129. Memorandum From the Deputy Director for Policy and Plans, United States Information Agency (White) to the Under Secretary of State (Irwin)1
SUBJECT
- Senator Church’s Bill to Amend the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 19482
Henry Loomis, who is now out of the country, asked me to send you information on the Church Bill, S. 1397,3 and how it would affect USIA operations. As you will see, the bill would cause us considerable problems.
Surrogate Information Activities
The first part of the amendment introduced by Senator Church (text attached)4 would prohibit all U.S. Government agencies from preparing, assisting in preparing, or disseminating information on behalf of foreign governments. Should the bill become law today, it would affect USIA operations in South Viet-Nam and, until June 30, 1971, in Laos.
In South Viet-Nam, USIA is the executive agent for the Joint United States Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO). Assistance to the GVN to improve its public information programs is one of JUSPAO’s principal functions. Using USIA funds, and supported also by funds from DOD and AID, we have been assisting in the construction and operation of mass media communication facilities; providing general advisory assistance to the GVN’s Ministry of Information to improve its personnel, training programs and organizations; and also assisting in the production of information materials such as films, radio programs and publications which do not carry USIA attribution.
[Page 331]We have carefully laid plans for phasing out of these programs of assistance to the GVN, and have established definite cut-off dates. Activities funded by USIA are scheduled for termination no later than December 31, 1972, with the large majority of activities, e.g. television, motion picture, magazine, pamphlet and poster production, being phased out before the end of 1971. All assistance in television, for example, terminates June 30. Three AID-funded and two residual USIA–AID–MACV projects, primarily for general advisory assistance to the GVN Ministry of Information’s field operations, will be gradually phased out between January 1, 1972 and July 1, 1973.
In Laos, since 1969, USIS has been engaged in a program of assistance to the Government’s Ministry of Information. Direct support activities for the Ministry have been progressively reduced and are scheduled for termination on June 30, 1971.
The foregoing paragraphs describe the total extent of USIA’s present activities that would be affected by the provisions of the Church Bill. It should be noted, however, that other Government agencies, such as DOD, would be affected by the bill as drafted.
It should also be noted that USIA facilitative assistance activities in southeast Asia have not been unique in our history. We have on several occasions provided information assistance to governments in emergency situations when it was considered necessary to do so for our national interest. In each case, the assistance was limited in time and terminated as rapidly as possible.
After World War II, USIA and its predecessor organizations provided advice and in some cases media materials to our European allies for use in their governments’ information programs. These activities were undertaken to attain American foreign policy objectives which were also supported by recipients of our military and economic aid.
Following the Marshall Plan5 period, USIA from time to time responded positively to developing nations’ requests for information program assistance. Activities in Thailand, South Korea, the Dominican Republic, and the Congo provide examples.
In the late 1960’s, USIS provided direct support to the Royal Thai Government in order to improve the Government’s capability to communicate with the Thai people in areas infiltrated by insurgents.6 Sup [Page 332] port included production of film, publications and radio programs. This activity has recently ceased.
Beginning in the 1950’s and continuing until 1969 USIS assisted the ROK Government in the conduct of counterinsurgency operations and civic action programs. Our help was mainly in the form of USIS products, such as films, which were made available to Korean cultural centers.
During the tenure of Hector Garcia—Godoy’s Provisional Dominican Government (September 1965–July 1966) USIS gave material support and advisory assistance to that government’s get-out-the-vote campaign. Following the election of President Joaquin Belaguer,7 all material assistance was halted.
In the Congo, in the 1963–67 period, USIS provided support to the central government. The activities included publicizing of Congolese self-help projects and distribution of press features portraying responsible leadership. This support ceased in 1967.
Attribution
The second part of Senator Church’s amendment would require that any information prepared by a U.S. Government agency for distribution abroad be attributed. This restriction would affect adversely a great many activities conducted by USIS throughout the world, such as placement of press materials and radio tapes.
As a general rule, USIA materials are attributed to us. In a number of instances, however, depending on local circumstances, some of our products may be unattributed. This gives us a desirable flexibility, and makes our output more effective. Attribution is not always a matter of USIA’s choice. If we place a film with a commercial distributor abroad, he may prefer to cut off the last frames which state that it was produced by USIA. If we send press materials to an editor or VOA-produced tapes to a radio station manager, they may prefer to use the materials without attribution.
There is never any intent to deceive. If some of our materials are unattributed, they are all attributable—that is we are always ready to acknowledge and take responsibility in public for them.
Suggestions for Your Statements
If you receive questions on the first part of the Church Bill, we suggest you say that USIA at the present time has been supporting the information activities of other governments only in southeast Asia, that [Page 333] the Agency is rapidly terminating all such activities, and that if there are further questions, USIA will be glad to answer them.
If you receive questions concerning attribution of USIA materials, we suggest you reply that USIA generally issues its products with attribution, sometimes without, but that in every case USIA materials are attributable to the Agency. Again, USIA will be glad to answer any further questions on this subject.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, EDX 1 US. Confidential.↩
- See footnote 3, Document 91.↩
- Introduced in the Senate on March 29, 1971. That day, in session, Church stated that the United State Information Agency “is now engaged in a massive campaign, using every tool of the communication arts, to sell the Thieu Government to the people of Vietnam. Through television and radio, and newspapers, magazines, and leaflets by the tens of millions, the USIA is teamed up with military psychological warfare specialists to inflict on the people of Vietnam the kind of official propaganda system that we refuse to allow in our own country. It is the ultimate corruption in a war which has for years now eroded the moral sensibilities of our Nation.” (Congressional Record, vol. 117, Part 7 (March 29–April 1, 1971) p. 8325)↩
- Attached but not printed.↩
- In a June 5, 1947, commencement speech delivered at Harvard University, Secretary of State George Marshall called for a comprehensive program to rebuild the European economies. For the text of the speech, see Foreign Relations, 1947, vol. III, The British Commonwealth, Europe, pp. 237–239.↩
- For a description of USIS programs in Thailand during the Johnson administration, see Foreign Relations, 1964–1968, vol. XXVII, Mainland Southeast Asia; Regional Affairs, Document 344.↩
- Belauguer won election to the presidency on June 1, 1966. For additional information, see ibid., vol. XXXII, Dominican Republic; Cuba; Haiti; Guyana, Document 178.↩