In February 2008, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, convened to hear testimony on Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Iran.
Among the expert witnesses were Jeffrey Feltman, former US Ambassador to Lebanon and current Principal Dep. Asst. Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs in the U S State Department, and journalist and author Barbara Slavin, who has visited Iran over half a dozen times and has interview Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at least twice.
Feltman's and Slavin's suggested approaches to Iran differed in significant ways.
This is a very brief diary that invites its readers to ask the question: Whose vision of the U S government's approach to Iran is being followed by President Obama, that of Jeffrey Feltman, who was the State Department man in charge during the 2006 war on Lebanon, or that of Barbara Slavin, who urges that the Iranian people be granted the right to determine their own government?
Feltman's testimony alluded to -- but only alluded to -- the existence of US government funded NGOs operating in Iran with the goal of fomenting unrest and destabilizing the regime. Feltman claimed that the NGOs make the decision whether or not to be identified, and that most choose not allow themselves to be identified.
Feltman also stated that messages are piped in to Iran via VOA transmissions as well as Radio Farda.
One of the most disconcerting Q&A exchanges Feltman participated in involved a question from commission member Preeta Bansal, who set up her question by equating Saudi Arabia with Iran, then asked if any of Feltman's efforts had explored the content of the textbooks of Iranian schoolchildren. Feltman stated he was not aware of efforts in that direction but that he would "look into it."
Read Feltman's testimony HERE, listen to him present his testimony and answer questions HERE.
Barbara Slavin is no stranger to Iranian politics and turmoil, and is not a patsy for the regime; imo she is tough but fair. The most stunning Q&A she encountered was the question from Michael Cromartie, Commission chair, who asked Slavin, "Is Ahmadinejad sane?"
Slavin appeared to me to have been taken aback by the question. She laughed nervously, then allowed that she is not a psychiatrist. She did not allow herself to demonize Ahmadinejad but spoke directly to her experiences of interviewing him on two occasions.
As you will read or hear in Slavin's comments, she was critical of Bush administration efforts to demonize, sanction, and punish Iran, and strongly suggested that the best approach for a new administration would be to call out Iranian human rights abuses, but to leave Iranians alone to determine the shape of their own government and culture.
Slavin's testimony and comments can be heard HERE and read HERE.
So the question is, Does Obama's measured response to the turmoil in Iran indicate that he has dismantled the NGOs that Feltman is aware of and that Obama is following Slavin's suggested approach, or is Obama playing the Slavin role for public consumption while continuing to fund and use Feltman's NGOs in Iran?
UPDATE/CLARIFICATION: As gooner commented, below, the NGOs in question are
"pseudo aid organizations in Iran that are secretly funded by the US government and working within the country to overthrow the existing government"
The "pseudo"- part is the core of the problem.