USECDEF for Policy sacks Public Diplomacy Office

[champu 1]

Looks like regional commands will have more freedom in employing COIN strategies now... ...probably a good thing.

Quote

The office was created in 2007 to be the central point within the vast Pentagon bureaucracy and far-flung military to coordinate the Defense Department’s overseas information efforts with the rest of the government, in particular the White House, the State Department and American embassies.

But American military officers in Afghanistan in particular were angered last year by sets of “talking points” provided by the office for use in responding to queries on matters like civilian casualties. Officers who received the talking points predicted that the information would be seen by the Afghan public as blatant propaganda, and they refused to use them.

Officials said the Pentagon would now play a supporting role to the White House and the State Department in communicating government messages to foreign audiences, with the efforts no longer centralized in one place but assigned to each Pentagon policy office and regional military combatant commander.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/politics/16policy.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[champu 1]

...also, use of the word "sack" or "sach" up 10% in speakers corner thread titles...

...not planned, but kinda funny.

[/self hijack]

[nerdgirl 0]

Thanks for the link.

I think one can see it also as a possible indicator of a 'whole of government' approach w/r/t strategic communications.

/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying