U.S. Network Falters in Mideast Mission

[ensho]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/22/AR2008062201228.html


The Egyptian bureau of al-Hurra, an Arabic-language television network financed by the U.S. government, boasts a spectacular view of the Nile River and the capital's bustling streets. But inside, all is quiet.

The bureau's satellite link was unplugged with little explanation a few weeks ago by a local company, making it impossible to broadcast live. Since then, staffers have had to use a studio controlled by the Egyptian secret police, who have warned guests not to say anything controversial on the air.

Al-Hurra -- "The Free One" in Arabic -- is the centerpiece of a U.S. government campaign to spread democracy in the Middle East. Taxpayers have spent $350 million on the project. But more than four years after it began broadcasting, the station is widely regarded as a flop in the Arab world, where it has struggled to attract viewers and overcome skepticism about its mission.
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three hundred and fifty million

[damntexdem]

1. Typical Bushista level of competency.

But only $350 million? That's far below general Bushista levels of waste.

[booley]

2. Hypocrisy is a poor place to make a moral stand

Gee, arabs in the middle east think that all of the US's talk about freedom and democracy is just hot air?

Now what would have given them that idea?

Seriously, this is why conservatives can so often win elections and fail at governing once elected. They really do seem to think that perception is reality. Just tell people it' s raining enough and they wont' notice the "rain" is yellow.