U.S.-Muslim World Relationship Woes
Sept. 19, 2007 -- This week Opportunity 08 takes a closer look at closer look at how the next president should shape a strategy for improving our relationship with the Muslim world.
In recent remarks on Iraq, President Bush said that "America has a vital interest in preventing chaos and providing hope in the Middle East. We should be able to agree that we must defeat al Qaeda, counter Iran, help the Afghan government, work for peace in the Holy Land, and strengthen our military so we can prevail in the struggle against terrorists and extremists."
But Brookings experts Peter Singer and Hady Amr say military strength is not the key to progress in the war against terrorism – they say progress is dependent on success in the "war of ideas." "In no area could the Bush Administration's foreign policy be described as meek, except for public diplomacy and strategic communications," say Amr and Singer. "The Administration's combination of an aggressive foreign policy and a feeble effort to maintain our voice and credibility in the world leaves the next President with an historic challenge."
The citizens of many predominantly Muslim nations hold a dim view of the United States. Few American political and military institutions employ people well-versed in the language or culture of the Muslim world. "By any measure, America's efforts at communicating with Muslim-majority nations since 9/11 have not been successful. The efforts have lacked energy, focus, and an overarching, integrated strategy," say Singer and Amr.
They argue that five broad principles must guide a strategy to influence foreign publics and strengthen relationships between American citizens and institutions and their counterparts abroad, including:
Dialogue: Instead of just producing propaganda, the effort should be audience-centered and designed to build dialogue. It should emphasize "listening" as much as "talking."
Outreach: Rather than "preaching to the choir," the United States should engage a varied set of regional constituencies, including social conservatives who may be controversial but carry the greatest influence within the target populations
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