nalist he is one of my heroes. We have to take his admonition to be truthful, but I believe there is all kinds of evidence to suggest that the Voice of America has taken truthfulness to mean that they have to try both sides of every issue. I don't believe that is necessary for truthfulness. We have been paying quite often in these last several decades for the dissemination of information that is basically helpful to some of the dictators and tyrants whom we oppose.

Over these last few years, I have been raising questions many times about the Pashtun service in the Voice of America, feeling every time there is a story negative about the Taliban, they have felt they have had to present the Taliban side to have the other side. I am going to be asking our witnesses about their opinion on this criticism.

To be truthful, you don't need to present the Taliban side of an argument as long as you are trying to be truthful in the presentation of the facts. You don't have to have Adolph Hitler's side or Mussolini's side either, or Joe Stalin's side of an argument. Both sides of the argument are not what we are paying for as taxpayers. We are hoping for truthfulness, but we want to make sure that the interest of the United States is being protected and being promoted during these broadcasts. So with that, thank you very much for holding this hearing, Mr. Chairman.

Chairman HYDE. Thank you.

Mr. Delahunt of Massachusetts.

Mr. DELAHUNT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When we hear the concept of public diplomacy, in my mind it provokes the concept of education, and I would even extend it beyond educating those in foreign lands, and I think it is important to be honest with ourselves too. How many Americans had heard of Afghanistan, let alone Uzbekistan or Tajikistan, until recent events? So when we talk about public diplomacy I think it has to also be directed inwardly, and I would suggest that we have got to start to educate ourselves, and I am not just talking about the American people. I am talking about Members of Congress. I would hate to ask my colleagues if a month ago they knew the capital of Afghanistan. I dare say there wouldn't be 100 percent. We would not receive a grade of A.

The CHAIRMAN. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. DELAHUNT. I would.

The CHAIRMAN. Is the gentleman suggesting, and I hope he is, that geography be incorporated into the curriculum of our schools? Mr. DELAHUNT. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. I know you say that facetiously, but I think it is very important. So what we are talking about here is education. I have had the good fortune of being in Prague and meeting with Mr. Dine and seeing Radio Free Europe. I think it is a tremendous operation, and our government is to be complimented and we need to tell them, Tom [Dine], it is good to see you here. It was very impressive.

Again, I also want to share the kudos being thrown in the way of Mr. Royce and support that. But also in addition to enhancing our public broadcasting efforts, have we a policy or do we have an-I am looking for the right words here, and I can't seem to find them. But what kinds of efforts are we making to access those

media outlets, such as Al Jazeera to convey and to educate those people, not just about the specific issue, but American valueswhat we are about? Any Member of Congress who has traveled extensively throughout the world discovers very, very quickly that there are so many misunderstandings and misperceptions about what we are about as a people, as a society.

The truth is, and I think it was Mr. Berman who mentioned, that we have a radio audience of some 2 percent. I think we have to encourage the efforts that have been taken as we have seen in Qatar, but we need to be on those stations giving our opinions because that is what the people of those nations are listening to. As Mr. Lantos said, none of us clearly are afraid of the conflict of our ideas with their ideas because we will prevail, but we have got to think, I would respectfully suggest, beyond the box, and beyond the traditional effort which is-and maybe I am incorrect-which has been focused simply on the Voice of America and similar kind of public broadcasting initiatives. And with that, I will yield back.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Royce.

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, again, Mr. Chairman, for calling this timely hearing. By way of rebuttal, it has been said by the Ranking Member that Radio Free Afghanistan would have to get up and running and that that would have to be from scratch. I wanted to clarify that. The individuals who are now at Radio Free Europe who ran Radio Free Afghanistan from 1985 to 1993 are, in fact, in place. There are eight Afghans there in that service. They have the experience and expertise on the subject. I will also mention that currently, those broadcasts are done in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and neighboring Iran, and the reason that is done is those top three-tiered countries were in the former Soviet Union; so they were allowed to continue there on mandate.

What I suggested some years ago when the Taliban came on the scene was that this mandate be extended so they might also continue to broadcast into Afghanistan and put this team in place. Now, I don't know what the lies are that the gentleman from California suggests we might broadcast. I don't think anyone believes the U.S. would be broadcasting Goebbels-like propaganda, but what I would like to point out is that nobody in Afghanistan has had the opportunity to see the vision on the screen of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center, and the reason they haven't is because it is a serious felony under Taliban law to own a television, and the penalty for that is a public beating.

So if people find it hard to believe in this part of the world how broadcasts could have misconstrued that the World Trade Center bombing was a hoax or was done by the Israelis or Indian intelligence services, the answer to that is, frankly, they haven't had the opportunity to see it. They haven't heard an effective rebuttal and what this bill seeks to do is to go up on the air 12 hours a day in Pashto and in Dari and give the people the facts, give the people the truth. Who is going to do the broadcasting? The same organization that broadcast into Eastern Europe effectively in every country, except the former Yugoslavia, where we blocked their broadcasting.

If you talk to Vaclav Hovel or Lech Walesa they would tell you that the things that changed the situation, changed the minds of

the people in Eastern Europe, were those constant broadcasts from Radio Free Europe. So we know what works, and that is why I am suggesting if we are going to have a war on international terrorism, part of that war is going to be on the information and idea front and this is going to have to be carried out in a way that other wars have not been.

The messages we communicate to the world through broadcasting will be critical to our victory over terrorism and critical to our victory over those regimes that support terrorism. The Taliban and the terrorists they are harboring are in power, in my view, for one reason. They use propaganda and censorship to maintain that power. The reason it has been being reported, I have told you that the attacks were engineered by other forces. We are familiar with the argument that there were 4,000 Jewish workers in the World Trade Center that did not go into work that day. That has been repeated.

Fortunately, through air strikes we have taken out Radio Shariat, but the other side of the coin is providing accurate information to counter these lies. When people are interviewed in Uzbekistan, when refugees are interviewed in Iran, they say why don't you have a Radio Free Afghanistan like you have a Radio Free Uzbekistan, so they can find out inside the country what is going on?

We had hearings here several years ago that I organized in this Committee, and at that time we brought up to testify Hasa Nouri from California, and others in the Afghan community, who explained how important getting information into the community was. I will share with you one of the disinformation campaigns used effectively by the Taliban to take control. They told people as they were moving across that country, via Radio Shariat, that the Taliban was going to come in and bring the king back. One of the reasons they did that is because people didn't know what the Taliban represented. It was, in fact, trained in neighboring Pakistan by the intelligence services there and half of their rank and file were, in fact, not Afghans, so

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman's time has expired.

Mr. ROYCE. Well, I thought I would lay out the case, and in closing, let me make the point that by the time I talked with Robin Rafael, subsequently with Mr. Inderfurth, former Assistant Secretary, with our Secretary of State, and with the President to try to urge this kind of action to be taken, I would suggest with 33 coauthors now is the time for us to move this legislation and move in a serious way to get the truth on the air.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Royce follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE EDWARD R. ROYCE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Thank you Mr. Chairman for calling this timely and important hearing. The war on international terrorism must be a war on the information and idea front in a way that few other wars have been. The messages we communicate to the world will be critical to our victory over terrorism and regimes supporting the terrorists. Public broadcasting must be an effective tool in this effort.

The Taliban and the terrorists they are harboring use propaganda and censorship to maintain power. In the region it is being reported that the attacks on the World Trade Center were the work of the Israelis and Indians, and that Osama bin Laden

is innocent. Fortunately, we have taken out Radio Shariat. The other side of the coin is providing accurate information to counter these lies.

This is why public broadcasting is so important. As we look at the broadcasting services, we must always remember that serving U.S. interests is the primary rationale for public broadcasting abroad. This mandate should color all broadcasting decisions.

I've been calling for Radio Free Afghanistan for several years. I think it's fair to say that the previous Administration had no interest in broadcasting to Afghanistan. If we had had Radio Free Afghanistan up and running for several years now, the terrorists would not have had the fertile ground they have found in Afghanistan. We certainly would not be behind the curve, running around to ramp-up broadcasting to the region now.

I believe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is the best organization for broadcasting to Afghanistan. I now have over 30 co-sponsors of legislation to give Radio Free Afghanistan responsibility to RFE/RL. This is a significant congressional endorsement-I'm not aware that VOA has this type of support for this mission.

Besides its outstanding impact behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, RFE/RL ran Radio Free Afghanistan from 1985 to 1993. It has experience and expertise on Afghanistan. It was successful in rallying the Afghan people against the Soviets. I think it will have the best chance of rallying the Afghan people against the Taliban now.

RFE/RL is also what is called a surrogate service. It broadcasts news about Afghanistan, as if Afghanistan had a free and vibrant press. The Afghan people rightly care most about what is occurring in their country. It is the voice of Afghans talking about the radicalism of the Taliban that will be our best ally. RFE/RL is the best-positioned service for this task.

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses Mr. Chairman.

Chairman HYDE. The Chair regrets that we are going to have to curtail further statements because the witnesses have other commitments, and we do want to hear their statements. I will recognize Mr. Kerns for a brief statement, and then we will go to the witnesses.

Mr. KERNS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to begin this morning by thanking the Chairman and the leadership for putting this important hearing together, and I look forward to hearing the testimony of the panelists and a meaningful discussion of our policy and diplomacy. After having the opportunity to spend the last week traveling abroad with my colleagues through Russia, Turkey, and Italy, I was able to witness public diplomacy at its finest. I found there was no better way to promote our country, our culture and government through the people and people exchanges. There is no better time to do so than now, but we must also promote America via other means in, and in the wake of events on September 11 public diplomacy has been challenged. Coverage of the United States and our policies have expanded greatly to an international audience, and we must question how effective our efforts are in promoting a positive image of the United States and our foreign policy goals. There are new measures that should be taken to make sure that our messages are effective and purposeful, and I look forward to hearing our testimony from our distinguished panelists as they share their thoughts and provide their insight on how we promote our great country. With that Mr. Chairman, I will yield back.

Chairman HYDE. Thank you.

The Chair announces that any statements that have not been read or delivered may be included in the record without objection. I would like to welcome Mrs. Charlotte Beers, the newly sworn in Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy. Secretary Beers comes to the Administration from the private sector. Most recently she

served as Chairman of two of the top ten worldwide advertising agencies, Jay Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather. Her experience in international advertising should provide the insight and energy so important to the U.S. public diplomacy. As only the second person to hold the Under Secretary position, she has an opportunity to shape a strong coordinated and effective public diplomacy profile.

I would also like to recognize Richard Boucher, the spokesman for the State Department and the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Mr. Boucher was acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy prior to Mrs. Beers's confirmation. Mr. Boucher has served as Chief of Mission to the U.S. Council General in Hong Kong and U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus. He has also previously been the spokesman for the State Department and brings a strong background to this area of domestic public relations and the counterpart public diplomacy for international audiences.

Secretary Beers, please proceed.

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHARLOTTE BEERS, UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mrs. BEERS. Thank you. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, you have made some very important opening comments that give us much to think about. Provocative questions have a lot to do with defining the problem. Defining the problem well is a long way toward making a solution. I am delighted to appear to you today just 8 days after being sworn in. It was just 2 weeks ago that is Senate acted on my confirmation, and I am grateful for the vote of trust and confidence. As you just indicated, Mr. Chairman, Richard Boucher is here and I want to thank him for the exceptional job he has done of stewarding our public diplomacy work. It is also an excellent time to thank the very talented men and women in public diplomacy who have been working some exceptional hours in these exceptional times. Like every other Department in State, we have been galvanized by the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the great challenge that President Bush posed for all of us. I can assure you we are working carefully with our colleagues at State, the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, and other entities to wholeheartedly focus on our number one priority, fighting the international war on terrorism.

As Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, I am responsible for the overall planning and management of this global effort. We have been developing a communications platform that is based in part on these four tenets. The attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacks not on America but on the world. In many places particularly, in our IIP capacity, we have worked around the clock to make sure that the world understands that this was an attack on the world starting with a very important graphic that showed in one picture how many members of the world were influenced by those attacks. In addition to that, U.S. News and World Report has indicated that our Web site is one of the top five in the country. This has given us a much higher profile than we have ever had before. The hits on our Web site have gone from 1 million to 2 million, doubled, and in many times, cer

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