ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the dance of intercultural miscommunication between Al Jazeera and American public diplomacy. The cultural differences that plague the relationship between Al Jazeera and American public diplomacy officials relate to a hidden dance described by intercultural communication scholars John Condon and Fathi Yousef. In February 2003, during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Undersecretary Beers summed up the state of America’s public diplomacy: “The gap between who we are and how we wish to be seen, and how we are in fact seen, is frighteningly wide.” American officials once again rediscovered Al Jazeera—as both an opportunity and a concern. Before the war started, American political and military leaders were actively courting the Qatari network as part of their public diplomacy efforts. American public diplomacy goals have run head-on into Al Jazeera’s goal to remain independent and speak to its viewers.
