WHO SHOULD WE BELIEVE?
Mehr News Agency, Iran
July 21 2007
TEHRAN, July 20 (MNA) — When the U.S. committee of general diplomacy
announced in 2001 that culture, information, and communication
would be used as new strategic tools to ensure the security of the
United States, it became evident that the new U.S. national security
strategy research project — prepared by Republicans like Dick Cheney
and Condoleezza Rice before George W. Bush took office — would place
a special focus on "soft confrontation" with target states.
In this long strategic document, great emphasis is placed on the
establishment and support of cultural organizations and media
foundations to replace the local values of the target nations with
American values.
These foundations and organizations camouflage their activities by
operating under the cover of philanthropic NGOs and organizations
promoting human rights.
The Open Society of the Soros Foundation is one such organization
which was established in 1993 by George Soros, a Jewish billionaire
affiliated with the U.S. Zionist lobby, immediately after the new
U.S. national security strategy was formulated. The Open Society
makes economic investments and is active in human rights studies.
Whereas Rupert Murdoch, the Jewish emperor of the world media, openly
expands his media empire, it seems that Soros pursues a covert model
of cultural and media influence.
The U.S. media have portrayed Soros as a philanthropist interested
in promoting democracy, human rights, and the economic development
of various countries throughout world. The BBC says that the Open
Society pursues the goals of promoting democracy, observation of human
rights, and economic, legal, and political reforms and supporting
non-governmental media in various countries.
Despite these descriptions, the Open Society pursues its philanthropic
activities in over 30 countries which are considered "target nations"
in the U.S. security strategy for one reason or another, many of
which experienced major political upheavals before the establishment
of the Open Society.
According to many regional analysts, the Open Society’s activities in
a belt of Central Asian countries are meant to decrease the influence
of Russia and to promote political currents inclined to the U.S. or
subservient to its policies.
This organization started its activities with economic and research
work — in a seemingly unrelated way — but also began surreptitiously
identifying the opponents of each country’s central government and
supporting the opposition media in order to pave the way for a soft
revolution and regime change.
In Georgia, the Open Society paid $20 million to opponents of
Edward Shevardnadze, who had pursued a strategy of maintaining good
relations with Moscow. After unrest, which was called a "velvet
revolution", forced his resignation, four members of the new cabinet,
the education, justice, treasury, and sports and youth ministers, were
former employees of Soros’s office in Tbilisi. After the Shevardnadze
government was ousted, Soros said his foundation would support efforts
to democratize Middle Eastern countries.
After bloody street riots in Kiev which led to the so-called Orange
Revolution, Ukrainian MP Vladimir Timoshenko said that Soros and U.S.
intelligence officials were behind the upheavals. Aghel Abbasov,
the editor of the Azerbaijan publication Justice, stated that since
the events in Georgia of November 2003, the Soros Foundation has been
trying to gain influence over the Azerbaijan government and has been
training some of President Heydar Aliev’s opponents in Ukraine.
Azarbaijan’s national security ministry also warned about the Open
Society’s plans to promote the use of drugs among Azeri youth under
the cover of a program to combat drug abuse.
In addition, the Armenian intelligence services have frequently
reported that the Soros Foundation has tried to use the media to
upset the country’s political atmosphere and foment disputes between
Armenia and Russia. By the way, Armenia hosts the biggest Russian
military base in the southern Caucasus.
Also, it is said that the Soros Foundation is behind the local media’s
increased opposition to the government of Tajikistan. The country’s
president even named four newspapers and a few private radio stations
and divulged some information about the Soros Foundation’s financial
support of his opponents.
Through Internet sites, newspapers, TV channels, cultural and
educational programs, NGOs, and arts organizations, the Soros
Foundation is officially supporting "democratic change" in Kyrgyzstan
and Kazakhstan!
In recent years, following the formulation of the Greater Middle East
Initiative, the Soros Foundation’s activities expanded to the Middle
East and Mediterranean region. Turkey’s Al-Sabah newspaper reported
that the Soros Foundation supported elements that would look out for
U.S. and Israeli interests.
With such a background, the Soros Foundation could not have overlooked
Iran. But its members are smart enough to know that Iran is aware of
its activities in Central Asia.
Undoubtedly, the use of front organizations to promote civil
disobedience, the establishment of informal information networks,
and the recruitment of locals and dual citizens were clever decisions.
In addition to the confessions of Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh
broadcast on Iranian TV, it is important to understand that no
seemingly philanthropic, cultural, humanitarian, and democratic move is
supported by such foundations unless it is part of the "new strategic
tool for U.S. security" scenario.
Let us forget what the Iranian TV network broadcast. But one can
not ignore the results of Azerbaijan’s national security ministry’s
investigation that indicates that the Open Society has no intention
besides promoting drug abuse in its anti-addiction programs.
Of course, Radio Farda, Voice of America radio, and the Washington
Post say that the foundation’s only goals are providing humanitarian
assistance and improving public health.
Who should we believe?
(July 21 Tehran Times Editorial Column, By Parviz Esmaeili)