Hearing Alan Dershowitz compare the governments of Iran and Nazi Germany and advocate for regime change in Iran made me fear the ever-growing specter of propaganda and terror that has enveloped the situation in Iran. As the rhetoric of Dershowitz, Israeli officials and U.S. government leaders heightens, it is essential for us to remember that we have largely caused the current circumstances through ignorance and unwillingness to try to understand the complexities of the situation.From 1997 through 2005, the president of Iran was a moderate; he promised democratic reforms and closer relationships with the West. Last week, reports emerged from the State Department that Iran offered to help stabilize Iraq and end its military support for Hezbollah and Hamas. This and other attempts were rejected by Vice President Dick Cheney, which, in addition to other slights, has contributed to the anti-Western sentiment in Iran and the election of its current extremist leader.

Labeling Iran as monstrous and evil further entrenches the radicals in Iranian society. It also ignores the preponderance of non-threatening statements emerging from top Iranian leaders, including Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said in June 2006: "We have no problem with the world. We are not a threat whatsoever to the world, and the world knows it. We will never start a war. We have no intention of going to war with any state."

Even the infamous "wipe-Israel-off-the-face-of-the-map" quote has been grossly mistranslated and used as anti-Iranian propaganda. The New York Times translation of the quote reads: "The occupying regime must be wiped off the map." This is considerably different from anti-Semitism or advocating for the annihilation of the Jewish people. Another part of the speech references the removal of a powerful regime, namely the Soviet Union. No one would claim that this implies genocide against Russians. This is not to say that Ahmadinejad may not harbor strong anti-Semitic sentiments, but only to show that even the more radical elements of the regime in Iran have only been arguing for an anti-Israel regime change, not another Holocaust.

Calling Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the next Hitler, as Dershowitz did during his speech last Tuesday, undoubtedly makes the situation far worse. Rather than engage in open dialogue with Iran, the only official "discourse" coming from President George W. Bush has been threats against the regime. This is particularly shocking when one realizes that the vibrant youth culture in Iran is looking for a legitimate democracy, and that there is an incredible amount of opposition among Iranian citizens to current policies. Just as about 60 percent of Americans do not support the President, so too do the majority of Iranians find their leader to be far too extreme and undeserving of their support. Unlike in Nazi Germany where Joseph Goebbles was able to stifle almost all dissent with his propaganda, Iranians continue to speak out regularly despite the fact that doing so threatens their lives.

This truth should encourage us to develop a new strategy for discussion and help foment dissent among Iran's citizens as we did when facing the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Instead, false rumors that "prove" the Nazi comparison have been extended, like one first articulated-and later retracted-by a Canadian newspaper of an Iranian dress code similar to the Nazi's use of yellow stars. Yet, in the three days it took to discredit and recall the story, the State Department quickly perpetuated the analogy.

With such strong rhetoric on our part, like lumping Iran into the "axis of evil," it is understandable that Iranians would want to develop the means to defend themselves against nuclear threats. They are justifiably afraid that we will invade on any pretext, just as we did with Iraq. Yet reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the CIA found no evidence of weapons-grade refinement in Iran, and, according to the Jerusalem Post, Iran's leader has issued a fatwa on nuclear weapons, making the use of such weapons a violation of his sect of Islam. Although nuclear force is horrific, we can not forget that we were the first to develop and deploy the bomb and that our ally Israel is the only nation in the Middle East that currently has a bomb-as is widely believed.

The extraordinarily active Iranian blog scene shows that many are in favor of democracy and the freedoms of speech, expression and determination; it is our hegemony that they oppose. We need not forget that it was not open warfare, but internal revolt that brought down the Iron Curtain. It is our constant belligerence that more than anything pushes them away from reform, away from conversation and away from moderation.