It is not surprising that Sherif Hamdy can write in the Daily Star that China is getting close to beating out the United States in the arena of public relations in the Arab World. I have seen maybe one or two American officials speak Arabic on Al Jazeera or Al Arabiyya regularly, and, according to the Government accountability office (via Foreign Policy Magazine’s blog and Kirk H. Sowell), only about 30% of American diplomatic personel in the Muslim world have proficancy in their host country’s language. At the US embassies in almost every Arabic speaking country I have visited (Algeria, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Lebanon), I have met US personel who struggled to communicate in Arabic, and in some I heard not one word of the language aside from “Salaam” or “Ahlan”. I have yet to see programs from the US government that resemble those that Hamdy mentions,

The popular program “Hewar Maftouh” (Open Dialogue), for example, has aired the most recent series of episodes from China. One such episode hosted a series of Arabic-speaking Chinese students sharing their thoughts about the Arab world. Al-Jazeera has also aired other specials which have been introducing Arabic audiences to China and its culture.

I have seen some programs in which American officials or students are featured, but rarely do they speak Arabic, and with even less frequency have I encountered anyone that found many of them remotely interesting.

One might say, Wait, Nouri, how many Arabic speaking American students are out there? Can you really fault the US for not being able to compete with China on public diplomacy? And to this I would say that if China, a country so culturally, religiously, linguistically, and geographically removed from the Arab World can muster up a set of students that speak Arabic well enough to be on Al Jazeera, certainly the US can. Seriously, how many Arabs live in China compared to the US? Even Latin America has been featured on some chanels, no doubt that Che Guevera and Hugo Chavez played some role in these, a region which historically has not had as much an influence in the Arab World politically.

Latin Americans are familiar with many Arabic names and foods because of the large and old Arab communities that reside there. Latin America has had more than a few Arab presidents, prime ministers, lower ministers, members of parliament (especially in Brazil where I have heard that almost a third of the parliament is Lebanese, but I am not sure of the validity of this charge), and other governmental officials (Palestinians are especially well represented in Central America). Not to mention that many Arabs have a sort of Latin fever, loving the childen and sounds of Al Andalus. Latin American countries have about the same potential for cultural bridge building as the United States, though from a different angle.

China has already begun the fight for Arab minds. I don’t really think the US has. There have been many Arabic speaking US ambassadors and envoys, but these are not given the prominance they should be, especially in the media. Too often one sees a US Congress woman (or man) from Florida who has no knowledge of Arabic speaking to Arab audiences through a translator. You hear a man’s voice speaking about US foreign policy in Arabic and beneath it a little woman’s voice in English, a very impersonal encounter indeed. US leaders of Arab descent like California Congressman Derrell Issa who have traveled to the Middle East and supported democracy there are not given enough press either in the US or the Arab World. Having someone like Congressman Issa, who met with Lebanese and Syrian leaders during the Cedar Revolution and has campaigned from a conservative point of view for democracy in the region, speak to Arab viewers would make more sense than having a random member of the House Committe on Foreign Relations who is totally impersonal and doesn’t quite carry the significance of Issa or someone esle.

Another choice would be Theodore Kattouf, former US ambassador to Syria, the UAE and has served in other Arab states. He speaks Arabic, is an Arab-American, and is more articulate when answering tough questions than many US elected officials. He is also president of AMIDEAST, an organization that works to strengthen US-Middle East relations through education, scholarships, English language training, institutional development and other such initiatives. Other American leaders like US Senator from New Hampshire John E. Sununu, a Palestinian American and member of the Foreign Relations committee. I think it would be especially wise for the US to use its Arab American leaders to its advantage. Obviously Arab audiences will not side with the US on international issues simply because they saw a fellow Arab representing the US on TV, but I do believe that it would have a positive impact. America needs to put above all Arabic speakers on TV programs, as the Chinese have. Adam Areli speaks Arabic but rarely speaks it on camera, and this is the situation with many US officials when they are on Arabic TV stations. If you’ve got it flaunt it! If you don’t have it, get it!

The other problem that Hamdy mentions is that China’s “Beijing Concensus” is more favorable in the eyes of many Arabs than is the “Washington Concensus”. This is the handicap of US policy all over the Third World: US policy is preceived as being alien or oppressive while Soviet (in past years) or Chinese policy is seen as being favorable because China too is a Third World nation that has faught imperialism and has stood with the Third World peoples in the face of Western pressure. The US must continue to promote democratization in Arab countries, even when it is not popular in the US’s domestic politics or with the dictators.

Democracy promotion must be universal and unwavering. The US has clearly wavered on this point in recent months by allowing abuses in Egypt, for example, to go without reprocussions. It must be clear that the US does not tolerate the behavior of Arab dictators anymore than other countries. And it should be articulated to the Arabs in clear Arabic, not in dubbed over robot-man Arabic or English. Even though it is perhaps impossible to take military action against every despot or to put meaningful sanctions on each criminal, statements can always be made and so can speeches. Aid can be cut, especially military aid. American leaders should write for Arabic newspapers (in translation), as Syrian officials often do. The US should make it easier for Arab students to come to the US to study, at various levels, middle school, high school and university for instance. And the US should make an effort to not be so gaudy in Arab countries (and forein countries generally). For example, the new US embassy in Baghdad will cost $592 million dollars and will be

inside the heavily fortified Green Zone by 900 non-Iraqi foreign workers whoare housed nearby and under the supervision of a Kuwaiti contractor,according to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee report.

It will be not be dependent on Iraqi electricity. This makes one ask the question: Why can’t Iraqis have electricity while this new American palace can? Way to create resentment!

The US can compete with China in the Arab World. All it needs to to do is get in the ring and change some time honored traditions like staffing embassies with people who can speak German or Italian but not Arabic. If the US keeps on its current path it is going to accomplish very little, comparatively speaking, while China makes monumental gains in the region.