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Bush's pick to head Voice of America, Robert Reilly, says he intends
to broadcast "accurate, objective, and comprehensive news."
His critics don't believe him — and they're trying hard to
derail Reilly, whose nomination must pass muster with the federally
appointed Broadcasting Board of Governors, which convenes tomorrow.
The controversy
over Reilly is a new variation on an old theme: Liberals always
beat up on conservatives put in positions to shape global opinion
of the United States. Reaganites working at Radio Free Europe and
Radio Liberty during the 1980s came under their scrutiny. In today's
Washington Post, reporter Ellen Nakashima neatly captures
the Left's problem with Reilly when she labels him "a practicing
Roman Catholic and a defender of, as he calls them, 'the principles
of Western civilization.'"
This goes straight
to the heart of VOA's mission. When the radio network discusses
topics such as the principles of Western civilization, it definitely
should avoid sneer quotes. The very purpose of VOA is to project
a positive image of the United States to the world. Part of this
involves reporting "accurate, objective, and comprehensive
news" because freedom of the press is an American value worth
promoting in places like Kabul. But running VOA also requires a
patriotic self-confidence that parts of the Left seem unable to
summon even now.
The phony controversy
over Reilly should not be allowed to obscure the importance of revamping
our public diplomacy. This includes everything from student-exchange
programs to the messages put on the wrappers of food dropped on
Afghanistan last night. It also includes VOA.
"We face
a real challenge in developing a long-range strategy of how to speak
to the Muslim world," says Arch Puddington, a Freedom House
vice president and the author of Broadcasting Freedom, a
book on the history of Radio Free Europe. "We knew how to speak
to the Communist world. We're still not sure how to speak to the
Islamic one."
There's little
doubt that U.S. public diplomacy could stand improvement. The essential
rationale for American involvement in the Balkans, after all, has
been saving Muslim lives. This should work to our advantage on the
streets of Islamabad — and yet it seems not to matter at all.
Do the flag-burners there even know?
The scuffle
over Reilly distracts everyone from this larger problem, which Henry
Hyde's international relations committee will consider tomorrow
in hearings.
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