Henry Kissinger died on November 29, 2023; he was 100-years-old.
A major turning point in RFE/RL’s
history occurred in 1967 when Ramparts magazine publicly revealed the RFE-CIA
relationship, which would subsequently lead to a congressional decision that
the CIA would no longer finance RFE and RL:
Within the United States there are many
elements, including large ethnic groups with close ties to many of the
countries to which the Radios broadcast, for whom cessation of broadcasting
would seem a serious and incomprehensible decision, especially in light of the
Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. The attitudes of the ethnic groups would
probably add significantly to the likelihood of adverse publicity attendant on
termination, and would lend themselves to domestic political exploitation.
Strongly negative Congressional reactions were encountered when the Director of
Central Intelligence discussed the possibility of termination with key members
of Congress in late 1967. A number of Congressmen are likely
to show particular concern for the fate of RFE and RL because of their
traditional responsiveness to the interests of domestic European ethnic groups,
and because of their considerable knowledge of and belief in the work of the
Radios.
On March 20, 1970,
there was a meeting in the White House, with President Nixon, Richard Helms,
the director of the CIA, and Henry Kissinger, the president’s national security
advisor. The future of Radio Free Europe was one of the topics discussed. After
the meeting, Helms wrote: “With respect to black operations, the President
enjoined me to hit the Soviets, and hit them hard, any place we can in the
world. He said to ‘just go ahead,’ to keep Henry Kissinger informed, and to be
as imaginative as we could. He was as emphatic on this as I have ever heard him
on anything. He indicated that he had had a change of mind and thought that
Radio Free Europe should be continued.
In response to this meeting, the CIA
wrote a paper entitled Tensions in the
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe: Challenge and Opportunity. The paper,
which was describe as “excellent” by Henry Kissinger in a note to President
Nixon, supported the continuation of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, which
“represent a 20-year investment of over $400, 000,000.”
President Nixon appointed a commission in August 1972 to study international radio broadcasting to review alternative arrangements for funding RFE and RL. In his letter to Dr. Milton Eisenhower confirming his appointment as Chairman, Nixon wrote:
As you are undoubtedly aware, the operations of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty have been thoroughly debated by Congress during the past year. Throughout this period of intense review, the radios have continued to receive overwhelming sup- port from the majorities of both houses of Congress, the news media, and many of our leading citizens from all walks of life.... [I] believe the Commission should undertake a critical examination of the operation and funding question and recommend methods for future maintenance and support of the radios, which will not impair their professional independence and, consequently their effectiveness.
CIA ended financial support to RFE and RL on June 30, 1971, and all supervision and other involvement on March 30, 1972. The US State Department took over funding of the radios until 1975, when the Board for International Broadcasting was created. Final physical and administrative consolidation of the two radio stations in Munich took place in 1975–76, as RFE/RL, which moved to Prague, Czech Republic in 1995 and continues to broadcast from there.
Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State
wrote a letter to David M. Abshire, Chairman, Board for International
Broadcasting, on August 28, 1976. In part, it read:
Radio Free Europe and
Radio Liberty broadcasts can admirably serve “to facilitate the freeer and
wider dissemination of information of all kinds. The comprehensive coverage,
quality reporting, and objective news analysis of the broadcasts are a uniquely
meaningful and often vital source of information and encourage the
“constructive dialogue with the peoples of Eastern Europe and the USSR” … The
Radios are independent, highly professional operations which make a vital
contribution to the free flow of information between peoples.
