How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Democracy

The scene from Dr. Strangelove OR: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb where the wacko pilot rides the bomb to oblivion.

Pitfalls of Rice’s Plan for ‘Democracy Promotion’ in Iran*

By: Donya Ziaee

United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, asked Congress for $75 million last Wednesday to back democracy promotion in Iran. Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice proposed a Cold War-style program to promote political change in Iran by increasing U.S. radio and TV broadcasts to the country and funding dissident groups. She proclaimed: “We are going to begin a new effort to support the aspirations of the Iranian people. We will use this money to develop support networks for Iranian reformers, political dissidents and human rights activists.”

Of the proposed sum of money, $50 million will go towards introducing 24-hour Farsi broadcasts into Iran by U.S. government TV and radio, $15 million to trade unions and dissident groups, $5 million to increasing student exchanges, and another $5 million to setting up independent websites, and TV and radio stations in Farsi. This willingness to provide financial assistance to internal, rather than expatriate, dissident groups marks a shift in U.S. policy. The U.S. had hitherto advocated economic sanctioning of Iran and all Iranian individuals and organizations.

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* The article appeared in February 20 edition of Shahrvand.