March 4, 2005

GIVING THE BOOT TO REALISM:

U.S. May Aid Iran Activists: Officials at State have money in hand but are still weighing how to best effect change. (Sonni Efron and Mark Mazzetti, March 4, 2005, LA Times)

The Bush administration is considering a more aggressive effort to foster opposition inside Iran and seeking ways to use a new $3-million fund to support activists without exposing them to the risk of arrest.

The approach would represent a change since President Bush's first term, when the administration was more wary of such potentially dangerous moves, officials said.

"We can now be much more aggressive [about Iran] than we had been," a senior official said, hailing the arrival of Condoleezza Rice at the State Department as invigorating the president's push for democracy.

"The guys at the State Department were too afraid to try anything during the first term," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They were extremely cautious about angering the regime in Tehran."


You can almost see her heel marks in their foreheads...

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 4, 2005 7:20 AM
Comments

The deft exploitation of the Hariri assassination seems to indicate State is turning around. This is further evidence.

Posted by: JAB at March 4, 2005 9:56 AM

The State Department is being pushed kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Thank you, Condi!

Posted by: John J. Coupal at March 4, 2005 12:22 PM

JAB assume nothing. Its most likely CIA or defense. State is still trying to figure out how to "stabilize" the situation.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at March 4, 2005 1:01 PM

It comes with the institution, I guess. State is very concerned with the proper protocols of communication between nations being observed. This requires knowing the organizational chart so the letter is addressed to "His Excellency" as opposed to "Dear Sir." Terrible thing to get that wrong, terrible. Might sour relations for a decade. A revolution, that would upset everything. Who do you address the letter to? What form? That agreement we've been working on for six years and were ready to sign, do we have to start over?

The military just asks simple questions. "Who do you want killed and what do you want broken? When do want the killing and breaking to start?"

Polar opposites you see, polar opposites.

Posted by: Mikey at March 4, 2005 1:42 PM
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