On the homepage today, I have a piece called “Radios and Lifelines”: here. It’s about our agencies in the “information space” — RFE/RL, RFA, the VOA, etc. — and President Trump’s decision to shut them down. Obviously, they are celebrating in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and other such capitals.
Does the president — any president — have the power simply to turn our radios off? Without the consent of Congress or anything? This question is now being contested in court.
Here on the Corner, I would like to say a bit more. I would, in particular, like to do some quoting.
Trump, Elon Musk, JD Vance, and others of that stripe are the leaders of the Republican Party, true. But not every Republican agrees with the shutting down of the radios. Some are even willing to say so out loud.
Very bold is Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska, of course. Yesterday, he went so far as to publish an op-ed piece headed “My Fellow Republicans and President Trump, We Must Stand Up to Putin.” Bacon goes against the grain of his party.
On March 16, he said the below, on X:
Voice of America [and] Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty play important roles in getting America’s story to the rest of the world. We stand for freedom, free markets and rule of law. We want to promote our values.
Many objected to this, of course, including Glenn Greenwald, a prominent journalist of the Left — or the Right? These things have blended in recent years. In any case, Greenwald told Bacon to “focus on the US and mind your own business.”
Bacon responded,
Freedom is my business. Closed countries fear the truth. Chinese need to know the crimes against humanity their government is perpetrating on the Uyghurs. Russians should know Putin has caused 800,000 Russian casualties in Ukraine. Information is a weapon.
Young Kim, of California, is another Republican member of Congress. She was born in South Korea. She said, “Gutting Radio Free Asia and other U.S. Agency for Global Media platforms counters the principles of freedom our nation was founded on and cedes leverage to the Chinese Communist Party, North Korea and other regimes.”
Still another Republican is Congressman Michael McCaul, of Texas. He once chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee and also the Homeland Security Committee. He is not a babe in the woods.
He said,
RFA emits the only transparent reporting from most countries in Southeast Asia, where the CCP’s disinformation campaigns are the strongest. When I released my report on the origins of Covid and the CCP’s culpability, RFA played a critical role in translating it into Mandarin, penetrating the CCP’s firewall, and disseminating it throughout mainland China. That’s why I strongly support programs like RFA, which provide day-to-day updates on far-off regions, uphold a free press even in authoritarian countries, and ensure Americans — and people everywhere — are not subject to our adversaries’ propaganda.
Over the years, I have talked with several presidents of RFE/RL — former and current. One of them was Jim Buckley (an older brother to Bill), who headed the agency in the 1980s. Another is Tom Kent, who headed the agency in the 2010s. When Trump moved to shut down the radios, I asked Mr. Kent for comment, and he sent me four points — four essential points in four paragraphs.
Point 1:
When U.S. networks broadcast in a country’s language, it’s sign to ordinary people there that the U.S. knows about their country, cares about it, and respects its people. That creates a powerful effect on listeners, say, to broadcasts in Bambara to Mali, where jihadist influence and Russian influence are peaking, or in Kyrgyz to Kyrgyzstan, where the West, China, Turkey, and Russia are all fighting for influence in that strategically located country. Without such broadcasts, people may well assume the U.S. has no interest in them at all, and gravitate to America’s enemies.
Point 2:
Without strong U.S. news and information brands in remote and strategic countries, the U.S. has no way to communicate with their people, routinely or in urgent situations. Anything the U.S. wants to say will reach people there only through other channels, including the news services of hostile countries and jihadist movements, which will totally distort what we want to say. In Yemen, for instance, do we want only hostile voices talking to its people about why the U.S. is currently bombing the country?
Point 3:
The U.S. networks model objective journalism for audiences in authoritarian countries, helping them recognize how slanted their official press is and encouraging and training local independent voices.
Point 4:
The administration’s unilateral shutdown of U.S. international broadcasting was an enormous gift to hostile nations, with nothing asked in return. If we were set on closing down the Voice of America, RFE/RL, and others, we could at least have tried for a deal in which Russia’s RT television, Iran’s TV network in Latin America, or other pernicious voices cut back their operations. As it happened, however, we made no demands of any adversary nation. The loss of these U.S. outlets will only increase the audiences for these malign outlets.
Jeffrey Gedmin was president of RFE/RL from 2007 to 2011. Today, he is the president of another of our radios, MBN, which stands for “Middle East Broadcasting Networks.” He says,
No one’s giving up on these treasured networks. It can’t work that way. Great journalism from courageous, honorable people in support of decent, accountable government. Drop this? RFE/RL is oxygen for freedom-loving people in more than two dozen countries from Russia to Iran. Gifting dictators is not exactly America at its best.
James Kirchick once worked for RFE/RL. Earlier this month, he published a piece called “The ‘Free World’ Is Gone and There’s No Turning Back.” It is a powerful piece (as I have already said in this column). Well, maybe we can turn back just a little — turn back to go forward.