General Lucius D. Clay, former U.S. Military Governor in Germany and leader of the Berlin Airlift, was the first chairman of the Crusade for Freedom. After WWII, the Crusade collected funds from private citizens and businesses in the United States for Radio Free Europe. However, almost all of the necessary funding came secretly from the CIA budget since private contributions, while reaching millions of dollars, were nowhere near enough to run the radio station broadcasting to countries behind the Iron Curtain.

When asked why Radio Free Europe is so important, General Clay answered:

“Because it is devoted to the single most important job in the world — to help prevent World War III from happening.”

General Clay added:

“If 70,000,000 people in the six Iron Curtain countries continue to resist Soviet tyranny, the Kremlin is kept off balance in one of the most strategically sensitive areas of the world.”

Russia under Vladimir Putin is waging aggressive wars. President Trump now says, “We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin.”

I wonder if the White House and the U.S. Agency for Global Media – USAGM #USAGM have modified their plans for the future of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty #RFERL. The Voice of America #VOA, which faces a drastic reduction, cannot do the job of RFE/RL. To be effective, RFE/RL has to remain a surrogate media outlet.

I also want to know if the RFE/RL CEO and the RFE/RL Board have a realistic strategy for keeping the media outlet fully funded and operating after October 1, 2025. If Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty goes silent, the United States would lose a powerful tool for improving U.S. national security, keeping the aggressive Russian regime off balance, and protecting peace.