New House Caucus on Diplomacy and War of Ideas Off and Running
Morgan Lorraine Roach /
This week the House Strategic Communications and Public Diplomacy Caucus got off to a good start in its latest efforts to explore the Obama administration’s new strategy for engaging foreign publics.
Room 121 in the Canon House office building was quickly filled as the Caucus held its first briefing on Thursday. Launched in March, the bipartisan group of Representatives is committed to improving the U.S. performance in the war of ideas. The Caucus hosted Administration officials from the primary agencies involved in the White House’s interagency strategy for public diplomacy and strategic communications including: Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications; Rosa Brooks, Senior Adviser to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy; and Kitty DiMartino, Chief of Staff for Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. The panel outlined the goals and challenges of addressing interagency coordination and a need to implement a number of strategic imperatives.