Calling Out in Transit
Will Radio Free Afghanistan be stillborn?

By John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru
November 2, 2001 12:30 p.m.

adio 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.