MEMORANDUM

TO: Karen Hughes,
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy

FROM: Ramez Maluf

RE: Rebranding America

You have accepted what must be one of the hardest jobs the U.S. government has to offer: coordinating American public diplomacy and improving the image of the United States in the Arab world. The post has already chewed up several of your predecessors, including high–flying advertising executive Charlotte Beers. It’s a particularly difficult portfolio because you have to operate within the parameters of a foreign policy that is deeply unpopular in the Arab world. Events such as the elections in Iraq and Afghanistan are helpful, of course, and progress on Middle East peace would be a boon for relations. But you’ll probably struggle to improve the image of America in the face of hostile Arab public opinion.

It’s a daunting but essential undertaking—and not just for Americans. Enmity between the United States and the Arab world does Arabs no good; Arab ambitions can only be achieved through the development of a positive and constructive relationship with the West in general, and the United States in particular. Here are some suggestions from the Arab side of the fence.

Create an Alternate Reality: For too long, Americans have thought of Arabs primarily in terms of regional conflicts. Arabs, in turn, have looked at the United States mainly through the prism of its policies on such divisive issues as Palestinian rights. To Americans, the word “Arab” conjures images of war, terrorism, and political Islam. To Arabs, the “United States” connotes a pro–Israel superpower that is occupying Iraq and imposing political and cultural changes. These...