Propaganda Influences American Military Leaders in Foreign Academic Programs

The U.S. Military allows other nations to indoctrinate its leaders through the Rhodes Scholars and foreign exchange programs. America is permitting potential adversaries and ideologues to influence and infiltrate military leadership training.

A Rhodes Scholarship is “a fully-funded postgraduate award which enables talented young people from around the world to study full-time at the University of Oxford.”

Graduates of U.S. military academies are among those chosen to attend Oxford, a school filled with anti-Israel far-left propagandists.

In May 2024, over 650 Oxford faculty and staff signed a letter professing solidarity with protestors to “divest from Israel’s genocide in Gaza” and from “Israel’s ongoing apartheid regime against Palestinians.”

Among the Rhodes Scholars selected in 2024 is Pakistani Asmer Safi who was a member of the Harvard anti-Israel activist group, the Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC).

One day after the October 7th Israeli massacre, the PSC issued a statement that the “Israeli regime [was] entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

Safi blamed Israel for the Hamas war crimes and posted support for terrorists on social media. At Oxford, Safi studies “how progressive political messaging” garners mass appeal.

The Rhodes United States microsite claims American students are chosen “not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good.” Their definition of “common good” amounts to indoctrination into leftist propaganda:

“All of us around the world are called to join the struggle for equality and inclusion of all peoples of diverse backgrounds and identities, to eradicate systemic racism and to confront legacies of slavery, imperialism, and white supremacy.

We cannot reconcile or heal if we do not acknowledge and see. As the Rhodes Trust, we acknowledge that our foundation was built on colonial wealth and that varied forms of discrimination played a significant role in our history . . . we hope to enhance our ability to support Scholars who will make positive change.”

DEI—Not Merit

While the Rhodes Trust organization claims to select individuals based on merit, there is no merit to that claim. Rhodes emphasizes the need to be diverse and they have a strong commitment to DEI initiatives. Their Class of 2025 profiles show white males in the extreme minority of entrants, but applicants to the prestigious scholarship only need a GPA of 3.7 out of 4.0 to qualify.

Rhodes seeks to “widen and diversify the distribution” of scholarships.” They seek to “continue to assess the diversity of our applicant pools across all constituencies, identify gaps, diversify and train our selectors, and reach out to students from historically marginalised communities.” They “aim to enhance the Oxford experience for Scholars who are Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Colour.”

In 2025, Oxford announced they would do away with traditional exams and grading to eliminate achievement gaps based on race. They intend to focus on “inclusive teaching” methods, providing instructors a “racially inclusive teaching toolkit.” The changes demean minorities because it assumes they need special treatment to succeed at a high level.

Each year, U.S. military academies have graduates accepted into the program. West Point announced four graduates will attend Oxford this fall, bringing their total number of Rhodes Scholars to 108.

The Naval Academy’s historic total is 56, while the Air Force Academy has had 44. Despite females being in the minority at the service academies, they are selected to attend Oxford at a much higher rate than males.

At Navy, 6 out of 8 Rhodes Scholars in the last decade were female. Despite women making up only 24 percent of the cadets at West Point, over the last decade 59 percent of West Point Oxford Scholars have been female.

One of Rhodes’ guiding principles is a “spirit of acknowledgement, reconciliation, and reparation.” They also require “unconscious bias training” for all students. This does not align with American leadership directives prohibiting DEI in the military.

The Trump administration has prohibited leftist indoctrination in America’s military academies. They should also take a hard look at foreign influence in graduate education of military leaders.

Training Potential Adversaries

Not only does the United States allow future military leaders to be indoctrinated through the Rhodes Scholar program, but West Point has had concerning relationships with other nations, including China.

Certainly, there are advantages to training with military partners around the world. We ought to train allies to better defend themselves and strengthen partnerships. That training should be extremely selective and in America’s favor. We also have every right to screen potential anti-American doctrine that could be forced on American military students.

The West Point Foreign Academy Exchange Program offers opportunities for cadets to travel to select countries in March and then in exchange, foreign cadets attend school at West Point in April. Among the countries on the list are Colombia, Honduras, Niger, and Gabon. S

hould America invest in sending military students to such dangerous countries? What is the advantage of having students from these gang- and crime-ridden nations attend our prestigious taxpayer-funded military institutions?

Additionally, can we trust the leftist European countries on the list not to push their anti-American views?

Shockingly, West Point has partnered with state-run Chinese universities. As recently as 2018, then-Dean of West Point’s Academic Board Cindy Jebb delivered a lecture at Peking University in China.

In 2007, Peking University sent students to study at West Point following “the same curriculum as West Point cadets.” Jebb also visited Tsinghua University to “facilitate further education cooperation and exchanges.”

The Defense Department must provide strict oversight and clear directives regarding military training and education when it involves foreign governments and institutions.

The United States has enough resources to properly train our own troops, and even provide them advanced education. We don’t need to rely on Oxford or Honduras.

Such exchange programs should accrue benefits to American service members while not undermining their sense of duty and purpose.

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Victoria Manning is a Senior Investigative Researcher for Restoration News specializing in education freedom, abortion, and immigration, and the author of Behind the Wall of Government Schools. Victoria served 8 years as an elected school board member with a master’s degree in law. She also brings the perspective of a military spouse and mother to her reporting.

First published on Restoration News