Does Iran’s Green Movement Need U.S. Aid?
Iran’s clerical regime has forcefully reasserted its power, and the authorities in Tehran are now trying to sweep recent election protests under the carpet. The streets are now quiet, and Iran’s top cop says that many of those arrested in the recent crackdown now face prosecution in Tehran’s public and revolutionary courts. So what next? The Obama administration is moving ahead with plans to bankroll Iranian opposition groups, for starters. USA Today’s Ken Dilanian notes that the U.S. Agency for International Development is planning to dole out $20 million in grants to support “democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Iran.” The deadline for those grant applications passed yesterday. According to Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi, handing out U.S. taxpayer money to Iranian dissidents is precisely what Iran does not need. “This financial aid is not only a waste of taxpayer money under these severe economic circumstances, but is in fact the surest way to kill that inborn
