11:50 am
Where Dipnote Could Actually Be Useful
Last week I aired my complaint about the State Department’s Dipnote blog. A commenter wrote “I don’t think it’s that bad, but it’s definitely not ‘edgy.’” OK. But I want the State Department to do so much more with these powerful online megaphones.
Think about the “Obama is a ‘House Negro’” comment from Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri the other day. The comment tore up the political blogosphere. Observers suggested the comment exposes a flaw in Al Qaeda strategy since the racism of the comment could hurt AQ in part of the world it is counting on for growth (Sudan, Kenya, etc.)
Furthermore, Spencer Ackerman writes:
With an American president as loathed as George W. Bush around the world, it’s easy for Al Qaeda to portray the U.S. as venal and stupid and brutish as he’s proven. Obama complicates the narrative significantly: the very color of his skin, precisely what Al Qaeda mocks, symbolizes America’s willingness to change. That’s exactly what Al Qaeda fears most.
[AQ] paints the United States as an evil empire that oppresses its own minorities and has little regard for the rest of the world. Al Qaeda uses these types of narratives to raise funds and recruit. [snip] The election of the first African American President, one with a Muslim father, flies in the face of this narrative. It shows America as an open and tolerant society - not the oppressive empire Al Qaeda would like to portray.
People… these are the moments “public diplomacy” is made for. Zawahiri has served up a giant softball and all we have to do is jack it out of the park. Matt Armstrong makes the case here.
So, I cover my eyes, click on the link to Dipnote, peak out between my fingers, and see this: And Twitter That: Public Diplomacy in Moldova. Hmmm…
To be fair… the newest post on DipNote is from Mark Lagon (one of the highest ranking people I have seen post on DipNote). And he covers a very serious topic: Human Trafficking in the Middle East.
But still….