Iran’s fraudulently elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will clearly stop at nothing to stifle legitimate dissent and hold on to his illegitimate power. The most recent horror is the sharp rise in executions since the June presidential elections.

The viciousness of the current repression is another sign of the government’s desperation. But that is no consolation to Iranians at the receiving end of the terror. Washington is rightly increasing its already substantial efforts to make accurate, uncensored information more widely available through satellite television, radio broadcasts and Internet sites. Last month, Congress authorized $50 million to be spent over the next year on expanded programming, increased transmissions and anti-jamming technology. An America that stands up for its own values of free, uncensored expression need not worry about the epithets a desperate dictator hurls against it.