The Foreign Service Journal, January 2005

raged since 9/11. The report, which can be read in full at http://www. acq.osd.mil/dsb/reports/2004-09- S t r a t eg i c_Commun i ca t i on . pdf , says that strategic communica- tion, often called public diplomacy, “is in crisis, and it must be transformed with a strength of purpose that matches our commitment to diploma- cy, defense, intelligence, law enforce- ment and homeland security.” The report continues: “Policies will not succeed unless they are communicat- ed to global and domestic audiences in ways that are credible and allow them to make informed, independent judgments.” At the heart of the report is a call for sweeping transformations in the nature and practice of public diplo- macy. These include the creation of: a permanent strategic communica- tion structure within the NSC; a Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications; and an independent, non-partisan Center for Strategic Communication. The report calls on the president to help bring about these changes and asks for an increased bi-partisan and public/pri- vate initiative to strengthen public diplomacy. Completed in September and intended for internal consumption, the report was released to the public at the end of November. The defense-oriented panel’s mandate was to develop strategy for global commu- nications in the “war on terror,” and its findings add a new dimension to the debate. This report and other major reports and studies on public diplomacy and its future that were released during 2004 can be accessed at the Public Diplomacy Web Site ( w w w . p u b l i c d i p l o m a c y . org ), a s ite maintained by the USIA Alumni Association. These docu- ments include: • Public Diplomacy: How to Think About and Improve It. Rand Corpor- ation, 30 October 2004 • What the World Thinks of America: 10-Nation Survey , Septem- ber-October 2004. 17 October 2004 • Public Diplomacy by the Num- bers: Transatlantic Trends Sur- veys in Europe and USA . Updated 19 September 2004 • Effective Advertising or Danger- ous Delusions? 29 August 2004 • VOA Staff Petition to Congress. Updated 8 August 2004 • Public Diplomacy Is Not the Answer. Barry Zorthian, 12 June 2004 • The Need to Communicate: How to Improve U.S. Public Diplomacy with the Islamic World. Brookings Institution, January 2004 • House Appropriations Commit- tee Hearings on Public Diplomacy Programs. 14 February 2004 • Making Public Diplomacy Effect- ive . Updated 7 February 2004 • Regaining America’s Voice Over- seas: Heritage Foundation Con- ference on U.S. Public Diplomacy. 13 January 2004  — David Coddon, Editorial Intern C Y B E R N O T E S u 14 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 50 Years Ago... ‘Right’or ‘wrong,’ we have felt obligated to put forward our views. We have respected the officer who, for reasons he has believed valid, would stick his neck out in presenting a particular minority view — especially when it’s always so easy to be silent and safe. — David Linebaugh, Letter to the Editor, FSJ , January 1955.