We've all heard foreign diplomats being interviewed on radio and TV. Can our diplomats penetrate the Arab and Muslim media in the same way? No. The report also raised serious concerns about the deficiency in personnel who can speak the languages of the region. The group found that the State Department has only 54 Arabic speakers with a reasonable level of fluency, and only a handful of those are able and willing to participate in media discussion on Arab television and radio. The report calls for 300 fluent Arabic speakers within two years and another 300 by 2008 . (Full text here (http://www.rice.edu/projects/reno/Newsrel/2004/20031002_group.shtml))The report cited is Changing Minds Winning Peace: A new Strategic Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab & Muslim World, by the U.S. government's Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab & Muslim World.

How about turning a fraction of our $87 billion loose on an effort to get us some damn Arab speakers in the U.S. government and military? Maybe we could offer $100,000 bonuses to any government employee who can pass an Arab fluency test two years from today?

:m: Peace.

Of course we can talk money Goofy

Where's the profit in understanding the Arabic for 'No thank you'?

If you can communicate you can negotiate and who wants that?
Dee Cee

Originally posted by goofyfish

How about turning a fraction of our $87 billion loose on an effort to get us some damn Arab speakers in the U.S. government and military? Maybe we could offer $100,000 bonuses to any government employee who can pass an Arab fluency test two years from today?


$87 billion / $100,000 = 870,000 Arab speaking government employees.

Originally posted by goofyfish
How about turning a fraction of our $87 billion loose on an effort to get us some damn Arab speakers in the U.S. government and military? Maybe we could offer $100,000 bonuses to any government employee who can pass an Arab fluency test two years from today?

:m: Peace. [/B]

Save your money guys, IT WONT WORK, even if you recruit thousands of Arabic speaking americans, it WONT work.

I read the report about the american image in the muslim world, as everyone knows, America is so hated in the arab and the muslim world that this hate and resentment reached a scary level that is affecting american interests there.

the problem with this report is that its AUTHORS are SO DUMB, they suggested spending more on PR, how MORONIC ?

The only way to win the hearts and minds of MY people in the arab and the muslim world is to CHANGE your foriegn policies which are very anti muslim, you have to STOP supporting the nazi terrorist state of Israel, you have to stop supporting our dictators , this is how you can win the hearts and minds....anything else will be just waste of time and money.

How can for example explain to me as arab and muslim the AMERICAN VETO used in the UN security council 2 weeks ago to stop a UN RESOLUTION condeming Israel for building the aparthied wall !!!! no matter how many arab speakers you bring, no matter how you can spin it, the fact that America used its VETO in the UN to block a resolution condeming Israel for building a racist aparthied wall on our land is ENOUGH to generate more anti american hate and resentment.

after VETOING the resolution, the arab states took the resolution to the UN general assembly and guess what happened there ?

114 NATION AROUND THE WORLD VOTED WITH THE RESOLUTION CONDEMING THE NAZI TERRORIST STATE OF ISRAEL FOR BUILDING THE WALL, ONLY ISRAEL, AMERICA AND 2 AMERICAN-CONTROLED SMALL ISLANDS VOTED AGAINST !!

How are you going to win the hearts and minds in the arab world when yet again, the TERRORIST American government support always terror and injustice ????

So my friends, DONT waste your money, CHANGE YOUR F**** FORIEGN POLICIES IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE OUR HEARTS AND MINDS....COSMICAL SURGERY WONT WORK.

Save your money guys, IT WONT WORK, even if you recruit thousands of Arabic speaking americans, it WONT work.Now ... just work with me here for a moment, Proud Syrian.

Let's say the options, when you get right down to it, are dualistic: discord or harmony.

Just what do you think the chances are for harmony if nobody understands the Islamic and also the Arab aspects of this debate?

Do you think that maybe, just maybe, as we get more and more people trying to figure out what the pages say, someone might get the message and start transmitting it?

And even if you want to call it an outside possibility, it's still better than not trying at all.

Focus on the message, not the messenger...If you come from a wealthy country with open borders, unless you seriously believe you can kill, imprison or occupy all your enemies, you have to make a world with more friends and fewer enemies – with more partners and fewer terrorists. (Full text here (http://www.newhavenregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10445122&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=6))Former President Bill Clinton, speaking at Yale on Friday.

:m: Peace.