Condi Talks Tough On Iran

You may have heard excerpts of Condi's tough testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, but chances are you missed the toughest talk of all.

In case you missed it, here's the excerpt a lot of radio stations played today:

I would like to speak briefly to the Iranian problem, the Iranian regime with its destabilizing policies; throughout the region, policies that support terrorism and violent extremism. The Iranian regime uses those tools to further ideological ambitions and policies that are, frankly, a challenge to the kind of Middle East that I think we would all like to see, one of tolerance, one of democracy.

The United States will actively confront the aggressive policies of this Iranian regime. And at the same time, we are going to work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom in their own country.

The Iranian regime is now deepening its own international isolation through toxic statements and confrontational behavior, most especially in its pursuit of nuclear weapons and pursuit of policies that are now being roundly condemned by the international community.

But the real tough talk followed:

I want to thank the Congress for giving us $10 million to support the cause of freedom and human rights in Iran this year. We will use this money to develop support networks for Iranian reformers, political dissidents and human rights activists. We also plan to request $75 million in supplemental funding for the year 2006 to support democracy in Iran.

One could only hope there is massive anger within Iran regarding the nation's current headlong charge into global pariah status. A few more are probably at least mildly upset by the fact that if Ahmadinajad succeeds in his nuclear end-time ambitions, what's left of Iran will glow in the dark.

Spending $85 million to foment this discord will be money well spent ... but it's not enough. Instability doesn't come cheap, but no matter how much we spend, it'll be cheaper than the military alternative.