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US mulling regime change in Iran
Washington, June 15: Worried over Tehran`s nuclear ambitions, the US administration is debating internally whether Iran should be next on its target for `regime change` or it should opt for a policy of engagement.
Washington, June 15: Worried over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the US administration is debating internally whether Iran should be next on its target for "regime change" or it should opt for a policy of engagement.
Nuclear capacity and repeated allegations by the Bush administration that Iran is harbouring some al-Qaeda terrorists who escaped from Afghanistan, are reasons for the rethink, media reported today.
"Well-placed" sources told an American daily that the national security presidential directive on Iran (which would be the basis for any action against Iran) has gone through several competing drafts and has yet to be approved by senior advisers of President George W Bush.
Experts in and outside the government are focusing on Iran as the United States' next big foreign policy crisis, with some predicting that "the country could acquire a nuclear weapon as early as 2006." There is also worry that eventually, Shiites who are in a majority in Iraq, and Iranian Shiites would join hands and form an anti-American front when American troops leave Iraq.
Meanwhile, Senator Sam Brownback has sponsored an act that would funnel more than $50 million to Iranian pro-democracy initiatives, including private California-based satellite television and radio stations set up by Iranian exiles.
"We are not calling for a military attack on Iran," said Brownback, whose proposed Iran Democracy Act has drawn bipartisan support but is opposed by the leadership of the foreign relations committee. The goal, Brownback said, is to support Iranian democracy activists, including students who took to the streets of Tehran again last week to protest the closure of an opposition newspaper and the jailing of dissidents.
Secretary of State Colin Powell has publicly declared that US policy is to go over the heads of the Iranian government and reach out directly to the Iranian opposition.
The White House, in its statement yesterday supporting those protesting against government policies, used the word "regime" for the government. The use of the regime in this context means Iran has authorities in power who lack legitimacy. Bureau Report
"Well-placed" sources told an American daily that the national security presidential directive on Iran (which would be the basis for any action against Iran) has gone through several competing drafts and has yet to be approved by senior advisers of President George W Bush.
Experts in and outside the government are focusing on Iran as the United States' next big foreign policy crisis, with some predicting that "the country could acquire a nuclear weapon as early as 2006." There is also worry that eventually, Shiites who are in a majority in Iraq, and Iranian Shiites would join hands and form an anti-American front when American troops leave Iraq.
Meanwhile, Senator Sam Brownback has sponsored an act that would funnel more than $50 million to Iranian pro-democracy initiatives, including private California-based satellite television and radio stations set up by Iranian exiles.
"We are not calling for a military attack on Iran," said Brownback, whose proposed Iran Democracy Act has drawn bipartisan support but is opposed by the leadership of the foreign relations committee. The goal, Brownback said, is to support Iranian democracy activists, including students who took to the streets of Tehran again last week to protest the closure of an opposition newspaper and the jailing of dissidents.
Secretary of State Colin Powell has publicly declared that US policy is to go over the heads of the Iranian government and reach out directly to the Iranian opposition.
The White House, in its statement yesterday supporting those protesting against government policies, used the word "regime" for the government. The use of the regime in this context means Iran has authorities in power who lack legitimacy. Bureau Report