Office of Global Communications

In February 2002, the White House decided to "transform the administration's temporary wartime communications effort into a permanent office of global diplomacy to spread a positive image of the United States around the world and combat anti-Americanism."

The temporary offices which comprised the Coalition Information Center had been established shortly after September 11, 2001, as "a temporary effort to rebut Taliban disinformation about the Afghan war." 

The Office of Global Communications (OGC) was established in July 2002 by the Bush administration "to formulate and coordinate messages to foreign audiences." It was fully staffed to "coordinate the administration's foreign policy message and supervise America's image abroad." 

The OGC was made official January 21, 2003, by President George W. Bush through Executive Order: Establishing the Office of Global Communications. The office was to be headed by a Deputy Assistant to the President for Global Communications. 

Background
The "1999 reorganization that placed the previously independent USIA within the U.S. Department of State and cut loose international broadcasting efforts ha[d] not been effective in addressing th[e] challenge" of nurturing "positive long-term relations with foreign publics and opinion leaders." It was equally unsuccessful at reversing "America's declining image abroad." 

Good Intentions
The Office of Global Communications, a component of the Executive Office of the President, is "revving up a global effort to defuse its image as arrogant and overbearing," Reuters journalist Randall Mikkelsen wrote January 24, 2003. The OGC is organizing "daily telephone conference calls to coordinate foreign policy messages among U.S. government agencies and representatives of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This is supplemented by a 'Global Messenger' e-mail of talking points sent almost daily to administration officials, U.S. embassies, Congress and others." However, the Bush administration's effort to overcome its arrogant image suffered a blow in February 2003 when Europeans responded negatively to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's dismissal of French and German opposition to U.S. war talk as an example of "old Europe" out of touch with the world.

Contact details
URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ogc/

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Counter-Information Team
 * Office of Strategic Communication
 * Office of Strategic Influence
 * Public Diplomacy
 * Rendon Group
 * Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

Documents & Info

 * "Executive Order: Establishing the Office of Global Communications," January 21, 2003.
 * Press Conference, "Tucker A. Eskew, Director, White House Office of Global Communications," January 24, 2003.
 * About the White House Office of Global Communications, accessed July 29, 2005.
 * Office of Global Communications (EOP, The White House Office), AmericanPresident.org, accessed July 29, 2005.

Web Series

 * Gar Smith, "America's Ministry of Propaganda Exposed", WorldNewsstand.net, December 2003:
 * Part 1: "A Strategy of Lies: How the White House Fed the Public a Steady Diet of Falsehoods"
 * Part 2: "Transforming Language to Market the 'Big Lie'"
 * Part 3: "Targeting Critics, Spreading Lies, and PSYOPS"
 * Part 4: "Black Programs and the Future of Propaganda"

Articles & Commentary

 * Elizabeth Becker and James Dao, "Bush Will Keep Wartime Office Promoting U.S.," New York Times (InfoShop News), February 20, 2002: "President Bush has decided to transform the administration's temporary wartime communications effort into a permanent office of global diplomacy to spread a positive image of the United States around the world and combat anti-Americanism."
 * Karen DeYoung, "Bush to Create Formal Office To Shape U.S. Image Abroad," Washington Post (Elfis Forum), July 30, 2002.
 * Randall Mikkelsen, "U.S. Revs Up PR Machine as Iraq War Looms," Reuters, January 24, 2003.
 * Howard Fineman, "The Global War for Hearts and Minds. The White House is counting on images of 'smiling Iraqis'," Newsweek, March 19, 2003.
 * "'Embedded' Reporters Key To White House PR Plan," PRWeek, March 24, 2003; posted on PRWatch Forum.
 * "White House's 'Global PR Network' Used to 'Dominate' War Coverage. 'White House prepares to feed 24-hour news cycle'," PRWeek, March 27, 2003; posted on Subliminal News website.
 * [http://www.prwatch.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-2089.html
 * Kari Lydersen, "An Army of Propaganda from the White House Office of Global Communication," Alternet, March 31, 2003.
 * Stephen Johnson and Helle Dale, "How to Reinvigorate U.S. Public Diplomacy,", Heritage Foundation, April 23, 2003.
 * "Eskew leaves Bush administration," The Greenville News, November 14, 2003: "Tucker Eskew, who has worked for the Bush administration since 2001, resigned as deputy assistant to the president and director of the Office of Global Communication to start his own consulting firm."
 * "Asheesh Jain named to Office of Global Communication," Indian American Center for Political Awareness, December 2003.
 * "Bush hires Indo-American to woo Muslims," INDOlink, December 4, 2003.