Adding a European Theater

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The Bush administration will escalate "its information war against Islamic extremism" by beaming "Arab-language satellite-television broadcasts to Europe." Later this year, the Virginia-based, "U.S.-backed TV channel Alhurra expects to transmit 24-hour programming to European Muslim communities." The $3.5 million in start-up funding will come from the $81 billion supplemental military budget request. The chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors said, "The 9/11 hijackers came largely from Europe. It's a significant gap that we were not broadcasting in Arabic to Europe." U.S.-funded media is seen as a "so-called soft-power tool for building good will" internationally.