On Digital and Global Ethos

I've been following coverage of the Annapolis meeting closely. I was encouraged by Gershon Baskin's cautiously optimistic editorial in JPost last week, and loosely following coverage here and there since.

Cruising through the NYTimes today, I came across this piece discussing the U.S. need for better global P.R. It got me thinking. What if we spent a chunk of money that we've thrown at the war in Iraq and used it to send those college aged soldiers to language immersion instead? What if, after they were able to fluently speak Arabic (in native dialects), we then sent them over in community service efforts inspired by Habitat for Humanity, Bustan L'shalom, PeaceCorps to make connections with the locals and build community-needed infrastructure--hosptials, schools, etc. that are environmentally friendly, sustainable, locally supported? I bet there would be a different kind of change brewing.