*EPF402 12/23/2004
Intelligence Reform Law Encourages U.S. Engagement in Mideast
(Law authorizes school funding, supporting free press, Muslim outreach) (420)

(This is the fourth article in a series examining U.S. intelligence reform.)

Washington -- A newly enacted law that overhauls the U.S. intelligence community contains provisions requiring the United States to commit to a long-term and sustainable investment in promoting engagement throughout predominantly Muslim countries.

Specifically, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act President Bush signed into law December 17 authorizes a pilot program to provide scholarship grants to American-sponsored schools in Muslim countries. It also directs the State Department to establish an International Youth Opportunity Fund through an existing international organization to improve public education in predominantly Muslim countries.

Additionally, the law requires an annual assessment of U.S. public diplomacy activities and strategy, and it encourages the State Department to improve its recruitment and training systems in the area of public diplomacy. The law requires the department to seek individuals with applicable public relations and language skills to enhance its public diplomacy capabilities.

It recommends that ambassadors take a stronger role in public diplomacy, and directs that public diplomacy experience be used when considering an applicant's promotion into the Senior Foreign Service.

The law also requires the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which operates the Voice of America, to report regularly to the president on Muslim outreach efforts, and requires the development of indigenous media in Muslim countries.

The law authorizes the United States in fiscal years 2005 and 2006 to spend "such sums [of federal funds] as may be necessary" for the Middle East Partnership Initiative to help promote the rule of law in the Middle East. The Middle East Partnership Initiative is already authorized and funded by federal law, but this provision of the Intelligence Reform Act expresses the sense of Congress that the funds should be used specifically for promoting the rule of law.

The law also directs the State Department to promote a free press and the development of professional journalists as part of the overall public diplomacy strategy for the Middle East. The law authorizes the National Endowment for Democracy to fund a private-sector group to establish a free-media network to help participants share information concerning development of free media in societies in transition.

The law reaffirms a congressional commitment to support the reconstruction and redevelopment of Afghanistan, and the necessity for additional nations to step forward and shoulder additional economic and military burdens.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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