White House Watch: Can Karen Hughes save U.S. diplomacy?
Some diplomats are worried that the continued drop in support and respect for the United States around the world and especially in Muslim nations will be irreversible unless the administration moves quicker to step up public diplomacy. Citing polls in nations like Egypt, where support for the United States is around 10 percent, American diplomats interviewed this week said that the State Department must fast take a different approach to address the issue.
"It's really getting bad," said a key diplomat. Officials said the administration must also try a different approach to pushing democracy in friendly Arab nations, rather than the blunt campaign by top officials like Secretary of State Condi Rice, who this week traveled to the Middle East to rap countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia on their lagging democratic advances. The officials also worry that the administration's bid to build a public diplomacy and cultural affairs operation, headed by Bush aides Karen Hughes and Dina Habib Powell, is off to a slow start.
Powell's nomination is being held up, and Hughes isn't even slated to arrive in Washington, where she still faces a confirmation vote, until the fall. The frustration of some diplomats has even prompted quiet criticism of Hughes for waiting so long after her March nomination to join the team. She plans to stay in Texas until her son begins college. "She should have joined immediately," said one diplomat. Another worry mentioned this week: If President Bush makes a recess appointment of John Bolton, his stalled U.N. nominee, angered senators may permanently block the confirmation of Hughes and Powell.