President Obama’s Af-Pak Public Outreach

Rarely have the messages delivered by U.S. Presidents reached the non-English speaking audience in its original form. Op-eds in local newspapers, new-feeds in primary national languages and reactions of domestic political leadership are the most common sources for the non-English populace of developing countries to access any speech delivered by the U.S. President. Such sources often tend to be opinionated and do not allow the local population to comprehend the real message.
The Obama Administration has sought to enlarge its public outreach by connecting to the common people without via medium of their governments. Given the widespread public distrust of national leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama Administration is spreading word about the President’s approach to the region in local language and through widely accessible mediums. Following President Obama’s West Point Speech last week (transcripts are available in Urdu, Dari, Pashtu and Arabic), Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has recorded two video messages for the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Secretary Clinton has directly addressed the people of the two countries in these messages with the objective of explaining President Obama’s future strategy in the region. The video message is available for downloads on the internet and mobile phones. Click to continue…