This is a partial transcript from Your World with Neil Cavuto, June 16, 2003, that was edited for clarity. Click here for complete access to all of Neil Cavuto's CEO interviews.
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NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Well, first Iraq, now Iran (search ). Are we facing a more dangerous threat inside this axis of evil?
My next guest says yes. In fact, he wants to send aid to these guys, the ones doing the protesting. All those in favor of democracy get U.S. support. All those opposed -- well, they get nothing.
California Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman’s ready to play hardball over there. He joins us from Washington.
Congressman, thanks for coming.
REP. BRAD SHERMAN, D-CALIF .: Neil, good to be with you.
I think Iraq was never more than third on the list of threats to the United States. Iran and North Korea are the real threats. Both are developing or, in the case of North Korea, have nuclear weapons, and it’s going to take a more skillful policy to deal with these threats, and I think the Bush administration has got to do more than just deal with Iraq, if it really cares about American security.
CAVUTO: Well, it has mentioned its concern, Congressman, to deal with Iran, and I want to focus on that. And one option is just to invade them. Obviously, that’s politically not popular. The other is to help these groups, as I think you want to do, the professors, the students, the young in Iran who are sick and tired of sort of the dictatorial control in Iran. How likely is that?
SHERMAN: Well, we should be providing that support. In effect, as a society, we are. First, we provide an example that inspires people in Iran. And, second, for their own reasons, various TV stations, based chiefly in Los Angeles, have reached out to worldwide market. The cost of communications has gone down to the point that they just reach out to the whole world, and so you can be sitting...
CAVUTO: Yes, but how do you get the help to them, Congressman? How do you get it? You can’t just wire them money. What do you do?
SHERMAN: Well, the broadcasters are based in Los Angeles, and they could use a little help from the federal government. The funny thing is most people in Iran assume that they’re getting a subsidy from the U.S. government, but they’re not.
And the other things we can do to deal with this regime, whether we change it or not, is to deal with the economics. We allowed a $180-million loan get approved to this regime from the World Bank. One quarter of that is U.S. tax dollars going to the very regime that the president identified as being part of the axis of evil.
CAVUTO: So you think that we’d start this kind of thing, we can topple this government from within?
SHERMAN: I don’t know, but I do know that we have to pressure this government to abandon its nuclear weapons program, and, at the same time, our dedication to democracy requires us to at least provide some assistance to those who are working probably long term to bring democracy to Iran.
CAVUTO: Congressman, thanks so much. Appreciate you being on.
Congressman Brad Sherman in the House gallery.
SHERMAN: Glad to be with you.
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