U.S. Policy on Iran and Related Articles

I believe that the U.S. policy on Iran could be a very pressing issue. Our country sees them as a threat who could potentially start a nuclear war. Former President George W. Bush even mentioned that if we do not want World War III to happen then we should prevent Iran from having the ability to create nuclear weapons. On the other end of the spectrum, Iran is claiming that the U.S. is pushing countries around with their power. Due to the war occurred between Israel, who is a major ally of the U.S., and the Hezbollah militia from Lebanon, can we truly Iran who aided Hezbollah in this war against our ally?

Something I found to be very intriguing was the active presence of “human-rights campaigners, labor-union organizers, student activists and investigative journalists.” Iranian leaders have accused the human-rights advocates as being citizens who are anti-government and are trying to overthrow their rule. Apparently, the U.S. has made attempts to aid these human-rights groups. A more specific example would be when Condoleezza Rice requested the expansion of news broadcasts in Farsi-language to Iran. I would like to learn more about the human-rights activities in Iran. What kind of organizations are out there and what are their objectives?

Going right along with protests, I read a recent news article on CNN’s website about the apprehension of five Ashura protestors. There were charged with “Moharebe” or “waging war against God” by protesting on the Ashura holy day. I would like to know what happens to these five protestors. What other kinds of protests have gone on as of recently? Another article I read was about the counter to anti-government protests that Iran has put on through rallies. Hamid Dabashi, the author of the article, stated that there displayed a contradiction between real rallies and the ones Ahmadinejad put on. This leads me to wonder what kinds of propaganda the current leader of Iran is putting on for its citizens. Going right along with the apprehension of rights groups, it was also reported on CNN that a group of more than 30 journalists were arrested. This information was reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). What kind of treatment do these journalists get when they are imprisoned in Iran?

- Joe Siler