I had an interesting chat a few days ago with George W. Bush Institute Executive Director James Glassman, who served as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy during the latter part of the G.W. Bush administration. He was also Chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

(Photo Credit: Blogs4Brains) This is a guest note by Anya Landau French, director of the New America Foundation/U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative. This post originally appeared at The Havana Note.

There has been no shortage of hand-wringing about America’s current unemployment crisis, which is unprecedented in modern times. But what has been lacking is a set of concrete proposals to address the jobs crisis in concert with other significant problems facing the United States: creaking infrastructure, climate change, and massive current account and fiscal deficits….

Assassinations have their costs, and the UK is penalizing Israel for the Mossad’s use of British passports in the assassination in Dubai of Hamas military leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. UK Foreign Minister David Miliband has been particularly incensed by the Mossad’s alleged actions and will be addressing Parliament on Tuesday regarding the expulsion. More here.

I have only been in Libya a few hours but am intrigued with this place and the people here. Libyan Leader Muammar al Gaddafi’s pictures are everywhere — but at least they are creative and have some panache compared to what one finds in some other countries with dominant political bosses who have no style….

This is a guest note by Daniel Mandel. Daniel is a Program Associate for the New America Foundation/Next Social Contract Initiative. (Photo Credit: Samuel Sherraden) There has been no shortage of hand-wringing about America’s current unemployment crisis, which is unprecedented in modern times.

Greetings to readers of The Washington Note from Tripoli, Libya. This is a place I never really thought I’d get to — but I’m here. And after just an hour, I’m finding all sorts of things of interest.

Anyone watching the health care debate unfold this past year couldn’t help but note that it had the feel of a badly run, badly managed sports season in which the President’s team nonetheless is going to end up holding the trophy cup.

I thought that President Obama’s Nowruz message to Iranians was — like last year — excellent. I think that this kind of public diplomacy is enormously important in reaching out for the prospects of change — even if the Iran government is recalcitrant.

According to the Washington Post‘s Glen Kessler, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a surprising comment to the BBC this week. She said that the recent US-Israel confrontation was “paying off”.