Via the blog Regime Change Iran, here's an interview with Michael Ledeen on U.S. support for democratic revolution in Iran. His usual theme of more, better, and faster please, is on display.
Ledeen has always urged the U.S. government to be more direct and outspoken in its support for Iranian democrats, so it was somewhat encouraging to hear the President, in his speech the other day, requesting some $75 million for assistance to Iranian democracy groups, and speaking plainly on the matter of Iranian independence:
The international community is...speaking with one voice to the radical regime in Tehran. Iran is a nation held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people, and denying them basic liberties and human rights. The Iranian regime sponsors terrorists and is actively working to expand its influence in the region. The Iranian regime has advocated the destruction of our ally, Israel. And the Iranian regime is defying the world with its ambitions for nuclear weapons.Posted by dan at February 26, 2006 10:08 PMAmerica will continue to rally the world to confront these threats, and Iran's aggressive behavior and pursuit of nuclear weapons is increasing its international isolation....The free world is sending the regime in Tehran a clear message: We're not going to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons.
The world's free nations are also worried because the Iranian regime is not transparent. You see, a non-transparent society that is the world's premier state sponsor of terror cannot be allowed to possess the world's most dangerous weapons. So, as we confront Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions, we're also reaching out to the Iranian people to support their desire to be free; to build a free, democratic, and transparent society.
To support the Iranian people's efforts to win their own freedom, my administration is requesting $75 million in emergency funds to support democracy in Iran. This is more than a fourfold increase over current levels of funding. These new funds will allow us to expand radio and television broadcasts into Iran. They will support reformers and dissidents and human rights activists and civil society organizers in Iran, so Iranians can organize and challenge the repressive policies of the clerical regime. They will support student exchanges, so we can build bridges of understanding between our people and expose more Iranians to life in a free society.