Free Republic

<p>For the first time, Congress is set to approve government funds openly earmarked to help undermine the Islamic government of Iran by providing money for dissidents inside the country, according to US officials and specialists.</p> <p>The program calls for an initial $1.5 million to be spent next year to support the efforts of Iranians and Iranian organizations seeking to replace the government in Tehran with a democracy.</p>

Congress is preparing for the first time to authorize public funding for human rights and democracy activities inside the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tucked inside the 2004 Omnibus Appropriations bill is language that instructs the State Department to spend $1.5 million “for making grants to educational, humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations and individuals inside Iran to support the advancement of democracy and human rights in Iran.” While the amount is modest, it breaks a long-standing barrier against American spending inside Iran and could signal the Bush administration’s intention to no longer heed a 1981 agreement with Tehran that pledged that Washington...

<p>The blunt warning, delivered by U.S. Under Secretary of State John Bolton on Tuesday, could involve measures that include the interdicting and seizing of such "illicit goods" on the high seas or in the air if those nations weren't willing to follow a path of non-proliferation.</p>

The United States on Tuesday turned up the pressure on the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors to refer Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons to the UN Security Council, where sanctions could be imposed, should there be "one more transgression by Iran." "The IAEA's November 26 resolution should leave no doubt that one more transgression by Iran will mean that the IAEA is obligated to report Iran's noncompliance to the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations, in accordance with Article XII.C of the IAEA Statute," Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John...

PENTAGON CURTAILS IRANIAN CONTACTS, IN A BOW TO STATE Rumsfeld Issues New Guideline, Triggering Concern of Hawks By ELI LAKE Staff Reporter of the Sun The Pentagon’s contacts with opponents of the Iranian regime have all but dried up after elaborate procedures were introduced requiring such meetings to be cleared at the top levels of the Defense Department. Some advocatyes of a hard line against Iran say that the new restrictions have meant less encouragement from America for those seeking to spread freedom and democracy in Iran. They also voice concern that the rules have prevented America from getting valuable...

Undersecretary of State John Bolton said on Tuesday the United States would act decisively to impede any transfers of nuclear and missile technology to Iran. In prepared remarks for a speech at a security conference, Bolton also reaffirmed a U.S. pledge to provide North Korea with a written security assurance. But this can only happen if the North agreed to "an effective verification regime" that assured Washington it would not reconstitute its nuclear program, he said. "For our part, the United States will continue its efforts to prevent the transfer of sensitive nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Iran, from...

As far as we know, Iraq has not been a prime sponsor of terrorism under Saddam Hussein in the recent past; Iran was -- and is. As far as we know, Iraq did not have a functioning nuclear weapons program. Iran does. So who did we go to war against? Iraq. Maybe someone in the White House can't spell. Whatever the explanation, the decision to make war on Iraq has cost the United States plenty when it comes to dealing with Iran. In the past month the Bush administration has been repeatedly rebuffed by our European allies -- Germany, France...

Armitage Informs Senate of U.S. Policy Toward Iran U.S. Department of States Washington File October 29, 2003/The United States intends to pursue a "flexible, dynamic and multifaceted" policy toward Iran in order to encourage the Iranian people's desire for greater freedom while countering negative policies of their government, such as pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and support for terrorism. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 28 that Iran "is a country in the midst of a tremendous transformation, and I believe American policy can affect the direction Iran will take." In his...

Washington Prepared to Resume Contacts with Iran Reuters / Reuters.com October 28, 2003 /WASHINGTON -- The United States said on Tuesday it was prepared to resume limited contacts with the Iranian government but relations would not improve until the Iranians share intelligence about al Qaeda members in Iran. "We are prepared to engage in limited discussions with the government of Iran about areas of mutual interest as appropriate." Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in testimony prepared for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We have not, however, entered into any broad dialogue with the aim of normalizing relations," he...

Iran-Contra Figure Re-emerges as Middleman for Iraq Information to U.S. Government PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, October 15, 2003 (10-15) 11:54 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- A central figure in the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s has passed allegations to the Bush administration that $150 million in enriched uranium was smuggled from Iraq into Iran five years ago and some may remain hidden in Iraq. The information was relayed to the administration through a conservative author, Michael Ledeen. And Ledeen is now accusing the CIA of failing to aggressively check the allegation because of a long-held distrust of Manucher Ghorbanifar,...

Wolfowitz: Support Our Troops September 02, 2003 The Wall Street Journal Paul Wolfowitz When terrorists exploded a bomb outside a shrine in Najaf last week, they killed scores of Muslims who had gathered for prayers -- including one of Iraq's foremost Shiite leaders, who had been playing a key role in stabilizing post-Saddam Iraq. Similarly, when a bomb detonated in the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad recently, those killed and injured were innocent men and women -- including Iraqis -- who were engaged in the humanitarian mission of rebuilding Iraq. But those victims weren't the only targets. Terrorists were aiming a...

Double Standards and Deception: How the Left Treats Iran and the Middle East Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy Anaysis/Opinion. By Elio Bonazzi In an article that appeared in the New York Post, in early March 2003, prior to the Coalition war on Iraq, Iranian-born journalist Amir Taheri denounced what he felt were the deeply hypocritical position of the peace movement, which had, in the build-up to the 2003 US-led war against Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein, organized marches and rallies throughout 600 cities and 25 countries. Stalin founded this “peace movement” movement in 1946, when the USSR was in a...

Bremer Worried About Iran Meddling in Iraq's Affairs August 19, 2003 The Associated Press Barry Schweid WASHINGTON -- The State Department credited Syria on Tuesday with ''limited progress'' in restraining terrorists from crossing the border with Iraq and in expelling some extremists. But President Bashar Assad's government has not gone far enough, particularly in closing the offices of extremist groups in Damascus, department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Earlier, and before Tuesday's bloody truck bombing at U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, the top U.S. official in Iraq took a tougher line against Syria. L. Paul Bremer, who is in charge of U.S....

Transcript: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on 'Fox News Sunday' August 18, 2003 Fox News Transcript The following is a transcribed excerpt on Iran from "Fox News Sunday," Aug. 17, 2003 SNOW: One of the linchpins in this terror network is Iran. Is it your belief that Iran is trying to whip up fervor among Shia Muslims within Iraq to try to destabilize the situation there? DELAY: Well, Tony, while I was in Baghdad, it was pointed out to me that terrorists are coming out of Iran, they're coming out of Syria. They're creating the problems that we're having now....

Transcript of US Senator John Cornyn's speech on Iran SMCCDI (Information Service) Jul 20, 2003 The following is US Senator John Cornyn's speech made at the occasion of the commemoration of the 4th anniversary of July 9th Student Uprising in Iran. The meeting, highly covered by most Texan TV networks such as CBS and Warner, was organized by SMCCDI and held at the Dallas (Texas/USA) Intercontinental Hotel on July 13, 2003. John Cornyn (R-TX) is one of the original co-sponsors of the "Iran Democracy Act", introduced by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), which seeks to help the Iranian secular forces in...

Bush Has a Strong Belief that Iran's Population Should be Free July 19, 2003 The Telegraph Toby Harnden Iran has become the most contentious foreign policy issue in the Bush administration, with bitter division over whether to force regime change in Teheran or woo reformist elements amid growing concern about the country's nuclear ambitions. Some of the most hardline, neo-conservative elements have suggested a pre-emptive strike against nuclear facilities if Iran does not come clean about its weapon production capabilities, but no senior figure in the administration is advocating a new war.

American Companies Armed Iran For Many Years Translated from Russian by Maria Gousseva Jul 15, 2003 US special services discovered that 18 American companies supposedly supplied weapons to the country As a result of an investigation of illegal supplies of military technologies to Iran agents of US special services discovered that 18 American companies supposedly supplied weapons to the country. Associated Press reports that through London's company Multicore Ltd., related to the Iranian military, Teheran was supplied with spare parts for the F-14, F-4 and F-5 battle planes, to the S-130 troop-carriers, Hawk anti-aircraft missiles and military radars. The information...

What Powell Really Said on Iran By Michael A. Ledeen Posted: Tuesday, July 8, 2003 ARTICLES New York Sun Publication Date: July 8, 2003 Secretary of State Powell was subjected to an unusually slick job of disinformation over the July 4th weekend. The offending party was Reuters, which followers of the press coverage of recent Iraqi matters will recognize as a tireless source of anti-American stories. Mr. Powell was interviewed by Shawn Hannity on his nation-wide radio show--not, as Reuters has it, on a local Washington station--and the conversation got around to Iran. They had been talking about American military...

The Future of Iran: Armitage might want to rethink that "democracy" line http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | Yesterday, July 9, was the day the Iranian student movement has designated for national demonstrations against the regime, and a general strike in favor of democracy. Shaken by weeks of recent protests, and worried about the mounting criticism from several Western countries, the regime has taken unprecedented steps to head off a potential showdown with its own people: Thousands of political activists, students, and others, have been rounded up and packed into prisons, subjected to torture, and in some cases murdered. Children of parliamentarians have been...

Iran Democracy Language a Part of State Department Authorization Bill Thursday, July 10, 2003 WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback said he is pleased the Senate last night included language supporting democracy in Iran to the State Department Authorization Bill (S. 925). “The United States must stand in solidarity with the Iranian people who are resisting the oppressive regime which has refused to reform despite nearly seven years of promises to do so,” Brownback said. “Iran is not a democracy now – but we hope one day it will be. “To the Iranian people, I offer my continued support. This...