The evidence that Iranian officials ran an influence operation that penetrated the State and Defense departments is damning. Not only did Iranian American academics and think tankers meet with Iranian officials, but leaked emails suggest they also took direction from them. Not only financial gain motivates espionage; ideological solidarity motivated some of the most damaging spies in American history.
The Iranian influence campaign went further than many realize | American Enterprise Institute aei.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aei.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In 1942, the U.S. government stood up Voice of America (VOA) to counter Nazi propaganda with accurate news and information. Truth matters, and VOA built its brand. Talk to many Cold War-era refugees and immigrants from East Bloc countries, and they will readily reminisce about secretly listening to VOA broadcasts on shortwave radios under cover of darkness.
When both the Washington Post and National Review report on yet another senior management-created scandal at Voice of America, it's an indication that the poor state of U.S. international broadcasting has become a bipartisan concern. Many media and foreign policy experts are wondering when this pattern of one crisis after another in the U.S. Agency for Global Media will end. The management meltdown at USAGM and VOA needs a bipartisan solution.