11 September 1998
(Arabic language service will begin broadcasting this fall) (530) Washington -- Ambassador David G. Newton has been appointed to be the director of Radio Free Iraq, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) new Arabic language service that will begin broadcasting to Iraq this fall. Ambassador Newton is a distinguished expert on the Middle East, including service as the American Ambassador to Iraq from 1984-1988. He is fluent in Arabic, extremely knowledgeable about the Middle East and has extensive management experience, according to a RFE/RL news release. Following is the text of the news release: (Begin text) RFE/RL NEWS Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC USA http://www.rferl.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWTON NAMED TO HEAD RADIO FREE IRAQ (Washington, DC -- September 9) Thomas A. Dine, President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., today announced the appointment of Ambassador David G. Newton to be the director of Radio Free Iraq, RFE/RL's new Arabic language service that will begin broadcasting to Iraq later this fall. A distinguished expert on the Middle East, David Newton worked throughout the Arab world during a 36-year career at the U.S. Department of State, including service as American ambassador to Iraq from 1984 to 1988 and in Yemen from 1994 to 1997. He is fluent in Arabic, extremely knowledgeable about the Middle East and has extensive management experience. In making this announcement, Mr. Dine said that the role of Radio Free Iraq will be similar to that played by RFE/RL's other language services during the darkest days of the Cold War. "The government in Iraq continues to oppress its people, depriving them of virtually any chance to obtain the free and balanced information they need to begin a process of transformation in their country. "RFE/RL knows what can be accomplished by providing people with reliable information," Mr. Dine added. "As has historically been the case and as is required by our charter, RFE/RL will broadcast to Iraq news and information that conforms to the highest journalistic standards. "To this end, I have asked Amb. David Newton to join us, and together we are recruiting the very finest journalists we can find, both Americans with expertise on Iraq and Iraqis living outside their country, who are committed to the values of freedom and democracy. To that end, we have developed a system of editorial checks and balances to ensure that every word that we broadcast will meet the highest standards of journalism. "The Radios have extensive experience with every one of these arrangements and that is almost certainly why both branches of our government have entrusted us with this responsibility." Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a private, international radio service to Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia funded by the US Congress. More than 20 million regular listeners rely on RFE/RL's daily news, analysis and current affairs programming to provide a coherent, objective account of events in their region and the world. (End Text)