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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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 Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:31 pm Post subject: Donald Rumsfeld, management guru |
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Modernisation is crucial to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide who are bombarded with negative images of the West, Mr Rumsfeld told the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Pentagon chief said today's weapons of war included email, Blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras and web logs, or blogs.
"Our enemies have skilfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but . . . our country has not adapted," Mr Rumsfeld said. "For the most part, the US Government still functions as a five and dime store in an eBay world," Mr Rumsfeld said, comparing old-fashioned US retail stores and the online auction house.
Mr Rumsfeld said military public affairs officers must learn to anticipate news and respond faster, and good public affairs officers should be rewarded with promotions.
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I think Rumsfeld is overstating the importance of technology here. The problem with selling the US brand isn't that the packaging isn't snazzy enough, the problem is that people aren't buying the product itself.
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Mr Rumsfeld lamented that vast media attention about US abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq outweighed that given to the discovery of "Saddam Hussein's mass graves".
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This encapsulates the problem with Rumsfeld's thinking. You could have 24-7 coverage of Saddam's mass graves, it's not gonna matter one whit to someone who instinctively feels a burning sense of humiliation at the mere presence of American troops in his country. Most people in the Al Qaeda demographic probably already know that Saddam wasn't exactly a nice guy. Not to mention that he was an American ally when a lot of those mass graves were being filled.
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He also lashed out at the US media, which he blamed for effectively halting recent military initiatives in the information realm - such as paying to place articles in Iraqi newspapers - through an "explosion of critical press stories".
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Ads disguised as articles is an example of Rumsfeld's bold, non-traditional, "learning-from-Al-Qaeda" approach? I doubt that Al Qaeda has to bribe too many editors to get their point accross. Bin laden's videotapes are usually viewed as news in their own right.
I think the following remarks from Ted Kennedy pretty much sum it up...
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Democrat Senator Ted Kennedy immediately criticised Mr Rumsfeld as missing the point.
"Clearly, we need to improve our public diplomacy and information age communication in the Muslim world," Senator Kennedy said in a statement. "But nothing has done more to encourage increased al-Qaeda recruitment and made America less safe than the war in Iraq and the incompetent way it's been managed.
"Our greatest failure is our policy."
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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chiaa
Joined: 23 Aug 2003
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:49 pm Post subject: Re: Donald Rumsfeld, management guru |
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[quote="On the other hand"]
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Modernisation is crucial to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide who are bombarded with negative images of the West, Mr Rumsfeld told the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Pentagon chief said today's weapons of war included email, Blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras and web logs, or blogs.
"Our enemies have skilfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but . . . our country has not adapted," Mr Rumsfeld said. "For the most part, the US Government still functions as a five and dime store in an eBay world," Mr Rumsfeld said, comparing old-fashioned US retail stores and the online auction house.
Mr Rumsfeld said military public affairs officers must learn to anticipate news and respond faster, and good public affairs officers should be rewarded with promotions.
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I think Rumsfeld is overstating the importance of technology here. The problem with selling the US brand isn't that the packaging isn't snazzy enough, the problem is that people aren't buying the product itself.
Do you really believe that? Take Korea for instance. In general there is a hatred towards America the brand. But, give them a visa and you will get a lot of those haters living there. Hell how many times have you seen people pretesting America but in appearance being American?
As much as I do not like the guy, he is 100% right with this. Believe it or not, the US needs a good marketing team to promote its image. That's where the US is getting the shit kicked out of them. |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:17 pm Post subject: Re: Donald Rumsfeld, management guru |
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| chiaa wrote: |
| Believe it or not, the US needs a good marketing team to promote its image. That's where the US is getting the *beep* kicked out of them. |
I hear Stone and Parker would do anything if the price were right- even work for Rumsfeld... |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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Do you really believe that? Take Korea for instance. In general there is a hatred towards America the brand. But, give them a visa and you will get a lot of those haters living there. Hell how many times have you seen people pretesting America but in appearance being American?
As much as I do not like the guy, he is 100% right with this. Believe it or not, the US needs a good marketing team to promote its image. That's where the US is getting the *beep* kicked out of them.
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Point taken, but I'm not sure how applicable it is outside of South Korea or countries like it. In South Korea, it hasn't gotten to the point where people are willing to pick up a gun and start shooting Americans and American allies.
Plus, even if it were applicable to the Muslim countries, it would prove a little bit TOO much for your thesis. If the US p.r. machine is doing a crappy job, but people in Muslim countries are still lining up for US visas, it would seem to demonstrate that re: things where the US already has a good image("land of prosperity" and whatnot), the official p.r machine doesn't matter.
Basically, I'd say that people form their opinions about the US, positive or negative, from simple observation. Most people know of someone who went to the US and got a great degree or opened a successful business, so they conclude that America is a place to go for material success in life. North Korea(for example) could bombard the Middle East night and day with propganda portraying the US as a land of starving beggars and dirt huts, and it wouldn't cjange the perception. Similarly, if a guy knows that its US warplanes which took out his entire village, he's gonna have a negative view of US foreign policy. And any pro-US propganda served up as rebuttal will be about as effective as the anti-US stuff from North Korea. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:22 am Post subject: Re: Donald Rumsfeld, management guru |
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| chiaa wrote: |
| On the other hand wrote: |
Modernisation is crucial to winning the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide who are bombarded with negative images of the West, Mr Rumsfeld told the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Pentagon chief said today's weapons of war included email, Blackberries, instant messaging, digital cameras and web logs, or blogs.
"Our enemies have skilfully adapted to fighting wars in today's media age, but . . . our country has not adapted," Mr Rumsfeld said. "For the most part, the US Government still functions as a five and dime store in an eBay world," Mr Rumsfeld said, comparing old-fashioned US retail stores and the online auction house.
Mr Rumsfeld said military public affairs officers must learn to anticipate news and respond faster, and good public affairs officers should be rewarded with promotions.
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I think Rumsfeld is overstating the importance of technology here. The problem with selling the US brand isn't that the packaging isn't snazzy enough, the problem is that people aren't buying the product itself.
Do you really believe that? Take Korea for instance. In general there is a hatred towards America the brand. But, give them a visa and you will get a lot of those haters living there. Hell how many times have you seen people pretesting America but in appearance being American?
As much as I do not like the guy, he is 100% right with this. Believe it or not, the US needs a good marketing team to promote its image. That's where the US is getting the *beep* kicked out of them. |
That's too simplistic. The US's rep has been damaged enough where people totally shut off anything remotely tied to America. Al-Hurra isn't that bad of a news channel, but since it is known to be funded by the US gov't, no one watches it. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:29 am Post subject: |
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OTOH:
Yup. Everything you've said is spot on. |
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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igotthisguitar
Joined: 08 Apr 2003
Location: South Korea (Permanent Vacation)
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| Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:42 am Post subject: |
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Rumsfeld's growing stake in Tamiflu 
Defense Secretary, ex-chairman of flu treatment rights holder,
sees portfolio value growing.
October 31, 2005: 10:55 AM EST
By Nelson D. Schwartz, Fortune senior writer
NEW YORK (Fortune) - The prospect of a bird flu outbreak may be panicking people around the globe, but it's proving to be very good news for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other politically connected investors in Gilead Sciences, the California biotech company that owns the rights to Tamiflu, the influenza remedy that's now the most-sought after drug in the world.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/ |
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