[Previous entry: "4 intelligence agents killed in bomb blast in S. Afghanistan"] [Next entry: "Prof. Ilan Pappe, (Haifa Univ.) on the Israel-Palestine conflict"]

03/05/2006:

"Iran's Khatami Says Islam Is the Enemy West Needs"

TEHRAN, March 4 -- Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, whose foreign policy was defined by a quest for what he called a "dialogue between civilizations," warned Saturday that tensions between the Islamic world and the West are taking the shape of a new Cold War.

Khatami, speaking at a government conference promoting interfaith dialogue, said the West was largely responsible. Islam was being cast as the "enemy of humanity" by governments reverting to the polarized worldview that divided the planet for 50 years after World War II, he said.

The West "needs an enemy, and this time it is Islam," Khatami said. "And Islamophobia becomes a part of all policies of the great powers, of hegemonic powers.

"We are not very far from the era of the Cold War that inflicted a lot of damage on the world."
washingtonpost.com


New US focus on promoting democracy in Iran
The US State Department has created an office dedicated to Iran to reflect the Bush administration's new focus on promoting democracy in the Islamic republic, officials said on Thursday.

Establishment of the Office of Iran Affairs follows the request to Congress made by Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, last month for an additional $75m this year to spend on influencing democratic change in Iran. The proposed spending has already triggered an internal struggle over who will control the $50m designated for a new Farsi-language television station.