In the Issue

• Arab Media and US Policy: A Public Diplomacy Reset
• Creating a Foreign Policy Donkephant (or Elephonkey)
• CAFTA-Beneficial or Hurtful?
• Ahmadinejad and the NIE Report

Features

Arab Media and US Policy: A Public Diplomacy Reset. During the past decade and especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, numerous polls and surveys have underscored that the image of the United States in the Middle East has steadily deteriorated. And this poses a formidable challenge to the ability of the United States to engage the Arab region, casting a cloud of suspicion over US political, economic, and cultural initiatives. At the same time, US public diplomacy efforts to interact with the vibrant and expanding Arab media have been ineffective. Marwan Kraidy, an expert on Arab media and an associate professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, has written a policy analysis brief for the Stanley Foundation summarizing the situation and offering concrete policy recommendations for Washington.

Creating a Foreign Policy Donkephant (or Elephonkey). As the political season—and the political rhetoric—heat up, perhaps we can imagine what a truly healthy and constructive debate over foreign policy might look like. What if people on the left and right set aside their images and assumptions about one another and find out what each other really thinks? This is the essence of the Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide project and the book of the same name.

Beyond the Headlines

CAFTA-Beneficial or Hurtful? In July 2005, the US Congress approved the Central American-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which included the United States, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In October 2007, Costa Rica, the last country to ratify the agreement, narrowly approved a referendum in its favor, reigniting the controversy over this agreement. Supporters claim that CAFTA-DR will benefit everyone involved; the United States will profit through increased access to Central American markets, the elimination of tariffs, and preferential treatment of its inputs, while Central American countries, they argue, will be able to more quickly develop and strengthen their economies with open markets, bolstered neoliberal policies, and increased access to the US market. Critics warn that CAFTA-DR will actually hurt nearly everyone involved; while large US corporations will benefit from the arrangement, they argue that small producers and US workers will lose jobs and income to cheaper Central American labor and inputs, while Central American economies, ill-equipped to stand up to the huge economy of the United States, will not be able to compete with subsidized products, driving farmers and small companies out of business. They also point to concerns about labor standards in Central American countries and argue that continued participation in CAFTA-DR allows the US to ignore labor abuses in those countries to gain cheaper products. Still, despite any initial outcomes, CAFTA-DR is still relatively new, so many on both sides feel that they have yet to see how this agreement will play out.

Ahmadinejad and the NIE Report. Controversy surrounding the December National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report on Iran continues into the New Year. The report argues that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and will likely not be able to produce a nuclear weapon until at least 2010. The president has since defended his opposing stance on Iran, insisting "diplomatic pressure" as the primary factor influencing Iran to cease further development of its program.

Reactions from the international community have been as varied as those coming from within Washington. Israel has resisted the report's findings, declaring it proof of Washington's wavering resolve in dealing with the Iranian regime, while many other Middle Eastern leaders have expressed relief that an impending US military intervention is now less likely. While President Bush continues to insist upon isolating Iran, the European Union has had a more cautionary reaction, favoring direct talks between Washington and Tehran over dramatic economic sanctions. Russia’s December 16 delivery of uranium to Iran’s Bushehr facility has only exacerbated strain in the international community. Many see the Kremlin’s sale of nuclear material as taking an opposing stance against the West.

Perhaps the most interesting reaction can be found from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself. The Iranian president has taken to chronicling his thoughts on a now well-known blog. "It was in fact a declaration of surrender," Ahmadinejad has said in reference to the NIE report.