by Jean-Louis Doublet
WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush has chosen one of his closest advisors, Karen Hughes, to become an envoy in charge of promoting the US image abroad, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Monday.
The post is a key one with the deterioration of the US' reputation around the world, particularly in Arab countries, since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Hughes, 48, is a longtime Bush associate who played a key role in his 2000 election campaign.
She previously served in the White House as an aide to Bush but left official duties to return to her family in Texas, while continuing to advise the president.
If confirmed by Senate, Hughes will take up the title of undersecretary of state for public diplomacy with an ambassador's rank, a job which has not smiled well on her predecessors.
Among them is Charlotte Beers who arrived in late 2001 from top echelons of the Madison Avenue advertising industry. Beers launched an aggressive campaign to promote the United States across the Arab and Muslim world but conceded failure and quit in March 2003.
Beers' replacement, experienced diplomat Margaret Tutwiler, held onto the job less than one year.
Meanwhile, Hughes, a fellow Texan, has the president's ear, with Bush reliant on her media and political advice since his political career took off in the early 1990s.
Among her past accomplishments, she helped get Bush elected governor of Texas in 1994, and co-wrote his autobiography, "A Charge to Keep", published ahead of the 2000 presidential election.
"Karen Hughes has been one of my most trusted and closest advisers, and she has the experience, expertise and judgment to lead this critical effort," said Bush in a statement Monday.
Born into a US Army family in Paris, Hughes grew up in the United States, Canada and Panama.
"I learned to respect people of different countries and different cultures, and I learned firsthand that America's policies can be interpreted differently in different places," she said Monday.
With a robust physical presence and steel-blue eyes, Hughes was a key adjutant during Bush's first term, before quitting the White House in April 2002 to spend more time with her family.
She returned to Bush's side in mid-summer 2004, when his reelection campaign appeared vulnerable to Democratic challenger John Kerry.
In her new job, Hughes will work under another key personal Bush advisor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who called her the most suitable candidate for the national public relations job.
"Karen knows the importance of education, and she understands the power of ideas. And she believes strongly that we must mobilize young people around the globe to shatter the mistrust of past grievances and to foster a new spirit of tolerance and mutual respect," Rice said Monday.
Rebuilding the US image abroad after the Bush administration's unilateral decision to invade Iraq two years ago will be a challenge, however, even for someone as formidable as Hughes.
According to the Pew Research Center, "Anti-Americanism is deeper and broader now than at any time in modern history. It is most acute in the Muslim world, but it spans the globe from Europe to Asia, from South America to Africa.
"And while much of the animus is aimed directly at President Bush and his policies, especially the war in Iraq, this new global hardening of attitudes amounts to something larger than a thumbs down on the current occupant of the White House," said Pew in a report.
03/14/2005 22:01 GMT