DiploNews – Issue 55 – 12 June 2003
Call for Applications – Bilateral Diplomacy Online Course
DiploFoundation invites you to apply for our online course “Bilateral Diplomacy”, running from August 11 to October 16, 2003. The objective of this course is to acquaint participants with bilateral diplomacy; one of the essential building blocks of international relations. Teaching of basic theory is combined with concrete experience that is the result of actual practice of diplomacy. The course should give participants a complete overview of the content and methods of bilateral diplomacy, with practical examples that equip them to analyse international affairs.
For more information or to apply: Visit the course website or e-mail Sylvana Bugeja at s.bugeja@diplomacy.edu.
Internships and Volunteer Positions with DiploFoundation
DiploFoundation has immediate online volunteer and internship positions for researchers on Internet Society Governance as part of our preparations for the World Summit on the Information Society.
Would you like to work, volunteer or carry out an internship in a truly international environment?
To see your ideas contribute to the development of programs and tools to improve access for countries with limited human and financial resources to diplomacy and international relations?
To cooperate with colleagues from a great variety of professional and national backgrounds, including experienced diplomats, former ministers of foreign affairs, ambassadors, academics, experts in international relations and international law, and advanced IT professionals?
To work in a flexible, innovative and open work environment?
If so, click here for more information on DiploFoundation work, volunteer and internship opportunities.
What’s in a name?
In March 2003 the US offensive against Iraq was given the name “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” Until this point, preparations for the attack were referred to under the name of “Operation Enduring Freedom,” the name for the US war against terrorism. According to an article in Seattlepi.com military leadership had supported the name “Operation Desert Freedom” as it continued the themes established during the 1991 Persian Gulf war with “Operation Desert Shield” and “Operation Desert Storm.” However, the civilian leadership opted for the “Iraqi Freedom” version as this conveyed the message that America’s intent was to liberate the Iraqi people.
How are US military operation nicknames chosen? What importance is placed on the choosing of operation names? In a 2001 article in the International Herald Tribune (print version) William Safire explained how the initially proposed Pentagon nickname for the anti-terrorist campaign, “Operation Infinite Justice,” was quickly changed when a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations pointed out that such eternal retribution was “the prerogative of God.”
Military operation nicknames are carefully chosen instruments to shape public and international perspectives about the actions they describe. In his article “The Art of Naming Operations,” Army Lt. Col. Gregory Sieminski traces the birth of the modern trend in naming operations to the 1989 US invasion of Panama. This operation was referred to by the nonsense title “Blue Spoon” until the last minute, when top officials answered the rhetorical question posed by one general: “Do you want your grandchildren to say you served in ‘Blue Spoon’?” The name was changed to “Operation Just Cause.” Sieminski traces the history of military nomenclature and provides advice and guidelines for officials given the task of creating operation names. These are to ensure “an effectively nicknamed operation, an outcome that can help win the war of images. In that war, the operation name is the first–and quite possibly the decisive–bullet to be fired. Mold and aim it with care.”
WSIS Prepcom 3 Fellowships
Some of our readers may be interested in applying for fellowships to attend the WSIS PrepCom-3 meeting, to be held in Geneva from 15-26 September 2003.
Civil Society fellowships (application deadline July 12, 2003) details and application forms can be found on the WSIS civil society website, or by e-mail: fellowship@geneva2003.org.
Information on fellowships for Governmental representatives can be found on the WSIS website.
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