Perspectives on Post 9/11 America

September 6-13, 2003, Washington, DC and New York, New York
Contacts: Washington Foreign Press Center Program Officer: Joseph Bookbinder and New York Foreign Press Center Officer: JoDell Shields.
Telephone: Joseph Bookbinder - 202-504- 6354, Email:bookbinderj@state.gov; JoDell Shields - 212-317-8334, Email:jshields@pd.state.gov

The Washington and New York Foreign Press Centers organized a nine-day reporting tour for twelve Indonesian print and television journalists on "Perspectives on Post 9/11 America."  The journalists, whose combined readership/viewership exceeds 100 million Indonesians, worked tirelessly, conducting multiple interviews each day and filing their stories at night.  In Washington, the journalists had on-the-record interviews with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James Kelly, Under Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchingson and Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA), among others.  The reporters came away with an enhanced understanding of the effects of 9/11 on American foreign policy and American society.

In New York, appointments included 9/11 events at Ground Zero where they were able to interview Daniel Libeskind, the architect selected to design the new master plan of Ground Zero; a working lunch with the Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations; a special briefing by Guy Tozzoli, President of the World Trade Centers Association; a discussion with Syamsi Ali, founder of the Al Hiqmah mosque at the Islamic Cultural Center; a round-table discussion at the Asia Society; a briefing on "The War on Terrorism" with Ric Grenell, Spokesman for the US Mission to the UN; and finally, a meeting at the Committee to Protect Journalists.  They praised the well-rounded program.  Embassy Jakarta has reported that many of the resulting articles received front-page placement.