Dear FRONTLINE,
I watched your program some minutes ago. It was astonishingly realistic, despite the Hollywoodian movies and CNN. I appreciate and respect your attitude and would like to comment as follows:
President Bush's language serves U.S. interests, presumably he has consulted with diplomatic professionals, but would it serve the Iranian people' interests too? or it should probably be asked if the Bush administration care about the Iranian people's interests.
andre a
Dear FRONTLINE,
In the 1980's, President Reagan was criticized for a speech in which he dubbed the Soviet Union as the "Evil Empire". He was seen as stoking the flames of tension between the superpowers. The subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, though not directly related, seems to bear out his "bold move" as one that was calculated and not as bold as it first seemed. Hindsight shows that the US was well aware that the Soviet Union was already in a state of decline.
This, however, does not seem to be the case with Iran. The "chains" of theocratic rule do not seem to be breaking; though somewhat stressed by the democratic movement. Therefore, President Bush's comments regarding Iran being a part of the "Axis of evil" worry me. Should such a public pronouncement have been made when signs have shown Iran's position softening a bit vis a vis relations with the US? I do not profess to be an expert on international relations but it seems counterproductive at this stage.
That having been said, I have to have faith that those currently in charge of our foreign relations are thinking of our best interests. Call me "doe-eyed" and "naive" but I say let's see what they will do with this one.
T Shepherd
Dear FRONTLINE,
I thought the program was a one-sided in the beginning blaming every terror in the world on Iran. This program lacked balance as it whized by the U.S. and British 1953 coup against democratic forces in Iran. The occupation of Palestine and Lebanon by Israel and it's aftermath were completely blamed on Iran without any justification and by testimony of two CIA agents whose credibilities were not questioned.
The latter part of the program about the reform movement in Iran was a bit more analytic, although still superficial.
Overall, a disappointing program.
Ali Barahi
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