US to Boost Propaganda Effort

US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the US Congress budgetary hearings, said the US had to build up resistance to hostile propaganda and anti-American "myths" abroad

According to C. Rice, the US has won the "cold war" because it "won the war of ideas". Now, she says, the situation is much worse, as anti-Americanism has been on the rise all over the world.

Therefore, one of the most important tasks of the US administration and the State Department is informing the public abroad and conducting "public diplomacy".

C. Rice emphasized the importance of using the experience already gained in this field to reactivate the information effort abroad.

The State Secretary pointed out the importance for the US to further extend the available radio and TV channels of broadcasting to foreign countries, as well as to widely use the commercial satellite TV channels which, in her view, are playing now "the most important role" in the global information space.

Addressing the legislators, C. Rice said that Bush administration has asked for $328 million from the 2006 budget for the US State Department "to interact with, inform and influence foreign public opinion", and another $430 million for programs of cultural and educational exchanges with foreign countries.