FED-DOCS Y 4.G 74/7:P 96/12 THE 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, RELATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION AUGUST 23, 2004 Serial No. 108-261 Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house 98-211 PDF U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Governmen EPOSITORY Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 JUN 0 9 2005 STANFORD UNIVERSIT JONSSON URRAC COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM DAN BURTON, Indiana TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut DOUG OSE, California RON LEWIS, Kentucky TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida NATHAN DEAL, Georgia CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee HENRY A. WAXMAN, California JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts DIANE E. WATSON, California STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California C.A. "DUTCH" RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of Columbia JIM COOPER, Tennessee BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont (Independent) MELISSA WOJCIAK, Staff Director DAVID MARIN, Deputy Staff Director/Communications Director PHIL BARNETT, Minority Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel CONTENTS Page Hearing held on August 23, 2004 Beers, Charlotte, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Keith Reinhard, presi- dent, Business for Diplomatic Action, and chairman, DDB Worldwide; Gary Knell, president and CEO, Sesame Workshop; Dr. Rhonda S. Zaharna, associate professor of public communication, American Uni- versity; and Hafez Al-Mirazi, Bureau Chief, Al Jazeera Washington Harrison, Patricia de Stacy, Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Kean, Thomas H., Chair, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission); and Jamie S. Gorelick, Com- missioner, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by: Al-Mirazi, Hafez, Bureau Chief, Al Jazeera Washington Office, prepared 53 Beers, Charlotte, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, prepared statement of Evers, Charles "Tre," III, Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 85 Ford, Jess T., Director of International Affairs and Trade, Government Harrison, Patricia de Stacy, Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Department of State, prepared statement Kean, Thomas H., Chair, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission); and Jamie S. Gorelick, Com- missioner, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission), prepared statement of Kucinich, Hon. Dennis J., a Representative in Congress from the State 26 7 Maloney, Hon. Carolyn B., a Representative in Congress from the State 14 Reinhard, Keith, president, Business for Diplomatic Action, and chair- 129 Tomlinson, Kenneth, chairman, Broadcasting Board of Governors, pre- Zaharna, Dr. Rhonda S., associate professor of public communication, THE 9/11 COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY: DEFENDING IDEALS AND DEFINING THE MESSAGE MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2004 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, EMERGING Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 1 p.m., in room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher Shays (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Shays, Turner, LaTourette, Platts, Kucinich, Maloney, and Tierney. Staff present: Lawrence Halloran, staff director and counsel; Thomas Costa, professional staff member; Sarah D'Orsie, deputy clerk; Andrew Su, minority professional staff member; and Earley Green, minority chief clerk. Mr. SHAYS. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations hearing entitled, "The 911 Commission Recommendations on Public Diplomacy: Defending Ideals and Defining the Message," is called to order. In the war against trans-national terrorism, we are losing ground on a crucial front: The battle of ideas. Words, not just weapons, fuel revolutions; and the language of political liberty and economic opportunity can inspire the victory of life over death, faith over fatalism and progress over stagnation throughout the Muslim world. The next generation of potential terrorists can be stopped with books rather than bombs, if we help empower and mobilize the moderate majority with the vocabulary of hope. Public diplomacy, the cultural exchanges, educational programs and broadcasts used to convey U.S. interests and ideals to foreign audiences, helped win the cold war. But according to the State Department's advisory group on public diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim world, "the United States today lacks the capabilities in public diplomacy to meet the national security threat emanating from political instability, economic deprivation and extremism." In the rhetorical arms race for the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, some ask how the most technologically advanced Nation on earth is being outgunned by a movement largely based in caves. In our previous hearings on public diplomacy, witnesses described a lack of strategic coherence in U.S. efforts to communicate (1) |