Office to supervise US image abroad will stay

The White House has decided to transform what was a temporary effort to rebut Taliban disinformation about the Afghan war into a permanent, fully staffed ‘‘Office of Global Communications’’ to coordinate the administration’s foreign policy message and supervise America’s image abroad, senior officials said.

The office, due to be up and running by fall, will allow the White House to exert more control over the hottest areas of government and private-sector initiatives since Sept. 11.

Known as ‘‘public diplomacy,’’ it attempts to address the question President Bush posed in his speech to Congress after the attacks: ‘‘Why do they hate us?’’ Headed by a yet-to-be-named ‘‘counsellor to the President,’’ the office would expand many of the responsibilities of the White House Coalition Information Center. (LATWP)