$75 million sought to stir democracy in Iran

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice escalated the U.S. confrontation with Iran on Wednesday, saying the Bush administration planned to significantly increase funding to stimulate democracy in the pivotal Middle Eastern country.

Rice, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the White House would request $75 million in a supplemental budget request to expand broadcasting into Iran, support civic groups such as labor unions and increase U.S. visits by Iranian students.

"The United States will actively confront the policies of this Iranian regime, and at the same time we are going to work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom in their own country," Rice said.

The remarks by Rice, who called Iran a "strategic challenge" to the United States, signaled what senior U.S. officials said would be a diplomatic offensive to counter what they see as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's increasingly bellicose behavior.

At the hearing, Rice won bipartisan praise for her handling of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programs, but lawmakers from both parties raised objections to the overall direction of the administration's Middle East policy.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., praised the administration for recently focusing on multinational diplomacy but said he did not see how "things are getting better."

"I think they're getting worse in Iraq; I think they're getting worse in Iran," Hagel said.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., blamed the Bush administration for the victory of the radical Muslim organization Hamas in last month's Palestinian legislative elections. "The whole year, 2005, nothing was done, opportunities missed and now we have a very, very disastrous situation of a terrorist organization winning an election," Chafee said.

Rice acknowledged the Hamas victory is "a difficult moment" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, but she said it was due to a backlash against the ruling Fatah party, not a failure of U.S. policy.

Rice told lawmakers that because Iran has begun enriching uranium, "they have crossed a point where they are in open defiance of the international community." Rice said the United States has a "menu of options" available to punish Iran.

It's unclear whether the proposed democracy funding will have an impact on the Iranian government, which — while unpopular — appears entrenched and has proved adept at playing on Iranians' nationalist sentiments. Nor is it clear countries such as China and Russia that have cooperated with U.S. efforts to curb Iran's suspected nuclear-weapons program will join in a broader campaign to pressure Iran and potentially change its government.

Iran resumed enriching uranium for nuclear fuel this week in defiance of demands by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

More broadly, Ahmadinejad has extended Iran's influence in neighboring Iraq; increased public backing for Islamic groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas that the U.S. considers terrorist organizations; and, Rice alleged last week, helped fan anger over publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Yet with its vast oil resources and political support from much of the developing world, Iran appears hard to influence.

A senior U.S. official said none of the democracy funds being requested would go to the Mujahedeen Khalq, or MEK, an Iranian opposition group on the State Department's terrorist list.

The official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

State Department officials sidestepped questions about whether the administration was seeking "regime change."

Mehdi Marand of the Washington-based Council for Democratic Change in Iran welcomed Rice's announcement. But he called on the administration to go further and remove the MEK from the terrorist list.

Rice plans to visit the Middle East next week, where many Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, are alarmed by Ahmadinejad's foreign policy.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, who has called for $100 million to promote democracy in Iran, applauded the initiative as the "absolutely right move at this point in time."

While some Iranian activists have criticized the Bush administration for moving too slowly to support them, Brownback said the administration had been "very methodical" in fighting terrorism. "The first step was Afghanistan, then Iraq and now you're seeing an increasing focus on Iran."

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said elections in the Middle East and Latin America have handed power to "negative candidates who run against America," and questioned whether the administration has properly handled the policy.

But Rice insisted the elections have "made the world — in a transitional state — a better place."

"There are going to be some outcomes that are not perfect from an American point of view," Rice said. "But I don't think our policy can be that you can only have elections if you plan to elect ... candidates that are friendly to America."

Additional information from the Los Angeles Times.