Research Paper on:
United States Information Agency

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
as sort of a international public relations firm for the United States, broadcasting its policies overseas to others, providing information about the U.S. to foreign journalists, and serving as an  outpost and conduit in terms of what other countries were saying about the United States. The USIA was the window on the world for America, and in many cases, its  one link with a variety of other countries. With the abolishment of the agency in 1999, the United States has had no  effective vehicle to either promote its policies or to determine what, exactly, people think about the policies. Yet if truth were told, the USIA had become ineffective anyway, since the  early 1990s because of lack of resources and people. Government funding had been steadily cut back from the agency, rendering it useless and ineffective.  This paper will examine the history of the USIA, see what went wrong and if the agency should be brought back. History of the USIA  Before attempting to do any analysis of the USIA, its important to discuss this organizations long and storied history. During its years of existence, the  USIA has had its mission redefined, based on what was going on in both the United States and around the world (Interview with Former USIA Director, 1999).  According to the agencys web site, which is kept operational more for posterity than for information purposes, the United States Information Agency is defined as  ". . . an independent foreign affairs agency within the executive branch of the U.S. government" (USIA, 2002). The agency promotes U.S. foreign policy and national interests through a variety