Monday, October 24, 2005

Texas-sized public diplomacy

Speaking to university students on her image-building trip to Indonesia, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes shared her grasp of world issues:

"My state of Texas is very big," she told the students. "So you can imagine my surprise to learn that your country, Indonesia, is three times bigger than my big state of Texas."

Hughes, the leader of US image-making abroad, then dismissed students' critical questions about US foreign policy. The rector of the school, who sat next to her on stage, said her style created hostility among the students, that she talked like a mouthpiece instead of an ambassador, and that she wasted a great opportunity to have a real discussion, according to the Financial Times.

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