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Free Afghanistan soon will go on the air broadcasting messages that
disparage the Taliban, if a House committee has its way. Yesterday,
Henry Hyde's international relations panel approved legislation
to begin broadcasting into Afghanistan in local languages, under
the auspices of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. "This is the
best chance at providing information that will help turn the Afghan
people against the Taliban and other extremists," said California
Republican Ed Royce, the measure's chief sponsor.
The effort,
modeled on similar strategies used during the Cold War, is worthwhile.
But it's also important for conservatives not to get their hopes
too high — the State Department has lobbied against the bill, and
it retains the ability to undercut Royce's good intentions even
if Radio Free Afghanistan becomes a reality.
There's a lesson
in the experience of Radio Free Iran, another recent creation of
Congress. It was also opposed by the State Department during the
Clinton administration. When Congress approved RFI anyway, Foggy
Bottom hired Stephen Fairbanks to run the programming — a man described
by Iran Brief's Kenneth Timmerman as "an apologist for the
Iranian government." In a Washington
Times op-ed two years ago, Timmerman blasted the choice
of Fairbanks: "This is precisely the wrong point of view to
have at the head of Radio Free Iran."
Since then,
Timmerman says, nothing has changed: "RFI broadcasts have the
effect of convincing ordinary Iranians that the United States backs
the Khatami regime."
Patrick Clawson
of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy characterizes Radio
Free Iran as "half a loaf" — not as good as it might be,
but better than nothing. "Fairbanks is a tough liberal, and
he's about the best man for the job who can also get past the scrutiny
of congressional Democrats," says Clawson, who also noted that
President Khatami isn't so pleased with RFI that his government
never jams the broadcasts.
"This
is about the best we can get out of Radio Free Iran right now,"
he says. "At least it's better than the BBC."
Which means
that "half a loaf" — or something slightly better than
the programming currently produced by Europeans — is also perhaps
the best that will come out of Radio Free Afghanistan.
Worth Reading
William
Safire's trenchant column on Radio Free Afghanistan.
Timmerman
on Iran's President Khatami coming to New York.
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