Back on September 3rd in this space, I lamented how poorly we as a nation present ourselves and our values to skeptical - if not downright hostile - overseas audiences. I argued that our government did a very poor job of street-level diplomacy, and urged that we bring back the US Information Agency to do the work of presenting the American story.

Within the Department of State, there exists the position of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, currently occupied by Karen Hughes. This organization has taken the mantle of the old USIA, and runs an active program of public information, public diplomacy, and outreach to other countries, and you can learn more about it - as I did - by visiting its website at http://www.state.gov/r/.

It's impossible to overemphasize the importance of this organization at this time in our history. When America, despite all the good it does in the world, is the focus of such unreasoning hatred, we must do a better job of presenting our face to the world. We will never change the opinions of those Islamic radicals whose minds have been utterly poisoned by incompetent and intolerant religious leaders. But we must work on those people who can still be reached...who can still make up their own minds and understand that there is a larger and better world beyond the stark black-and-white images thundered in hate-filled Friday sermons.

Ms Hughes, more power to you. Good luck with one of the toughest and most thankless jobs in the US government. I can only hope that a president who has shown himself to be staggeringly incompetent at diplomacy will give you the resources and the support you need to save us from the mess he's gotten us into.

Read Ms Hughes' article titled, Where's the Outrage at http://www.state.gov/r/us/72062.htm, think about it, and forward it to others. It's one of the best of the many pieces of commentary that have appeared in connection with the fifth anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Have a good day. More thoughts in the coming days.

Bilbo