Hi, this is Uncle Sam

Most countries may be somewhat hesitant to commit their troops to its war in West Asia, but the Bush administration is clearly not lacking f...

Most countries may be somewhat hesitant to commit their troops to its war in West Asia, but the Bush administration is clearly not lacking for conscripts. In the first wave of invasion they include singers Norah Jones, Sting and Lenny Kravitz. The Arab world8217;s young, the US State Department reckons, are its future leaders and must be won over before they can be recruited to the armies of anti-Americanism. Accordingly, 4 million has been allocated toward a glossy monthly magazine, called Hi. Targeted at the 18-to-35 age group, its inaugural issues brim with the pursuits of American pop stars and the meditations of New Age gurus. In case someone missed the agenda, a coordinator at Foggy Bottom told The Washington Post, it is a 8220;subtle8221; way of propagating American values.

Subtle? Bludgeoning Arab youth with giant baseball bats and making them sing 8220;Yankee Doodle8221; would be more subtle. In large swathes of the world fragments of Americana 8212; Hollywood thrillers, rock lyrics, breathless fan magazines 8212; are scrutinised for hidden imperial design. That fear may often be unwarranted, but Hi8217;s success as a propaganda vehicle must be in doubt. This is not to say that propaganda wars are not instructive for the target audience. During the Cold War, Indians enjoyed subsidised reading matter, with the Americans surreptitiously aiding literary journals and the Soviets flooding them with cheap editions of Russian classics. Arab twentysomethings too are bound to benefit from erudite introductions to such career options as digital art. But will this drive them to echo that now famous French headline, we are all American? Hmm.

Perhaps Colin Powell8217;s deputies are so engrossed in their current project to defeat anti-Americanism that they forget another project that8217;s moved apace: Globalisation. Gone are the days when ignorance about America stemmed from lack of exposure. Today, with the information revolution, its cultural products can be easily accessed in metros and monasteries alike. Today, those who oppose America 8212; for reasons fair or untenable 8212; do so because they are inundated with information and cannot order it all into a coherent whole. So instead, of eschewing politics, perhaps Hi should engage the Arab world on the abundant fears and misconceptions that fuel anti-Americanism.