the eyeranian

Supporting Democracy???

© Paul Lachine

The pro-Israeli group in Washington DC is at it again. This time, Michael Ledeen and company have put two Republican senators in the forefront of a venture they’ve labeled “Iran Democracy Act”.

In short, it is a bill to provide even more and overt funding to a select group of Iranian dissident groups (read those in favor of re-establishing a puppet regime in Iran) as well as their radio and television stations broadcasting to Iran from Santa Monica and vicinity.

Of over a dozen Iranian opposition groups that I am regularly in contact with and would consider to have a solid commitment to democratic principals, not a single one has been contacted to help in drafting the bill, possibly identifying those who may benefit from such a bill or to take part in events announcing it.

So far the qualifications criteria seems rather limited; do you support our narrow agenda and puppet-to-be Reza Pahlavi or not? Negative answers don’t need to apply. The main organization created to receive “support” is their very own Coalition for Democracy in Iran (CDI).

As for the media outlets they have included in a list of those committed to democracy, strangely enough they only have guests and commentators who follow a certain line of thinking and even re-broadcast the Israeli Persian program for their newscasts.

I wonder if the “democracy” they are talking about is the type we have already established in Afghanistan and Iraq, where citizens are free to choose whatever form of government they want, as long as it meets the approval of U.S. administration.

To learn more about Ledeen, a friend just forwarded me an article about him that is well worth reading.

One of the other faces now very visibly in this fray and a listed supporter of CDI, is our dear former Republican Senate candidate; Rob Sobhani. I will write about “Rob” much more in the future but for now click here for something I had posted about him on my old blog (my archives on that blog have mysteriously disappeared, unfortunately.)

If you wish to express your opinion on this topic and more specifically write U.S. politicians who will be deciding on this issue, National Iranian American Council has set up a site to facilitate it. Remember, you can edit their suggested text before sending your email.

First, let me assure you that “Rob” Sobhani does not speak for Iranians (A friend suggested may be he will when he might start using his Iranian name Sohrab instead of Rob, but that’s another topic for another day). “Rob” is so submerged in his ultra-right Republican views, he’ll say anything to appease his honchos. After all, he has been groomed by the party elite to one day represent the community, unfortunately the community he represents is an inconsequential minority within the greater Iranian as well as Iranian-American community. He was a Republican candidate for Senate from Maryland in 2000, when his claim to fame was that he had “opened the Caspian sea resources to the American corporations”. Anyone familiar with the politics of energy in that region knows what he meant. Some of his recent “achievements” include his hostility and intolerance towards immigrant communities. In a July 2002 article he goes so far as to say “...multiculturalism is eroding America's sovereignty and the national identity of its citizens” (note to Rob; take a trip up to Canada to see how multi-culturalism has made ALL communities flourish), he goes on to decide that “English must become the official language of America” (I hope by “America” he means the USA, since the name includes two very diverse continents). Then he shows his true bias when he attacks the entire current system of immigration, based on family reunification principals as “an enormous burden on our nation’s resources” (goddamn immigrants come to this country and take our jobs away... or is it that they all collect welfare? not sure). So, is it a surprise that to him George W. Bush is another Abraham Lincoln? Perhaps not. However, if by that definition he draws parallels between oppressed Iranians and Americans under slavery, then perhaps he is right in that a true emancipator like Martin Luther King Jr. (and not Honest Abe) is most welcomed and needed.

Posted by Pedram at May 20, 2003 10:36 PM