always delivered on promises," he wrote. Referring to past US successes on the ground, Adm. Mullen cited American efforts at rebuilding Europe after World War II and then containing communism as examples of successes that did not depend on opinion polls or strategic communication plans. He cited more recent military relief missions after natural disasters as continuing that style of successful American efforts overseas. "That's the essence of good communication: having the right intent up front and letting our actions speak for themselves," Adm. Mullen wrote. "We shouldn't care if people don't like us. That isn't the goal. The goal is credibility. And we earn that over time." "Only through a shared appreciation of the people's culture, needs and hopes for the future can we hope ourselves to supplant the extremist narrative." He acknowledged that the term strategic communication was probably here to stay, but argued that it should be limited to describing the process by which we integrate and coordinate government communications programs. Adm. Mullen did not single out specific government communications programs for criticism, but wrote that "there has been a certain arrogance to our 'strat comm' efforts." He wrote that good communications run both ways. It's not about telling our story, he stated. "We must also be better listeners. The Muslim community is a subtle world we don't fully and don't always attempt to understand," he wrote. Coinciding with the publication of his essay, Adm. Mullen released a YouTube video inviting questions from members of the armed services and the public on a range of national security and military personnel issues for an online discussion. "The chairman intends to use social media to expand the two-way conversation with service members and the public," said a statement announcing the interactive video question-and-answer session.