Asked if the Bush administration's $75 million program would be "useful to you and your colleagues who are engaged in this fight from the inside?" Ebadi replied, "No, I don't think that it benefits me or people like me, because whoever speaks about democracy in Iran will be accused of having been paid by the United States."
Ebadi is not alone. Her views echo those of many other Iranian civil society activists who worry that the proposed US initiative will simply be used by the Islamic Republic as a pretense for intensifying its repressive approach toward civil society organizations.
Lionel Beehner agrees. In funding pro-democracy groups abroad or in Iran, "you endanger those you're trying to help."
Beyond that, however, the reality of public diplomacy - whether through broadcasting, cultural exchanges, or support for dissident groups - is that it cannot be turned on and off. It was never intended to be a quick fix. Even in a best-case scenario, it depends on a consistent effort over an extended period.
The US has failed to mount that kind of effort, and that failure does not bode well for the prospect of "winning hearts and minds" in Iran any time soon.
And may well make the nuclear negotiations even more difficult.
.
Ebadi is not alone. Her views echo those of many other Iranian civil society activists who worry that the proposed US initiative will simply be used by the Islamic Republic as a pretense for intensifying its repressive approach toward civil society organizations.
Lionel Beehner agrees. In funding pro-democracy groups abroad or in Iran, "you endanger those you're trying to help."
Beyond that, however, the reality of public diplomacy - whether through broadcasting, cultural exchanges, or support for dissident groups - is that it cannot be turned on and off. It was never intended to be a quick fix. Even in a best-case scenario, it depends on a consistent effort over an extended period.
And may well make the nuclear negotiations even more difficult.
.
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