LOS ANGELES (YBH) – In September, President Obama embarked on a speech-making tour of the Muslim world, tagged by detractors as the “apology tour.” Other saw it as a long-overdue outreach to the Muslim world. In mid-September, the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Farah Pandith, was sworn in by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Clinton stated at the time, “our nation seeks a new beginning with Muslims around the world, a relationship based on mutual interest and mutual respect. It’s a relationship that requires us to listen, share ideas, and find areas of common ground in order to expand a peaceful, prosperous future.”
American Symbol Abroad
YBH! has undertaken a review of the main page for some U.S. Embassy websites, which are considered the most immediate reflection of White House international policy. Visit such a page and you will typically see State Department announcements, a link to a bio for an ambassador, Presidential policy statements, and links for those seeking business and education in America.
Since this fall, following on the State Department’s goal of outreach, there is often a Muslim-related link of some description.
Some examples:
–from the U.S. Embassy site for France, a report on Farah Pandith’s visit to a poverty-stricken Muslim arrondissement in Paris.
–from the U.S. Embassy site for Yemen main page, you can download a book on being Muslim in America, focusing on the stories of Chicago, New York and Detr0it-based Muslims
U.S. Embassies in some countries take a different tack. In Afghanistan, it’s infrastructure building and crime fighting. In Britain, it’s all about the U.S. efforts on international climate policy, and in Germany, the focus is America’s progress in race relations.
However, on every site, you can click on the “Reward for Justice” link and view the pages of internationally wanted Muslim terrorists with a price on their heads. That is one policy all 175 plus U.S. Embassies promote together.
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Laura spent years as a Hollywood story analyst, did a big 180, and is now an entrepreneur focused on web marketing and analytics. She's also a mom of one.Laura Glendinning article archive.
