“My position is that the United States should not have gone into Libya because again the last chapter isn’t written. This is a snapshot in time,” Bachmann told Christiane Amanpour of ABC’s ‘This Week.’ “Clearly this was about regime change. That is the precursor for the United States’ involvement in another nation’s affairs.”

Bachmann said the result of Gaddafi’s overthrow was a “mess.”

“We don’t know who the next leader will be,” she said, “It could be a radical element. We knew who the devil was that was running. We don’t know that next one.”

She said Libya’s oil revenues could finance a “global caliphate and extremist elements.”

On Iran, Amanpour pressed Bachmann. She had earlier called the plot to assassinate the United States’ ambassador to Saudi Arabia an “act of war.” Iran has denied any involvement in the foiled plot.

Amanpour asked how she would retaliate against Iran if she were elected president.

“I think the one thing that I would do that is very different than President Obama is I wouldn’t take my eye off the fundamental problem in the Middle East and that is an Iran that is seeking to gain a nuclear weapon,” said Bachmann.

Amanpour pressed Bachmann again about what types of force she would use considering Bachmann had already declared the plot an act of war, but Bachmann dodged.

“I would consider the use of everything we need to do,” she said.

Here’s a full clip of Bachmann’s interview:

Speaking at a conservative symposium on Iran at the National Press Club Wednesday, Rep. Michele Bachmann called Iran “a danger to every nation in the world” and said “we know that they [Iran] already have a nuclear capability.” She said Iran has “crossed the line” and that the United States “needs to do more than the simple engagement strategy of talking.” She did not elaborate on what that new strategy might entail.

The symposium was hosted by Freedom Watch, a lobbying group that supported George W. Bush’s War on Terror and the Iraq War. The group drew criticism for ads that linked the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center to Iraq instead of Al Qaeda.

The event’s purpose was to “help convince the new Congress, with the House of Representatives now in Republican hands, independent Democrats, and other entities, to push harder for U.S. and western intervention to remove this dangerous radical Islamic regime before it is too late.”

Bachmann said, “Their dictator, Mr. Ahmadinejad, has announced to the world their intention to bomb Israel. He directs his insulting comments to the cameras right here to our American media, right here on American soil. How long will our current administration ignore the in-our-face preview of what is to come?”

A reporter questioned Bachmann on what she sees as the differences between the current administration’s and Bush’s on Iran policy.

“The opportunity we have today, in 2010, is to extend our hand to the dissidents in Iran to show a strong U.S. presence,” she said. “What we have seen from the administration on the issue of engaging with Iran and from previous administrations that have engaged with Iran and we haven’t seen productivity in those engagements.”

She continued, “Now we know that Iran appears to have crossed the line and with that crossing of the line, it’s imperative that the U.S. makes it’s opinion known to the world. When there were dissents in Iran, at a very crucial time who could have used our help particularly in the elections, we were absent from that opportunity and I think any opportunity we have going forward we need to do more than the simple engagement strategy of talking because what we have seen are nothing but insults coming out of the regime.”

Finally, she said, “They are thumbing their nose at the United States right now and insulting us in every possible way that they can. So, I think it’s imperative that we appreciate the risks that not only the United States is looking at but the destabilizing effect on the world.”

Other speakers at the event included “former CIA Director James Woolsey, former CIA double ‘agent’ Reza Kahlili, whose recent book, “A Time to Betray” details his time as an American spy inside the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes, former Reagan administration national security advisor, Frank Gaffney, investigative journalist and Iran specialist Ken Timmerman, human rights activist and former Miss Canada Miss World runner-up, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, Larry Klayman and U.S. Senators and Congressmen.”

TPM caught part of the conference on video:

Titled “Iran at a Crossroads – Assessing a Changing Landscape,” the event put a spotlight on the political turmoil currently facing Iran. Ellison, who is the author of the Stand with Iranian People Act (SWIPA), spoke about the need for reform to come from within the country.

“We believe that a democratic impulse in every nation must be fed by the international community,” he said, “but at the same time the freedom that the people on the streets of Tehran and around Iran are seeking belongs to them, all by themselves. It should be supported, but it shouldn’t be lead, and it certainly shouldn’t be directed [by us].”

Rep. Keith Ellison. Photo: WDCpix

Rep. Keith Ellison has been vocal in recent weeks about the plight of the people of Iran, many of whom are taking to the streets demanding increased freedoms under a totalitarian government. In December, Ellison introduced a bill imposing stricter sanctions on Iran, and now he’s urging Minnesotans to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran.

“This crackdown in Iran is not only in violation of Iran’s international obligations but also a violation of Iran’s own Constitution,” Ellison told the Minnesota Independent. “The United States should demonstrate strong support for the universal human rights to which all Iranians are entitled by working with the international community to continue to press for accountability for Iran’s human rights abuses.”

To that end, Ellison has introduced the Stand with the Iranian People Act (SWIPA). An important part of that bill would prohibit the United States from contracting with businesses that provide censorship or surveillance tools to the Iranian government.

With massive protests captured on YouTube and organized through Twitter, access to communications is critical, the Minneapolis Democrat said.

In an email to his colleagues in the House, Ellison said the bill “targets human rights abusers within the Iranian government and eliminates US government funding for companies that supply Iran with cyber spying and internet censorship technology.”

Ellison told MnIndy that standing with the Iranian people is crucial as they demand rights. “To me it’s a continued human rights issue, a civil rights issue,” he said. “The protests are going to transform their government. And it’s a struggle that’s fraught with danger.”

The Unites States has imposed sanctions on Iran. Ellison’s bill would allow nongovernmental organizations from the United States to provide support for the people while maintaining strong sanctions against the regime and the Revolutionary Guard.

“The Revolutionary Guard is responsible for a great deal of pain and suffering. They have executed gays, for instance. They have executed anyone who speaks out.”

And Ellison says Americans — and Minnesotans — need to speak out as well.

“The regime needs to know the American people are against them.”

To get the word out, Ellison says, “Support SWIPA, hold teach-ins, write about the protests on blogs. Show solidarity with the people of Iran.”

As Iranians marked the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, protests met with massive state crackdowns. Ellison said he stands with those protesters.

“We are witnessing a brave struggle by the Iranian people to demand their basic rights,” he said. “I stand in solidarity with the people of Iran who are demanding their right to freedom of expression, assembly, and conscience.”

Photo: LilDebbie

The message on a Minneapolis street corner Wednesday was unmediated: VIVA IRAN. That and dozens of other slogans of the Iranian protest movement were carried on signs and on the mercifully cooler air that wafted through downtown, where a crowd of as many as 200 people gathered in a semicircle for urgent call-and-response chants.

Free free elections! Stop stop deception!

After 10 days of TV, Twitter and YouTube, participation in a live, local protest was a bracingly direct way to express and observe the passions and ideals being bravely paraded on other streets a half a world away. The demonstrators’ main communication was to each other, though there were occasional appeals to “our brothers and sisters in Minneapolis” and a few supportive honks from passing cars.

Iran Iran, fight fight! Iran Iran, we hear you! Iran Iran, never give up!

Most appeared to be Iranian-Americans. If the size of the local community with family ties to Iran is correctly guessed at 3,000, perhaps one-twentieth of them had found their way to the Hennepin County Government Center plaza for the noon rally and stayed through a brief shower that arrived at that hour.

I am Neda Neda! We are all Neda!

Beyond that, no generalizations held: men, women, youngsters, people with canes, some wearing the movement’s trademark green. Most held one kind of sign or another, from a simple hand-lettered “I AM NEDA” (in reference to the young Iranian woman whose shooting death in Tehran has gripped YouTube viewers worldwide) to photos of street protests in Iran and a large green banner with the name of Iranian President Ahmadinejad crossed out.

Ahmadinejad is a Hitler! Down with dictator!

Tina Soltani of Maple Grove, wearing a green scarf, said she came to the demonstration to support the people of Iraq. It’s no longer about the elections, she said, but how the government is dealing with the protest movement there.

“My mom was part of the [Iranian] revolution,” said Soltani, herself born and raised in the United States. “They weren’t revolting for [Iran's current regime]. The were revolting against the king … for democracy.”

Other governments have to keep up the pressure on Iran, Soltani said. Though she understands the hesitation to meddle, she sees world opinion as critical to the protesters inside Iran.

“If they give up, the government wins,” she said. But if the people have the world’s support, “the government for sure will fall.”

Daniel MacInnes said he had also attended two previous but smaller protests in Minneapolis: one in Uptown that he helped organize and another on the University of Minnesota campus. He was impressed both by the larger size and the makeup of today’s turnout.

“To see the Iranian-American community running it, this is really crucial,” MacInnes said.

MacInnes, a blogger, said he keeps up with local Iran-related events via a Twin Cities message board at the Why We Protest web site and other social media.

Another event is tonight at the Mayday Bookstore in Minneapolis, where St. Catherine University economics professor Nasrin Jewell will speak on “Coverage of the Election in Iran and the Role Played by Western Media and Governments.” Women Against Military Madness has more information.

Elko noted a then-staggering number of RNC-related tweets: 17,000. Last week, one estimate pegged the number of tweets related to Iran’s election and the subsequent protests at nearly a billion.

A MnIndy sampling of RNC tweets showed that St. Paul’s protests had some of the same confusion and enthusiasm, if not the gravitas, seen in recent demostrations in Tehran:

Police: “You must go to the left.” Protester: “Your left or ours?” 6:31 PM Sep 4th from web

Overheard at May Day cafe: “Dude, I totally got tear gassed. It was fucking awesome.” 11:57 AM Sep 3rd from web

Overheard from excited Mpls policeman, “So I shot him with impact round a[nd] he just fucking dropped!” 6:51 PM Sep 1st from web

Here’s one area in which St. Paul exceeds Tehran, for now. The roster of arrested journalists in Iran is as yet not quite half as long as those arrested during the RNC — though with much more serious implications for the people detained.

As World Press Freedom Day passed Sunday, a hunger strike in solidarity with Saberi extended into its sixth day by Reporters without Borders activists in Paris, while hundreds of supporters and friends held a vigil for Saberi on the bridge linking Saberi’s hometown with the neighboring city of Moorhead, Minn. Saberi was scheduled to give the commencement speech at her alma mater, Moorhead’s Concordia College this weekend.

According to the World Association of Newspapers, 125 journalists were imprisoned last year, including 12 in the region where Saberi is now detained.

The speech never happened. Vogler was murdered by a fellow AIP member that year.

The AIP is a secessionist movement in Alaska advocating armed insurrection against the American government. Palin’s husband, Todd, was a member of the AIP for seven years. She spoke at AIP’s 2006 convention and made a video address at the 2008 gathering. Palin praised the group this year. “Keep up the good work,” she said. “And God bless you.”

The Jed Report put together clips of Palin and AIP:

From today’s JPost: “US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran in the upcoming months, before the end of his term, Army Radio quoted a senior official in Jerusalem as saying Tuesday. The official claimed that a senior member of the president’s entourage, which concluded a trip to Israel last week, said during a closed meeting that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action was called for.”

The brief dispatch goes on to say that Bush and Cheney are encountering “hesitancy” from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Read the Jerusalem Post story.

According to the CAE event description, Bolton will “discuss 21st century threats to the United States and how we can — how we must — lead in strengthening security arrangements around the world.” Recent media appearances suggest that Bolton believes those threats revolve around Iran and that the leadership required means air strikes.

Bolton told the London daily The Telegraph that Iran was responsible for harming U.S. troops in Iraq and that this is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we’re not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do.” Bolton also dismissed a recent report from British intelligence contradicting recent assertions about Iranian involvement in Iraq.

In an interview last week with Fox News, Bolton was asked if he could see a scenario in which President Bush would bomb Iran, and Bolton responded, “I think so, definitely.”

Bolton was appointed by Bush to be permanent U.S. representative to the United Nations during a congressional recess in August 2005 after Democrats in the Senate successfully filibustered his confirmation. Bolton resigned in December 2006 in lieu of facing a clear defeat before a confirmation committee, mainly at the hands of
then Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee. After being voted out of office, Chafee left the Republican party and became an independent.

The CAE made note of Bolton’s confrontational style as well as his rocky time as U.N. ambassador. Promotions for the event declare: “During his all-too short tenure at the United Nations, he was an
outspoken advocate for vital American interests, while striving to reform the U.N. and halt the spread of terrorism and civil strife around the globe. For his courageous service, the Senate somehow saw fit to reward him with a filibuster, successfully preventing his confirmation. That was not a good day for freedom.”

Single tickets to the event are listed as “Attach