ENCOURAGING CREDIBLE VOICES TO COUNTER VIOLENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 127045


FOR AMBASSADORS AND PAOS FROM UNDER SECRETARY GLASSMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/18
TAGS: KPAO OPRC OIIP
SUBJECT: ENCOURAGING CREDIBLE VOICES TO COUNTER VIOLENT
EXTREMISM

CLASSIFIED BY: UNDER SECRETARY JAMES K. GLASSMAN FOR
REASONS 1.4 (B AND D)


1. (C) SUMMARY/ACTION REQUEST: I request Public
Affairs Sections at designated posts to report on how
posts work with influential host country figures -
"credible voices" -- to disseminate and support key U.S.
messages on countering violent extremism and other
issues of crucial import to our strategic communications
goals in your posts. Please refer to the questions in
paragraph 5 and report to R and your Bureau PD Office by
December 8, 2008. Thank you, James K. Glassman

BEGIN TEXT


2. (C) I was designated by the President to lead the
interagency effort in the War of Ideas/strategic
communications. The Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC)
for Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communication, which
I chair, has made excellent progress in the
past five months to energize the interagency, develop
new models for engagement, and establish new lines of
cooperation and funding to get these projects and
programs implemented, all with a focus on pushing back
against violent ideologies, and providing positive
alternatives to those who may be at risk of
radicalization.


3. (C) In December 2007, Secretary Rice and Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs Steve Hadley
discussed ways to build counter movements that oppose
violent extremism, create space for credible voices that
oppose violence and terrorism, and engage the private
sector/private actors in creative public diplomacy
programs that de-legitimize violence as a political
tool, and advance a more positive vision for engagement.
Both agreed that this effort needed renewed emphasis and
called for a global approach.


4. (SBU) In order to consider he we can most effectively
work with host country "credible voices" to advance our
agenda, the PCC created a Credible Voices Working Group
comprising personnel from the State Department, the
Department of Defense, and the intelligence community.
For more information, officers can refer to the
unclassified Credible Voices Intellipedia page at
www.intelink.ic.gov/wiki/Credible_Voices.


5. (C) The Working Group and the PCC will meet in early
December to assess how we can best identify and employ
credible voices to counter extremist messages,
deconstruct extremist arguments, and curb extremist
appeal. To help us give all interagency stakeholders a
sense of current conditions in the field, we ask you to
tell us how your EMBASSY Public Affairs Section
encourages host country nationals to disseminate, echo,
support, or facilitate public messages of interest to
us. Among the questions you may wish to address are the
following:

-- To what extent does your Country Team work together
to produce and manage a unified contact list/contact
management system?

-- To what extent do credible and influential host
country individuals and institutions publicly support
our messaging efforts in countering violent extremism?

-- What is the impact of these individuals and
institutions on public opinion and government policy in
your host country?

-- How and to what extend to you encourage them to speak
out?

-- How do you identify and cultivate individuals you
believe can serve as credible voices?

-- What sort of list of credible voices do you maintain
now, and how many names are on that list?

-- What type of person or sectors of society are the
most influential credible voices in your host society?

-- How do you work with other EMBASSY Sections in these
efforts?

-- What traditional Public Diplomacy programs and
products do you use in your efforts to identify and
encourage credible voices?

-- What additional support can/should Washington provide
in these efforts?

-- Please feel free to address any issues or concerns
not covered by these questions.


6. (C) I realize that many of us in public diplomacy
are not used to thinking of our contacts in terms of
"credible voices." But since the early days of USG-
organized public diplomacy programs, we have always
sought to use our array of programs and the skills of
our public diplomacy professionals in the field to
understand, engage, inform, and influence foreign
publics in ways favorable to U.S. interests, by
identifying and cultivating key influencers in host
societies. As we continue to enhance our intellectual
arsenal in the War of Ideas, I solicit your experiences
and views to ensure that our discussions in Washington
are grounded in the reality of your experience in the
field, and ask for your active participation in this
process.


7. (C) I regret the short turn-around time, but I
would appreciate receiving your input by Monday,
December 8, 2008. Thank you.


RICE