U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday announced that a key longtime adviser to President George W. Bush has been named to head the effort to burnish the United States' image around the world. If her nomination is approved by the Senate, Karen Hughes will be tasked with promoting the U.S. image in the world and taking on worldwide anti-American sentiment, especially in the Arab world. "We must do much more to confront hateful propoganda, dispel dangerous myths and get out the truth," Rice said. Rice and Bush have identified the negative image of the United States not only as a key foreign policy challenge but also as a contributor to extremism and terrorism. Hughes has been a top adviser to Bush since he was governor of Texas and served as a top counsellor to the president before leaving the White House in 2002 to return to her family in Texas. Hughes, 48, played a key role in Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and has continued to advise the president since she departed the White House. The position of undersecretary of state for public diplomacy has been vacant since last summer, when Margaret Tutwiler left the State Department. --SP 2332 Local Time 2032 GMT
