ASK BUSH AND KERRY ABOUT IRAN

After watching an episode (The Dogs of War) of The West Wing [Editor's note: It is titled "The White House" here in Sweden and it is the 5th season.] I thought it could be a good idea to write another post on the Mullahs and how they are a threat to the Western world. Could you point me to articles and statements by Bush and Kerry, dealing with a strong foreign policy when it comes to Iran? I think the activists over at Blog-Iran have a good Weekend Homework Assignment:

For our take-home assignment this weekend, why doesn't everyone read or re-read Michael Ledeen's latest article "Iran, When?" and follow it up with a 1 - 2 paragraph response as to why you think President Bush and Senator Kerry have spoken so little about freedom and human rights in Iran, especially since the regime of Ayatollahs is by far the biggest sponsor of terrorism throughout the world and in Iraq, and by any objective standards, a far greater threat than Saddam Hussein ever was. (ActivistChat.com, 10/23/04.)

The time is running out... I have said it before, but I repeat: the solution is not to have a "dialogue" with the Mullahs. Dan Darling of Winds of Change says:

It is also my belief that the people, likely in the State Department, who leaked details of the early 2002 negotiations with Iran to the Post are not reporting the full details of what was going on. The article makes some valid criticisms of the administration’s approach to the war on terrorism, and I’d still recommend reading it. But there are some egregious errors that the Washington Post makes in this story, either out of ignorance or by design, and as such I thought I’d feel free to point them out. (The Command Post, Iran, al-Qaeda and the High Value Targets List, 10/25/04.)

If you want to keep updated on the situation in Iran, subscribe to Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty analytical reports. Here is an excerpt from latest issue, compiled by A. William Samii:

About 150 people gathered at the Society of Professional Journalists' office in Tehran on 21 October to protest the continuing arrests of Iranian journalists and Internet activists, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) and dpa reported. Those at the gathering decided to send a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asking that the judiciary cease its actions against journalists and the media. (Rferl.org, Online journalists caught in 'spiderweb', 10/25/04.)

More on this:

• European online media uphold jailed online journalists (Reuters AlertNet).
• Iranian Journalists May Have no Choice but to take their Protest to the International Community (Gooya News).
• Any Confessions from Arrested Iranian Journalists are Illegal (Payvand News).

[Editor's note: I wonder if Tereza has more information about what's going on in the news media...]