Hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs - U.S. Policy in the Middle East

Interview

Hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs - U.S. Policy in the Middle East

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REP. GUS M. BILIRAKIS (R-FL): Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Secretary Rice, thank you for your outstanding and dedicated service to this nation. You have served with distinction and honor. We are privileged to have you testify before us today.

I, too, have particular concern about the Iranian regime's role as a destabilizing factor in the Middle East. Recent bipartisan polls conducted this summer in Iran show that 80 percent of Iranians favor the Iranian regime offering full international nuclear inspections and a guarantee not to develop or possess a nuclear weapon in return for outside aid.

Do you believe that there is a direct relationship between the state of freedom and democracy in Iran and the regime's quest to acquire nuclear weapons in the long-term success of our global war on terrorism? If so, would you further agree that it would behoove the United States to support a transition to democracy in Iran much like President Bush has talked about? Are we doing anything to support the pro-democracy labor and student movements as well as appointing women and minority rights in Iran? If so, what are we doing?

Thank you.

SEC. RICE: Thank you very much.

Obviously, as you suggest, the Iranian people deserve the same freedoms that people anywhere deserve. The president's been very clear that that is the non-negotiable demand of human dignity, and we -- at the same time that we concentrate on changing the regime's behavior concerning its nuclear weapons program or terrorism, we also try to support forces that want to be for change in Iran.

We have had democracy support funds. I know that there is some controversy about them, but I can tell you that because of the way that we handled them we think that we are helping people who wish to carry out democracy programs through nongovernmental organizations. We don't expect people like that to want to be in direct relationship with the U.S. government for all kinds of reasons, but we certainly can support nongovernmental organizations here and other places that are working with Iranians to push forward for their freedom.

We also need to very, very actively continue to speak out for the people who want a free Iran. If we can get messages through to the Iranian people that we respect their great culture, we respect them as people; we don't want the United States or the people of the United States and the people of Iran to be isolated from one another. We should be friends, and so it's the policies of the regime that are preventing that from happening.

And we've even said that we don't want to deny Iran civil nuclear power. The president is a major proponent of civil nuclear power around the world as a way to deal with energy needs, to deal with clean energy supplies so that we can be good environmental stewards.

What we don't want Iran to have is a nuclear weapons technology. And so we've supported efforts that would give them civil nuclear technology but without the proliferation risk of the fuel cycle. And it's sometimes hard to get that message through the Iranian government's filter, because I think the Iranian government wants their people to believe that the United States is trying to deny them technology.

So those are some of the things that we are doing. I was really pleased to welcome a group of Iranian artists here during the summer in a completely nonpolitical event but that showed Iranian -- young Iranian artists under 40 that we value them. The American wrestling team went to Iran. They were wildly cheered where they went. Somehow we are going to break through that Iranian filter that is trying to convince their people that the United States of America is their enemy. We are not.

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