Initiative 911: Bringing America to the Mideast



The Bush Administration is preparing to launch a multimedia initiative designed to blunt anti-American sentiment in parts of the Middle East.

According to CNSNews, the plan is called Initiative 911 and it involves pumping billions of dollars into radio, television, and Internet media for consumption by Arab and Muslim audiences looking for American news and entertainment programming. It is also the latest phase in the propaganda war and would become a third prong for the U.S. in the growing global media battle, joining a beefed-up Voice of America and a new Radio Free Afghanistan.

About $30 million has been set aside in year-end spending bills to launch the new Middle East radio network that will feature both Western and Arabic music. The current initiative is for broadcasts in 26 languages.

Plans for such a network were under way before the September 11 attacks, but those events gave the initiative a new urgency. The first transmitter will be placed on the island of Cyprus. They hope to have it on the air by June.

(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)

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