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Karen Hughes Trip: Smashing Success
Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Thursday, Sep 29 2005, 8:41AM
In an administration that prides itself on message control, that keeps potential dissenters out of policy discourse or even political events with its leaders, and punishes or rewards based on whether someone is "with them or against them," Karen Hughes' very public encounters with people who are angered by American behavior in the world couldn't be more important.
The Hughes trip is successful because of her public encounter with America's sensible opposition -- an opposition that wants to be our friend but can't understand the logic or sense of our actions and foreign policy.
This in today from the New York Times' Steven Weisman:
Under Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes, seeking common ground with leading women's rights advocates in Turkey, was confronted instead on Wednesday with anguished denunciations of the war in Iraq and what the women said were American efforts to export democracy by force.It was the second day in a row that Ms. Hughes found herself at odds with groups of women on her "public diplomacy" tour, aimed at improving the American image in the Middle East. On Tuesday, she told Saudi Arabian women she would support efforts to raise their status but was taken aback when some of them responded that Americans misunderstand their embrace of traditions.
She met Wednesday with about 20 Turkish feminist leaders in Ankara, the capital. She introduced herself, as she has done on this trip, as "a working mom" and said she was there to emphasize the many things Turkey and the United States had in common. The women welcomed her but had a different emphasis.
"You are very angry with Turkey, I know," said Hidayet Tuskal, a director of the Capital City Women's Platform, referring to what she characterized as United States reaction to opposition in Turkey to the Iraq war, which she said was a feminist issue because women and children were dying daily. "I'm feeling myself wounded," Ms. Tuskal added. "I'm feeling myself insulted here."
Fatma Nevin Vargun, identifying herself as a Kurdish rights advocate, said she was "ashamed" of the war and added that the United States bore responsibility. Referring to the arrest of a war protester at the White House on Monday, she added, "This was a pity for us as well."
With her brow furrowed, Ms. Hughes replied: "I can appreciate your concern about war. No one likes war." She went on to say that "my friend President Bush" did all he could to avoid a war in Iraq, but then asserted about Iraq: "It is impossible to say that the rights of women were better under Saddam Hussein than they are today." She said that women had been tortured, raped and killed under the leadership ousted by American troops.
I hope Hughes is getting a sense of that effective public diplomacy has to be connected to an effective enlightened foreign and national security policy. It can't be all smiles and dithering assertions about Bush's real intentions. We need to resolve many of the key grievances that our global audience has with us now -- and perhaps Karen Hughes has just heard a dose of that. . .whether she wants to acknowledge it or not.
-- Steve Clemons
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Ms. Hughes has all the diplomatic subtlety of a Mack truck. Sending someone with absolutely no understanding of the Middle East and no diplomacy skills to do this job was ludicrous.
They think a PR hack can be a diplomat. They think everything is about PR, yet they see no connection between their policies and a negative image. Are they stupid? Telling the rest of the world to go to hell has worked for them domestically at election time. But whatever gave them the idea they could take this show abroad?
Similarly to Karl Rove, Ms. Hughes is not interested in the actual reconstruction of the US' tarnished image abroad, but rather in the appearance of trying to repair it. This adminsitration is All. About. The. Politics.
since nothing is really going to happen around getting troops out of Iraq, or threatening Iran and Syria, or our unwavering support of Israel, what's the point anyway? CNN can run a puff piece about how that nice Mrs. Hughes tried so hard, but those pesky Arabs just wouldn't cooperate.
The value to Bush of Ms Hughes in the past has been her ability to hear the voices and translate them to the tone deaf Bush. On this trip, it must be clear to Ms Hughes that the Bush personna that appeals to his American base is immensely irritating to the rest of the world. My guess is that Ms Hughes will not be able to overcome the Bush propensity to label everyone who opposes his ideas, both domestically and internationally, as "evil doers that need to be punished".
Hughes will get nowhere and reveal herself to be exactly what she is each and every time she bald face lies saying "'my friend President Bush' did all he could to avoid a war in Iraq." Everybody knows this is a Big Lie, including Hughes. If these guys continue to think they can bullshit the world they had better quick figure out which of their Lies everybody already knows.
"'my friend President Bush' did all he could to avoid a war in Iraq."
This is reminiscent of Hughes insisting to Tucker Carlson that Bush never uses profanity after she and he had jointly witnessed Bush engage in a profanity laced tirade. The Hughes way is to act indignant; constantly reiterate her "facts"; and overtalk anyone who disagrees. It works pretty well with most of the MSM. Here, not so much.
It She is no more qualified for her job than Brownie was for his,yet she sailed through her confirmation.
I take off my hat to those strong, articulate Turkish women.
Where do the Karen Hugheses (plural of Hughes?) of the world get the idea that if you push a line hard enough and often enough that the listener will see the correctness of it?
It's reminiscent of the tourist in a foreign country who doesn't know the local language speaking loudly and slowly in his language expecting that the natives should understand (if they only tried hard enough).
Watching the ReThuglicans come apart like this would be very exciting if it wasn`t so painful to have to experience the results of their incompetence
"We, the people..." are in some very Deep Sh*t here folks & saying "we`re sorry" afterwards ain`t gonna clear it up
"Being called partisan and vindictive by Tom DeLay is like being called ugly by a frog." - Ronnie Earle
Effective public diplomacy also has to be connected in some way to reality. The reality is that Bush pushed for a preemptive war and in no way did all he could to avoid war. Our former allies know that quite well.
Until the citizenry of this country cares enough to stand up and push for accountability on that account, we'll continue to be viewed quizzically as missing in action. Hughes' performance is courtesy of our neglect.
Aside from the creepy "Minister of Propaganda" picture she embodies. She's out there talking to these people like they were children, in simplistic sentences. Doesn't she know that not everyone is as dumb as her boss. She will be confronted by those with real issues, concerns and anger. And her answer is "My friend President Bush...Blah blah blah"? Good grief!.
I'm curious about this administration's seemingly singular obsession with woman's rights in the middle east. I think it underlies a fundamental lack of strategy for creating this greater change. This is the second person who has pushed this effort (the First Lady and Now Karen Hughes). And I'm willing to bet that the Secretary of State probably also met with womans groups as well. Its not that I am saying that womans rights aren't important. Its just that this seems to be the main and only thrust of this public diplomacy effort. With the exception of a few timid attempts at greater political reform in the middle east, there has been little done to promote this greater agenda for change outlined by the neo conservatives.
I think a far more effective and worthwhile program would be to emulate some of European Union's Aid programs in Eastern Europe that operated in the 1990s (like PHARE). these were intended to enhance political development in the region, and were exceptionally successful. Several of these programs tied aid to political development, which helped consolidate the tenuous roots democracy in the region. Although at the end of the line the EU could dangle Membership as the ultimate carrot, this does not mean there isn't any worth in such a program. I think what is deparately needed is to restructure the US aid programs in the middle east away from the cold war mentality. Giving Egypt and Jordan almost a billion dollars to balance against Israel is pointless, and ultimately rooted in a cold war politics rather than the new political system that the bush administration believes in ( giving Israel billions as well is just as pointless... but thats a whole other ball of wax). Maintaining this system only helps to perpetuate the current system that exists.
re Susan's post earlier. It's hard to believe this administration takes "public diplomacy" seriously enough to assign someone of Hughes'stature to it. Up till a couple years ago, she was one of the most important of W's handlers. It's certainly not surprising to see her back now. But why, specfically, was she appointed to this public diplomacy thing? Just a ploy to get her a high-ranking job in the state department? Or what?
bakho -
"...value to Bush of Ms Hughes in the past has been her ability to hear the voices and translate them to the tone deaf Bush"
While she could hear Texans and to some degree Americans, who thinks she can hear international people since she spends so much time telling them what to believe? Even is she does gain understanding I agree w/ bakho how could she get through to Bush.
"I'm curious about this administration's seemingly singular obsession with woman's rights in the middle east."
It's a clever attempt to disguise the fact that Bush is actively DESTROYING the rights of ALL women. (In addition, he hopes it will generate support for his war.)
When Bush speaks of "Women's Rights," we are offered yet another example of his masterful use of doublespeak.
According to Planned Parenthood:
"Since his first day in office, George W. Bush has appeased his domestic hard-right political base by pursuing a steady campaign to eliminate reproductive freedom. He has revived retrograde anti-choice policies, installed religious political extremists in key administration posts and on the federal bench, and pushed ideology rather than scientific or medical evidence in domestic and international reproductive health policy. With all these measures, the Bush administration and its allies in Congress threaten women's rights and health, not only in the U.S., but around the world. The effects will be felt first and foremost by poor women everywhere, but will ultimately touch everyone."
Hughes' grand tour might become important for the US of A internally if she actually hears what is said to her, if she is then is able to pass it on largely unfiltered to Little George, Big Dick and Field Marshall von Rumsfeld et al, if then they actually hear the message, if what is heard actuall leads to some intelligent policy choices, and if said choices are actually implemented without being gutted for partisan political reasons. I'm not holding my breath. Meanwhile, Pat Lang scathingly summarizes the damage that the "Innocent Abroad" is doing to our interests on the ground over there.
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2005/09/the_undersecret.html
Hughes is a former local TV anchor who did PR for Bush and was very good at getting him women's votes. And she had no knowledge, background, or expertise for this job at State as she clearly shows on page 258 of her book, Ten Minutes to Normal. A week after September 11, 2001, Hughes was helping to polish Bush’s speech to be given before the Joint Session of Congress. She called Condi Rice at NSC and wanted to learn more about the cruelty of the Taliban. Richard Clarke and Zalmay Khalilzad were sent over to brief her, and she asked them, “What’s it like to live in Afghanistan?” She continues:
“Little girls weren’t allowed to go to school; women weren’t allowed to leave their homes without a male relative; even flying a kite or listening to songs on the radio was banned. The seeds of my passion for the women and children of Afghanistan were planted that day as I learned that this brutal government had smothered even small displays of joy.”
I'm sure she is quite sincere but hasn't advanced much beyond that in the past four years. The hearts and flowers/ "I'm just a Mom" message isn't going to play well in the Middle East and will only work at IWF or some other Republican women's group here in US. Our actions speak louder than PR words. If she continues to talk this way on future trips, I'd suggest we send a violinist to accompany her.
Before George W. Bush was the governor of Texas, he owned a piece of the Texas Rangers baseball team headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. At around the same time, Karen Hughes was employed at the local TV station as the assistant to the noon weather-person. Her assignment was to stand outside above a nearby freeway overpass, umbrella in hand, describing the rain. Do we wonder how we got from there to here?
It goes to show how philosophically bankrupt this administration is when comes to understanding the concepts of freedom, liberty, and democracy. The Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.
I know that the Post ran act one of Karen Hughes on tour on the front page below the fold with a nice headline to appeal to the women of America. The Post buried the Abramoff associates linked to mob-land killing inside.
Today's paper had the Turkish women give Hughes 'what-for' buried in the inner pages where only the diligent 'women of America' would pay attention.
Somehow, people think that it has something to do with policy. Nothing this group does has anything to do with advancing policy -- it's all politics.
And as TBogg has reported -- Hughes has a winning way with women and their issues.
We need to resolve many of the key grievances that our global audience has with us now -- and perhaps Karen Hughes has just heard a dose of that. . .whether she wants to acknowledge it or not.
But if she doesn't acknowledge it, much less do anything to resolve those grievances, what makes her trip a 'smashing success'? Her unresponsiveness only reinforces the convictions abroad that this administration is deaf to criticism and unchangeable.
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