Says Taxpayer Money on the Network Wasted
Hook Attacks VOA for Failing to Sway Iranians
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The Trump administration has lamented a Congress-funded U.S. broadcaster’s failure to influence the public opinion in Iran, angrily describing Voice of America (VOA) as being the voice of Iran.
A press note circulated by the White House referred to an article U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook wrote for The New York Post on Wednesday, raising serious doubts about VOA’s performance. "Why are U.S. taxpayers funding” a voice of Iran? asked the White House note.
Hook, also a hawkish senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, wrote that he was receiving regular complaints about VOA’s Persian service. Iranian viewers say its American taxpayer funded programming often sounds more like the ‘Voice of Iran’ than the ‘Voice of America’, he added.
VOA’s congressionally funded Persian News Network received more than $17 million in taxpayer funds last year.
"But VOA is failing to represent America to Iran with fact-based content that is reliable and authoritative,” Hook wrote.
His idea of fact-based content brings nothing to mind except his boss Pompeo’s confession that as the CIA director, "We lied, we cheated, we stole.”
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with VOA’s coverage of Covid-19. "The president is only the latest person to voice frustrations with VOA programming,” Hook wrote.
He also referred to a 2019 report by a U.S. think-tank, the American Foreign Policy Council
(AFPC), which demanded "truly sweeping change” to "transform American broadcasting into an agile, streamlined, digital-first media platform.” Hook said there was also widespread mismanagement at the organization as "VOA Persian has failed to create an open and transparent workplace.” He warned that the network should ramp up the U.S. propaganda about alleged human rights and counter Iran’s media influence. "If it can’t meet these standards — and soon — Congress should consider ending its funding and shutting down VOA Persian as a fiduciary duty to American taxpayers.” "He apparently wants VOA to do nothing but viciously attack Iran in its Iranian language program and he thinks that would be effective propaganda for trying to convince the Iranian people to destroy their own country and overthrow their own government and become traitors to their own constitution,” American author, journalist and radio host Kevin Barrett wrote on Thursday. According Barrett, the one area where Hook is right is that the $17 million of U.S. taxpayer money that are going to fund the VOA Persian service propaganda is largely wasted. "The smart thing here”, he continued "would be to just shut down VOA Persian as Hook is threatening, rather than to waste even more money by turning it into a voice of Pompeo and Hook’s rabid lunacy, which would get absolutely no traction in Iran or anywhere else.” Outlets such as the Persian services of VOA, BBC, Manoto and Iran International have been founded with an agenda to incite Iranians to riot and bring down the Islamic Republic which is fervently opposed to the imperialist U.S. agenda. In October 2018, The Guardian quoted a source close to the Riyadh regime as saying that the London-based Iran International TV channel had received an estimated $250 million from the Saudi royal court for its launch. According to Barrett, "the VOA people, as bad as they are at their jobs, are at least proficient enough to know that the way you can propaganda is you have to be somewhat subtle”. "You have to come across as if you’re being reasonable and balanced, while subtly highlighting a particular point of view that you’re trying to get across and that is what VOA does in its Persian services as well as other services, attacking other independent countries. "But Pompeo and Hook apparently think that if they can force the VOA Persian service to only hire rabid lunatics like them who lash out and drool with rabid mania at all times, 24/7, 365 [days], that will somehow convince the Iranian people that they’re right and that Iran is wrong. And, well, go ahead, try it.”
A press note circulated by the White House referred to an article U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook wrote for The New York Post on Wednesday, raising serious doubts about VOA’s performance. "Why are U.S. taxpayers funding” a voice of Iran? asked the White House note.
Hook, also a hawkish senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, wrote that he was receiving regular complaints about VOA’s Persian service. Iranian viewers say its American taxpayer funded programming often sounds more like the ‘Voice of Iran’ than the ‘Voice of America’, he added.
VOA’s congressionally funded Persian News Network received more than $17 million in taxpayer funds last year.
"But VOA is failing to represent America to Iran with fact-based content that is reliable and authoritative,” Hook wrote.
His idea of fact-based content brings nothing to mind except his boss Pompeo’s confession that as the CIA director, "We lied, we cheated, we stole.”
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with VOA’s coverage of Covid-19. "The president is only the latest person to voice frustrations with VOA programming,” Hook wrote.
He also referred to a 2019 report by a U.S. think-tank, the American Foreign Policy Council
(AFPC), which demanded "truly sweeping change” to "transform American broadcasting into an agile, streamlined, digital-first media platform.” Hook said there was also widespread mismanagement at the organization as "VOA Persian has failed to create an open and transparent workplace.” He warned that the network should ramp up the U.S. propaganda about alleged human rights and counter Iran’s media influence. "If it can’t meet these standards — and soon — Congress should consider ending its funding and shutting down VOA Persian as a fiduciary duty to American taxpayers.” "He apparently wants VOA to do nothing but viciously attack Iran in its Iranian language program and he thinks that would be effective propaganda for trying to convince the Iranian people to destroy their own country and overthrow their own government and become traitors to their own constitution,” American author, journalist and radio host Kevin Barrett wrote on Thursday. According Barrett, the one area where Hook is right is that the $17 million of U.S. taxpayer money that are going to fund the VOA Persian service propaganda is largely wasted. "The smart thing here”, he continued "would be to just shut down VOA Persian as Hook is threatening, rather than to waste even more money by turning it into a voice of Pompeo and Hook’s rabid lunacy, which would get absolutely no traction in Iran or anywhere else.” Outlets such as the Persian services of VOA, BBC, Manoto and Iran International have been founded with an agenda to incite Iranians to riot and bring down the Islamic Republic which is fervently opposed to the imperialist U.S. agenda. In October 2018, The Guardian quoted a source close to the Riyadh regime as saying that the London-based Iran International TV channel had received an estimated $250 million from the Saudi royal court for its launch. According to Barrett, "the VOA people, as bad as they are at their jobs, are at least proficient enough to know that the way you can propaganda is you have to be somewhat subtle”. "You have to come across as if you’re being reasonable and balanced, while subtly highlighting a particular point of view that you’re trying to get across and that is what VOA does in its Persian services as well as other services, attacking other independent countries. "But Pompeo and Hook apparently think that if they can force the VOA Persian service to only hire rabid lunatics like them who lash out and drool with rabid mania at all times, 24/7, 365 [days], that will somehow convince the Iranian people that they’re right and that Iran is wrong. And, well, go ahead, try it.”