Quoth the raven..."NeverGore".
Posted on 02/15/2006 5:38:54 PM PST by blam
Bush plans huge propaganda campaign in Iran
· Congress asked for $75m to fund programme · Rice to visit Gulf states as nuclear crisis deepens
Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday February 16, 2006
The Guardian (UK)
The Bush administration made an emergency request to Congress yesterday for a seven-fold increase in funding to mount the biggest ever propaganda campaign against the Tehran government, in a further sign of the worsening crisis between Iran and the west.
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said the $75m (£43m) in extra funds, on top of $10m already allocated for later this year, would be used to broadcast US radio and television programmes into Iran, help pay for Iranians to study in America and support pro-democracy groups inside the country.
Although US officials acknowledge the limitations of such a campaign, the state department is determined to press ahead with measures that include extending the government-run Voice of America's Farsi service from a few hours a day to round-the-clock coverage. The sudden budget request, which follows an outlay of only $4m over the last two years, is to be accompanied by a diplomatic drive by Ms Rice to discuss Tehran's suspect nuclear weapons programme. She is to begin with a visit to Gulf states. Ms Rice told the Senate foreign affairs committee that Iranian leaders "have now crossed a point where they are in open defiance of the international community".
She added: "The United States will actively confront the aggressive policies of the Iranian regime. At the same time, we will work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy in their country."
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Send the people guns & bullets.
This is our invasion people are wondering about.
That puts any proposed military action off for at least a year.
It's about time we try to do something. We should have started trying to do something about 3 years ago BEFORE that maniac got to power, while the students were demonstrating every day.
Yep---our tax money straight down a rathole!
"A waste of $75 million.
Send the people guns & bullets."
If they were going to do that they wouldn't be announcing it publicly.
nah, its not a waste of money, its the right path to take. First you have to get as many Iranians on side, then once you've done that, THEN send in guns to allow them to take over the government themselves. You don't want to send the guns in first without knowing that they may turn against you later.
Quoth the raven..."NeverGore".
Good strategy. Iran is ripe for a revolution. We need to let the Iranian people know that our objective is regime change. The State Department doesn't provide guns and bullets nor would we announce any covert assistance. We need to support the forces within Iran who want to get rid of the mullahs.
I think that it's more a case of throwing good money after bad, but I'd love to see myself proved wrong.
Half million Iranian expats in LA call the shots on this. If they are ready to move, give them money.
I'd love to see the program work, but I think that the government of Iran is so repressive that it will only fall to outside pressure. I think that the money would be better spent on setting up intelligence networks in Iran.
I hope he has better luck winning the hearts and minds of the Iranians then he's had with the American left...........
Don't think so. It's a necessary precursor to such action.
Sending guns and bullets to people who don't know how to use them does little other than satisfy our urge to help.
Ahmadinejad is such a prima donna drama queen that this ought to be worth it just to hear his outraged shrieking. I like it. While they're at it they ought to throw a little of it at Chavez as well.
You give the LA Iranian ex-pats far too much credit in their ability to act, direct the action or provide finances (a previous reply of yours) :-))
There are separate budgets for that kind of activity.
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