re: The US Are Talking To You

From: Jacques Du Pasquier (jacques@dtext.com)
Date: Mon Nov 12 2001 - 04:26:12 MST


Amara Graps wrote (12.11.2001/00:17) :
> >Do the US already effectively communicate their views to the people, in
> >their own language ?
>
> According to the latest Economist, it started just this last week. Before
> this last week, the US administration's broadcast presented in English
> lame messages ("Attention Taliban. You are condemned. Did you know that?")
> Now diplomats are responding directly on the local al-Jazeera network,
> giving interviews in Arabic.

Thanks for the info. That's certainly good (I couldn't find the
translated transcripts of the interviews with Google though). I still
think that something that lasts could be useful. Words said on TV are
readily wiped out by persuasion from people present in your physical
environment.

And answering (hostile) questions is not the same as freely choosing
to introduce yourself in some way. Something that all could refer to,
and discuss ; and that Americans would somehow endorse, too (compare
with talks of diplomats we don't even know about). Something a bit
deeper, broader...

I heard some Afghanis were actually convinced by the Talibans that the
food dropped by US airplanes was poisonned, and starved to death
instead of eating it...



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