JUST INCREDIBLE – AT 10:01 A.M. ET:  The great Ed Lasky, of American Thinker, alerts us to this:  While the administration struts around telling us about how tough it is on Iran, its own officials are trying to undercut whatever "toughness" there is, at every turn.  From Investor's Business Daily: 

Voice of America's mission is to promote U.S. interests abroad, which includes freedom in Iran. But VOA's Persian newscast has been hijacked by pro-Tehran broadcasters.

The Obama administration's sole strategy for defanging the Ahmadinejad regime is talk and more talk. Only, the propaganda that VOA is piping into Iran is helping the regime — thanks to deep-seated bias in favor of Tehran by Persian editors and producers whose salaries are paid by American taxpayers.

They've banned stories that cast the regime in a negative light, such as last year's violent postelection crackdown on protesters in Tehran. They even refused for several days to air video footage of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian woman whose murder became an international cause celebre.

More, VOA has retaliated against broadcasters who've complained it's too soft on the Iranian regime. One popular Persian-speaking broadcaster lost her anchoring job, having been demoted by a managing editor who happens to be the son of one of the Iranian mullahs.

Are you believing that?  The son of an Iranian mullah.

Elham Sataki, former Washington-based anchor of VOA's "Straight Talk," says she was a victim of an effort to silence her pro-American, pro-democratic-reform views. She's now suing her boss — Ali Sajjadi, executive managing editor of VOA's Persian News Network — and other VOA defendants for millions.

There is some pushback:

Recent reporting flaws have prompted calls from Congress for an investigation of VOA's Persian desk. "We implore you to investigate the anti-American rhetoric reported to be coming from Voice of America — Persian," Rep. Trent Franks earlier this year wrote President Obama. The letter was signed by 68 other lawmakers.

COMMENT:  It's going to take a lot more than a letter with 68 congressional supporters.  And, of course, you may be sure that the left will counter any criticism of VOA by trotting out the old "freedom of expression" argument.  Except that we, the American people, own VOA, and the expression on that network should be ours, thank you very much.

July 7, 2010