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ACT 1: Before U.S. troops stormed Baghdad four years ago, a group of Iraqi dissidents lobbied the U.S. government that invasion would be a viable option - the only option. Those lobbyists included Ahmad SHA-labi and Iyad AHLL-awi. Now some observers charge that the Iraqi pro-war lobby has simply been replaced with an Iranian one.
WE HAVE A LOT OF CHALABIS AND ALLAWIS WHO REALLY ARE TRYING TO CONVINCE THE UNITED STATES TO HIT IRAN. BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT WAY THEY CAN TAKE OVER.
Hooshang Amirahmadi teaches at Princeton and Rutgers universities and runs a thinktank called the American-Iranian Council. He says most Iranians are dedicated to a peaceful solution, but he points to a very vocal minority pushing for war. Amir Abbas Fakhravar is one of those people. As a student activist in Iran, he was jailed several times. He finally fled the country less than a year ago. He says Iran is in shambles.
(HE STARTS SPEAKING IN FARSI OVERLAYED BY INTERPRETER)
MOST IMPORTANT PART IS THIS ECONOMY IS IN CHAOS. THE PEOPLE, THE ONLY WAY THEY SEE OUT OF THIS IS TO HAVE A MILITARY CONFLICT.
He says Iranians are demoralized, ripe for a U.S. invasion. He says that if the U.S. started bombing Tehran:
IRANIANS WOULD STAY AT HOME AND PRAY FOR AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
His words are reminiscent of Iraqi exiles before Saddam Hussein was toppled. In an article in Mother Jones magazine, Fakhravar was dubbed the Iranian Chalabi. It's a title he resents.
(IN FARSI) My overlay:
He says: My name is Amir Abbas Fakhravar. I've never met Chalabi. I don't know Chalabi. Still, Fakhravar does seem to have the ear of the U.S. government. He's already testified before the Senate and met with senior officials. He's produced reports circulated at the U.S. State Department on the Iranian opposition. Another advocate of regime change is Alireza Jafarzadeh.
I AM IN REGULAR CONTACT WITH A LOT OF THE DECISION MAKERS AND POLICY MAKERS IN WASHINGTON, THAT'S TRUE.
Jafarzadeh is a regular Fox News commentator. While he doesn't support military action on Iran, he says sanctions and negotiations are pointless.
THE UNITED STATES SHOULD NOT PUT ALL ITS EGGS IN THE BASKET OF NEGOTIATIONS AND TALKS BECAUSE THAT IS CLEARLY NOT GOING ANYWHERE AND IN ORDER TO AVOID A MILITARY ACTION, I THINK THE UNITED STATES SHOULD REACH OUT TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE TO THE IRANIAN OPPOSITION ENCOURAGING CHANGE WITHIN IRAN.
Jafarzadeh says he provided the U.S. government with information charging that Iran was building underground nuclear facilities and alleging that Iran is supplying weapons for attacks on U.S soldiers in Iraq. (MUSIC) Jamshid Irani hosts a weekly talk show in Farsi out of the back of a carpet shop in New York. He says most of the people he speaks with do not support an invasion of Iran. Military action, he says, would only rally Iranians to fight for their country.
WHEN IT COMES TO A FOREIGN ATTACK OR A FOREIGN INVASION, PEOPLE'S NATIONALISM GROWS UP AND THEY GET UNITED, THEREFORE I DON'T THINK THAT AN AMERICAN INVASION OF IRAN WOULD BE A WISE IDEA.
And it's the tragic outcome of those attacks that all these talks are attempting to avoid. Jennifer Collins, Columbia Radio News.