The Ugly American

[ender]

"The Ugly American"
William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick

This book has been mentionned here on a few reading lists. I had the fortune to find a 1967 printing in a used bookshop for $2.50 CDN. I thought it was excellent. The way the authors wove the shorts stories all together, to provide a larger picture. It also, seems like an excellent way to run a counter-insurgency. To remove, the fish from the ocean, so to speak. You don't have to think very hard, to realise that the lessons in this book still haven't been learned by western diplomats. And it's very possible the same mistakes are still being committed the whole world over.

An awesome read.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Excellent book. Should be required reading at all airports and border crossings.

[Solid]

Yes, a fabulous book. Though I must say that in my experience many diplomats are completely unaware of the culture with which they must interact, Americans by reputation are some of the worst.

Fortunately, the U.S. does not interact primarily through its diplomats. It has instead a plethora of extremely intelligent, well-spoken and politically-minded businessmen who forge many more relationships with their peers in other countries than the diplomats. These men (and women) in my experience tend to be far more careful of their host nation's cultures.

Solid

[cback0220]

I thought this was a thread about Hillary Clinton.

Perhaps this is local, but I've heard a lot of good about Americans, the bad talk being against America. You actually have a good rep for being courteous, welcoming, etc etc. Only thing would be shallowness (remember, just reputation wise FWIW - although voiced opinions many times based on travelling to the USA).

Except for a few, all civilians that I have come across have handled themselves splendidly. How it is in a more different environment, that's something I can't answer.

Pretty funny actually, when I went to the US Embassy, the US personell was very easy to communicate with and forthcoming. Their Swedish employee was not particularly, how do you say... friendly and open minded.

I'll check the book out.

Martin

[Warrior-Mentor]

This was a great read...highly recommend for any SF Candidate. What's amazing is when you look at the copyright date (1950's)...and realize that it effectively predicts many of the events of the Vietnam War.

JM

[Themistocles]

A few lessons from The Ugly American (page numbers are in parentheses):

I. HOW TO ACT ABROAD (for the individual):

1. Know the native language
2. Be interested in the natives’ philosophy, art, cuisine, and occupations.
3. Blend in –make yourself look like the ideal native man (35)
4. Obey and respect the natives’ rules, laws, and mores (if you are in a country which prohibits the consumption of alcohol, don’t drink).

II. How NOT to act abroad (for the individual):

1. Don’t be racist
2. Don’t patronize or condescend
3. Don’t isolate yourself by just living a 1st World life in a major city; get into the country and mingle with the peasants and see how the majority live (145)
4. Don’t be ostentatious, loud, showy, or pretentious (145)
5. Don’t mock or ridicule natives’ beliefs (in astrology, palmistry, etc.) (171)

III. How we should think about foreign affairs and the causal chains which describe socio-political phenomena:

1. Be interested in philosophy –especially their metaphysics and ethics (20)
2. Small things like powdered milk lead to political attitudes toward the U.S., which leads to influence on political policies, military cooperation, and control of history (23, 34, 109)
3. To know your enemy, know his philosophy inside and out (94)
4. Conventional weapons and tactics alone won’t work to get what you want (124)
5. Asians only fight when you have their political and economic cooperation (140) –and I doubt it is any different for any other part of the species.
6. To know someone –say, Asians—know their value system of pride and shame (what the Asians called ‘face’) (148).
7. It’s the people that matter; not just aid or money alone (150)
8. When trying to win influence, start with the little things –milk factories—before starting the big grandiose schemes (dams, highways, etc.) (30)
9. Foreign policy is a battle for the minds of men (267)
10. We have to prepare to win by preparing to engage and win many, many tiny conflicts (267)

IV. How to operate embassies and conduct foreign affairs

1. Don’t allow natives or aliens to work in key parts of the embassy
2. The best way to gather intelligence: have natives who believe what you believe gather the intelligence for you (59)
3. Be an expert in persuasion (59/60)
4. When foreigners do political work, it must be done as quietly as possible (66)
5. We ought to have better facilities for foreigners at border crossings and such (67)
6. Recruit good people –i.e. motivated, energetic, intelligent people who like challenges in difficult environments; you need good, well-trained, and dedicated Americans for foreign affairs (152).
7. Don’t advertise embassy jobs as foreign vacations (chapter 6)
8. Immediately reply to lies placed in public media (i.e. newspapers, etc.)
9. Use knowledge of native music as a tool for building trust (110/112)
10. The kind of help natives want: knowledge and instruction relative to their technological and economic level right now: canning, water pumps, fertilizer, chicken breeding, etc. (149)
11. Avoid obnoxious press stunts and publicity campaigns (150)
12. Don’t forget to be aware of events and dates of cultural importance (152)
13. Keep in mind this is a battle for the minds of men (267)
14. Little things matter: especially moral acts done in the interest of the people

[QRQ 30]

This book was written around the building of the Friendship Highway
in Thailand running from north from Korat . If my facts are inaccurate please realize that I read this book while still in HS. I graduated in 1958. Anyway Thailand is our strongest ally in SEA and least infiltrated by communists and muslims. Much of the success in Thailand is attributable to the principles in the book. The Friendship Highway was built to move troops and equipment quickly up and down Thailand much like the original use of the German Autobahns and even our own Interstate Highway system. It was built so strong that it was capable of being used as an emergency landing strip for aircraft up to and including the B-52.

[Huey14]

Originally Posted by Martin

Perhaps this is local, but I've heard a lot of good about Americans, the bad talk being against America. You actually have a good rep for being courteous, welcoming, etc etc. Only thing would be shallowness (remember, just reputation wise FWIW - although voiced opinions many times based on travelling to the USA).

Except for a few, all civilians that I have come across have handled themselves splendidly. How it is in a more different environment, that's something I can't answer.

Pretty funny actually, when I went to the US Embassy, the US personell was very easy to communicate with and forthcoming. Their Swedish employee was not particularly, how do you say... friendly and open minded.

Sums up my experiences...except I was the Local working there I tried to be friendly but when you have Americans come up to the gate and ask (while the 2x1m flag was flying) if "this is the US Embassy?" can really test your patience.

Actually, it wasn't just Americans that asked that but it's more surprising when Americans did it.

I found the diplomats to have a very very basic knowledge of this country. On the State Dept. intranet there is a very good rundown of country but it seems very few read it before they got here.

[Fiercely Loyal]

Sorry to revive the thread but I just finished the book. It took about three days for me to read. The only portion I had questions about was the man who was going to head back to the states to raise hell about them not listening to him. He got essentially a two continent all expenses paid tour before he went home from the French and Cambodian government. By the time he got home he wasn’t nearly as upset and wasn’t worried about fighting for what he knew to be right anymore because he had forgotten. Or rather his memory was impaired from pleasant follow on experiences. My question is this a tactic employed by countries to keep things hidden? Was it mainly a gesture of good will because they didn’t want someone telling how bad their experience in Cambodia was? Or was it something else? I didn’t quite understand this tactic fully and was hoping more light could be shed on this.