The Foreign Service Journal, January 2004

Department — and discussions of American policy that help promote and explain our policies and our values. During one recent month, we broadcast three of President Bush’s major speeches, covered all the speech- es of Secretary of State Colin Powell, and interviewed more than a dozen members of Congress as well as a vari- ety of senior administration officials. From the State Department alone, VOA featured interviews with Lorne Craner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor; Walter Kansteiner, (former) Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Amb. Ellen Sauerbrey, U.S. Representative to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women; Zalmay Khalilzad, Ambassador to Afghanistan; Amb. Thomas Watson, State Department Special Coordinator for Cyprus; Amb. David Satterfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; and John Miller, director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Over the course of a year, we’ve interviewed officials from most, if not all 16, of the State Department’s bureaus. In addition, during the same month we aired inter- views with the presidents of Ecuador, Romania and Ghana; the prime ministers of Albania and Kosovo; senior ministers in the governments of Chile, Lithuania, Hungary and Eritrea; and the Slovak, Bulgarian and Colombian ambassadors here in Washington. Like the interviews we do with American officials, these conver- sations promote the kind of dialogue that President Bush and Secretary Powell have indicated is essential to winning the war against terrorism. By itself this isn’t enough, of course. But VOA’s overall contribution to promoting American national interests is not trivial, especially in the world after 9/11. That world, which President Bush has accurately described as a new war of ideas, is one in which we must appeal directly to individuals and groups, not just to governments, if we are to succeed. In that kind of strug- gle, VOA can and will continue to play a key role. F O C U S J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 SERVING THOSE WHO SERVE AMERICA S I NCE 1 9 7 1 2003 represents our 33 rd year helping to maintain America’s fleet of vehicles throughout the world. All of us at D & M consider it an honor to have worked with all of you through these years. We are aware of the importance of your official and private vehicles, forklifts, generators, tools and equipment. We look forward to continuing this service in a professional manner. We are here to help, just ask! Gary Vlahov www.dmauto.com (516) 822-6662; FAX: (516) 822-5020; E-mail: info@dmauto.com