Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XXX, Public Diplomacy

171. Letter From Paul Henze of the National Security Council Staff to the Director of the International Communication Agency (Reinhardt)¹

Washington, June 13, 1979

Dear John,

Since the pressure of SALT and summits² has prevented him from doing so, Zbig has asked me to give you our reactions to the two excellent studies you prepared in response to his request of February 9, 1979.³ We have reviewed them carefully and considered the choices they present. Let me sum up our conclusions. (U)

We find your recommendations for technical expansion of VOA during the 1980’s reasonable and justified in terms of basic foreign policy priorities. We endorse them fully. We would like to see you incorporate these plans in your budget projections for FY 1981 and beyond. The political issues involved in setting up new transmitters for broadcasting to south and central Asia should be systematically assessed as soon as possible so that negotiations can get under way and serious technical preparations can begin. Please assess these questions with the help of the Department of State and give us a status report by September 1, 1979. (C)

We find your conclusions in respect to expansion of broadcasting time and broadcasting staff realistic and recommend you also provide in current budget planning for the modest expenditures this expansion will entail over the next two or three years. (U)

On language priorities, we welcome your plans for further expansion of the Persian service which you have recently inaugurated. Attention should be given to the need to adjust broadcasting hours to improve prospects of attracting an optimum audience in Afghanistan and Soviet Central Asia as well as in Iran itself. (C)

In respect to new languages, we concur in the priority of Azeri, but as next priorities we propose Amharic, Pushtu and Tamil rather than Mongolian and Lingala. The potential audience for Mongolian seems too small. Broadcasts in Lingala would undoubtedly be useful but the need for better communication with Ethiopia, where Soviet influence is continually becoming more predominant, is greater. (C)

We have noted from your current broadcast schedule that VOA is still beaming 35 hours per week to the three countries of Indo-China, with 64 million people, while only 21 hours per week go to the whole Indian subcontinent, with a population between 800–900 million. I should think there would be a case for reducing broadcast time in Vietnamese, if necessary, to permit more broadcasting in the native languages of the Indian subcontinent. Exactly what mix of Indian languages would be best should separately be evaluated but we clearly ought to do more than we are now doing. (C)

I will be happy to meet with you and your staff to discuss any of these plans further.⁴ (U)

Very sincerely,

Paul B. Henze

1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Agency File, Box 9, International Communication Agency: 1–5/79. Confidential. Copies were sent to Vance and McIntyre. Also printed in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. XX, Eastern Europe, Document 63. Under cover of a June 1 memorandum to Brzezinski, Henze transmitted copies of the two ICA studies requested by Brzezinski in February. Within the memorandum, Henze summarized the studies and recommended that Brzezinski sign an attached letter to Reinhardt addressing several questions raised by the report. Also attached to the June 1 memorandum is a June 4 memorandum from Thornton to Brzezinski commenting on Henze’s memorandum and providing comments related to South Asian broadcasting. (Ibid.) Gates, in a June 5 memorandum to Henze, commented that Henze’s “package seems very detailed for Zbig to both read and act upon,” especially in the context of Brzezinski and Aaron preparing for the upcoming summit meetings. Gates wondered if it would be “bureaucratically feasible” for Henze to resolve any issues with Reinhardt directly rather than engaging Brzezinski. (Ibid.)
2. References are to the U.S.-Soviet summit in Vienna June 14–18 at which the President and Brezhnev signed the SALT II agreement, and the G–7 Economic Summit meeting in Tokyo June 25–29.
3. See Document 163.
4. In a June 21 memorandum to Henze, Reinhardt thanked Henze for his “helpful comments and guidance” on the two VOA studies. Reinhardt stated, “Almost certainly we will want to have a session with you once our plans are further developed. I shall let you know when the time seems right.” (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, Agency File, Box 9, International Communication Agency: 1–5/79)