Before joining New Media Strategies, I worked for the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, where I was involved in helping spread democracy, freedom, and intellectual debate throughout the world through international broadcasting (Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio/TV Marti, Radio Sawa, Alhurra, Radio Free Asia).

To help struggling democracies and overcome closed societies, America is moving away from ancient shortwave radio into cutting edge satellite television news and public affairs broadcasts — and embracing the Internet. So I was thrilled to read an Associated Press story this morning about an Egyptian named Alaa Abdel-Fattah who is blogging pro-democracy messages from his Egyptian prison. The story says the blog has become one of the most popular pro-democracy voices in Egypt.

The story quotes Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds, who has written frequently about Abdel-Fattah: “He’s certainly the most famous blogger in Egypt and arguably the best known reformer there now. When you suppress dissent, even minor voices become incredibly powerful.”

The story also mentions another Egyptian blogger, Sam Adam.

On this Memorial Day, it’s thrilling and heartening to see the battle for democracy being fought on the Internet, not on bloody battlefields. Cheers to all blogging on the front lines.