Transcript
16.30 GMT-12:30 PM/EST
Meet Leslie Angeline:
(At Congressional hearing for General David Petraeus, May 2008)
Angeline: “If you bomb Iran, these are the people you’ll kill. Turn around and see the children of Iran. General Petraeus.”
Official: “Please leave this room.” (Police escorting her out)
Angeline: “They’re not attacking us. I have been to Iran. The Iranian people love Americans.”
Angeline is an activist from San Francisco, California, and member of Code Pink, a small but aggressive activist organization that has been a loud opponent of the Bush Administration foreign policy.
We caught up with her at a Congressional hearing on Advancing Religious Freedom and Related Human Rights in the Islamic Republic.
Angeline: “This (T-shirt) we made says Peace With Iran in Farsi and English…because I love that country and I want peace and diplomacy between our two countries.”
Code Pink now has 250 chapters in cities across the United States. Member Desiree Ali-Farooz, whose mother-in-law is from Bushehr, came all the way from Arlington, Texas to relay this message:
Desiree Ali-Farooz, Code Pink member: “Don’t Iraq Iran. We should start with ourselves. Who we are to tell the Iranians anything? We don’t want this as an excuse for military engagement in Iran. We want more people to people diplomacy.”
Congress is debating whether political options available to settle differences with Iran are short of war.
Senator Joe Biden, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (July 9, 2008): “There is still a realistic chance the world can change Iran’s behavior…And the world is likely to stand with us if, God forbid, diplomacy fails and we need to engage in stronger actions. We didn’t do that in Iraq and we should not make that mistake twice.”
While the Bush Administration says going to war is not the goal, it reminds Iran of its international obligations:
Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State (June 3, 2008): “I have said if Iran suspends its enrichment and reprocessing activities, I will join my UN National Security colleagues with my Iranian counterpart anytime, anywhere, on any issue…”
Recent polls suggest six in ten Americans think it’s a good idea for the president of the United States to meet with the president of Iran. (GFX: Gallup pull was conducted on May 19-21, based on a survey of a representative national sample of 1,013 Americans.)
Code Pink continues to make its voice heard. Alicia Forest came from Los-Angeles, California, to demonstrate for peace with Iran in front of the White House.
Alicia Forest, Code Pink member: “I love you and I am fighting for you everyday that I can.”
Code Pink demonstrators say they will continue their fight, even after Leslie and three members were charged with “Unlawful Conduct on Capitol Grounds,” after the Patraeus hearing. The group is now facing a possible sentence of six months in jail.
Angeline (in police custody): “You gotta save Iran.”
© IranVNC 2008. All rights reserved.
