THANKS TO KEITH MINES FOR PUBLIC OUTREACH ON IRAQ

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000603 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/NCE BUDAPEST FOR AMBASSADOR AND POL:MINES E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KPAO IZ LO SUBJECT: THANKS TO KEITH MINES FOR PUBLIC OUTREACH ON IRAQ ¶1. BERT, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR "LENDING" US POLITICAL OFFICER KEITH MINES FOR A DAY OF PUBLIC OUTREACH ON HIS EXPERIENCES DURING SIX MONTHS IN IRAQ. HE SPOKE TO A VARIETY OF SLOVAK AUDIENCES JUNE 17: THE EMBASSY STAFF, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, THINK TANK MEMBERS AND OPINION MAKERS. HE DID A COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW WITH A JOURNALIST FROM ONE OF SLOVAKIA'S LEADING DAILY NEWSPAPERS AND MADE A 15-MINUTE APPEARANCE ON A LIVE PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAM ON THE TELEVISION STATION TA3, THE SLOVAK CNN. HE IS A TALENTED PUBLIC SPEAKER AND AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL, AND I'M SURE YOU WILL MISS HIM WHEN HE DEPARTS BUDAPEST THIS SUMMER. ¶2. KEITH, LET ME THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN FOR BRINGING YOUR ONE- MAN ROAD SHOW TO BRATISLAVA. IT IS TRUE THAT A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS, AND ALL YOUR AUDIENCES APPRECIATED THE CHANCE TO SEE YOUR SLIDES AND HEAR YOUR FIRST-HAND VIEWS ABOUT PROGRESS MADE AND CHALLENGES REMAINING IN IRAQ. AS THE MFA HOST DECLARED, AFTER SEEING DAILY IMAGES OF EXPLOSIONS AND ANGER, IT IS IMPORTANT TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN INCLUDING CIVIC LIFE. WEISER NNNN