John Lenczowski: Silencing the Voice of America

The president of the Institute of World Politics, John Lenczowski, brings to light the failure of the State Department in properly engaging in the use of soft power and public diplomacy. The Broadcasting Board of Governors has decided to eliminate the Voice of America in Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Portuguese, Hindi and Arabic. This means that it will not be engaging the citizens of China, Russia, Brazil, India or Iraq because the State Department instead, wants to use that money for internet outreach. Mr. Lenczowski articulates the ramifications of such a move and goes on to use the Cold War as a prime example of the benefits of such a program. A prime reason America won the Cold War, was because the Soviet people were on America’s side and stood up to their oppressive government. We must engage the populous of other nations in order to garner support from their governments.

You can hear the interview with John here and at Secure Freedom Radio.

[audio:http://www.securefreedomradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/10072011_Hour3_seg1_Lenczowski_11min45.mp3]