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July 15, 2002, 8:55 a.m. Boucher’s Shame State’s press flack cuts loose Iranian protesters. By NRO Staff

t's been clear for months that the State Department has been waging a clandestine campaign to undermine the president's Middle East policy with a barrage of leaks to the press. Rarely, however, has that campaign — and the differences in policy and attitudes between the White House and the State Department — been on such open display as they were last week. In fact, they were announced in the State Department briefing room by Foggy Bottom press flack Richard Boucher.

In what must be one of the most shameful moments in recent U.S. diplomatic history, Boucher said that the U.S. had no message for Iranian protesters risking life and limb to challenge a regime that the president has called "evil." The indispensable Michael Ledeen pointed out this extraordinary episode in a NRO piece last week, and follows up today with a piece on a little-noticed Friday statement by the president putting the U.S. firmly on the side of the protesters.

But it is worth dwelling on this telling and dismaying episode, to which end NRO reproduces the two dueling statements — one representing Boucher's Iranian policy, the other President Bush's — below.

Boucher's briefing:

QUESTION: Scheduled for tomorrow, there are supposedly going to be major demonstrations in Tehran. Does the State Department have a message for the demonstrators, given US interest in this recently?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

QUESTION: You have no message?

MR. BOUCHER: We don't.

QUESTION: This is supposed to be a really big demonstration and, you know, the "axis of evil" speech from the President, un-elected few — (laughter) —

QUESTION: Is that the official US line?

MR. BOUCHER: That's the official US line. No, the official US line is, you know, we don't comment when people demonstrate. I mean, when do we give messages to demonstrators?

QUESTION: Well, no.

MR. BOUCHER: I guess — no, I remember. Bob Strauss went out the night that the Soviet Union fell out, fell apart, and he gave the liberty message to demonstrators. That's about the only instance that I can remember that we've been out there. Certainly in places as far away as Tehran, the idea that we would have a message every time there's a demonstration is a little far-fetched.

QUESTION: All right. Well, it's just I asked it because in the context that the President did call them a member of the "axis of evil" and mentioned the un-elected few. There's been a lot of talk about supporting the people who want democracy there, and you know, they're having a big demonstration tomorrow, so I thought it would be a nice way to.

MR. BOUCHER: Iran has been more and more open as time goes on, and we'll watch that process from afar at this point.

The president's statement:

We have seen throughout history the power of one simple idea: when given a choice, people will choose freedom. As we have witnessed over the past few days, the people of Iran want the same freedoms, human rights, and opportunities as people around the world. Their government should listen to their hopes.

In the last two Iranian presidential elections and in nearly a dozen parliamentary and local elections, the vast majority of the Iranian people voted for political and economic reform. Yet their voices are not being listened to by the unelected people who are the real rulers of Iran. Uncompromising, destructive policies have persisted, and far too little has changed in the daily lives of the Iranian people. Iranian students, journalists and Parliamentarians are still arrested, intimidated, and abused for advocating reform or criticizing the ruling regime. Independent publications are suppressed. And talented students and professionals, faced with the dual specter of too few jobs and too many restrictions on their freedom, continue to seek opportunities abroad rather than help build Iran's future at home. Meanwhile, members of the ruling regime and their families continue to obstruct reform while reaping unfair benefits.

Iran is an ancient land, home to a proud culture with a rich heritage of learning and progress. The future of Iran will be decided by the people of Iran.

Right now, the Iranian people are struggling with difficult questions about how to build a modern 21st century society that is at once Muslim, prosperous, and free. There is a long history of friendship between the American people and the people of Iran. As Iran's people move towards a future defined by greater freedom, greater tolerance, they will have no better friend than the United States of America.