New York Post
Kenneth R. Timmerman
Left-wing billionaire and Bush-hater George Soros was not content to
spend millions to thwart a Bush victory in last November's presidential
election. Now his Open Society Institute in New York is joining forces
with pro-Tehran lobbying group to promote the interests and the
viewpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In tandem with the American-Iranian Council, an industry-supported
group that favors opening trade and diplomatic ties with Iran, the Open
Society Institute will host Iran's ambassador to the United Nations on
Thursday at the Open Society Institute's offices in New York.
The talk by Ambassador Javad Zarif is benignly titled, "The View
from Tehran," and can be expected to present the regime's outlook
on Iran, Iraq and the War on Terror.
But don't expect a spewing of raw anti-American hate. A propaganda
blast e-mailed to me recently from an insider in Tehran shows that
Tehran's clerics have understood how to wage the air wars in the best
Himmlerian tradition — arguably, better than Soros himself.
On Jan. 3, Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramenzanzadeh told
reporters that Tehran had "not yet decided on a third party"
to mediate "negotiations" with the United States. In itself,
that was an interesting statement. There are no ongoing negotiations
between the United States and Iran. However, whenever the regime has
felt under pressure from a vigorous U.S. policy, it has dangled the
prospect of such negotiations in an attempt to discredit and to weaken
the American side.
The analysis being circulated by the Iranian foreign ministry goes on
to suggest that Secretary of State Colin Powell has determined that
"a future Iraqi government dominated by the Shi'a and influenced by
Iran will not be a threat to the United States or its interests,"
and that "Washington and Tehran have reached an understanding on
how Iraq needs to be stabilized."
Without any basis in fact, the analysis further states that the
United States has concluded that "at its current state of
development, the clerical regime's nuclear program does not constitute
an immediate threat, and it can always contain Iran through the European
Union."
While anyone who has finished their morning coffee would dismiss such
statements as wishful-thinking, they represent the policy line preferred
by Tehran clerics. And they believe that a sleepy press, coupled to
willing allies such as Soros, will help them to pull the wool over the
public's eyes.
What Tehran wants is abundantly clear. Iran's ruling clerics want to
continue mucking around in Iraq and to complete their nuclear weapons
development, without the United States intervening.
Ambassador Zarif can be expected to ooze conciliation mixed with
threats, should the Crawford cowboy in the White House decide to jump
the gun on Iran's ongoing nuclear-weapons development. He will also
comfort the traditional wisdom that the United States needs Iran's help
to "balance Sunni Arabs and keep the Middle East focused on
regional squabbles in order to prevent them from unifying against the
United States," as the foreign-ministry analysis so deftly puts it.
By sponsoring the Iranian ambassador and a lobbying group that has
never hesitated to take issue with U.S. sanctions and U.S. pressure on
the regime in Tehran, Soros is once again showing his true colors. He is
anti-American, anti-freedom and pro-tyranny, for America and for
America's friends overseas.
Soros spent millions of dollars to bring about campaign-finance
"reform" in the United States. The reforms Soros championed
reduced the powers of political parties, while opening a Pandora's box
of unregulated political contributions to so-called 527 organizations
funded by red millionaires, Hollywood moguls and special interests.
The top 10 527 groups spent $374 million during the 2004 election
cycle, according to public records. Eight of the top 10 groups raised
money to support Democratic Party candidates, according to non-partisan
Internet watchdog opensecrets.org.
Soros contributed $7.5 million to the top fund-raising committee,
America Coming Together, a far-left group that is gearing up to oppose
the president's Cabinet and Supreme Court nominees. He kicked in an
additional $12 million to the Joint Victory Campaign 2004, the
second-ranking 527 in terms of expenditures.
Soros sent another $1.15 million to Main Street Individual Fund, the
Real Economy Group, Democrats 2000, Win Back Respect and Young Democrats
of America, while son Jonathan Soros gave $338,000 to a variety of 527s
all working to defeat President Bush.
Soros' prescription for America's future was bad for America. His
prescription for the future of America's relations with Iran is bad for
the world. Strengthening Tehran's mullahs means a nuclear-armed Iran.
