About time. If they left her in charge of "winning hearts and minds" any longer, US popularity in the Arab world might actually slip into negative figures:

"The US image in the Arab world has actually declined further under Hughes's watch" but "she'll remain a consultant to the State Department." Because she apparently knows so much about designing and implementing successful Middle East policy initiatives. Better keep her around! Wouldn't want to lose that valuable experience.

In fairness to her, she was given a fundamentally impossible job. She was expected to tell the Arab world about what America's really like so they'll like us more. Except it turns out that they don't hate us because they don't understand us - quite the opposite, they hate us because they understand what we stand for all too well. Even the best public diplomacy experts - the ones with the most to lose if it turns out that the Muslim world just kind of hates us for who we are - have been known to come close to the "lots of Arabs just really want to wipe out people they hate" position.

None of which stopped Hughes from trying to make US policy fit Muslim prejudices. Which predictably led to US funding of the most disgusting kind of anti-Israel and anti-Western propaganda. But hey - at least we finally figured out a way to tell the Muslim world what they wanted to hear!

References:
* This Is Why Public Diplomacy Will Fail - Islamists Take It Over And Use It For Propaganda [Salvatoe / YouTube]
* MR Reacts to Bloggers' Conference Call With Israeli Ambassador Uri Lubrani - Public Diplomacy Probably Won't Work, and Counting On It Is Probably a Bad Idea [MR]
* There Are Many Arabs That Support Hezbollah? No Way! [MR]
* This Is Why Public Diplomacy Will Fail - Islamists Take It Over And Use It For Propaganda [MR]

Previously:
* State Department Tries To Cleanse Obviously Illegal "No Jews Allowed" Application But Is Too Fucking Stupid To Turn Off Track Changes
* US Public Diplomacy, Tact Don't Extend To Israel
* Israeli Public Diplomacy Expert : British Boycott Is Vicious Anti-Semitism