Home >> United States & Canada >> Elections & Politics

     Email   Print 

Democratic Party will endanger the chance of Middle East Peace

Ghazal Omid - 4/14/2008

On April 08, 2008, immediately after General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testified before the Senate, Senator Feinstein joined NIAC at a press conference in the Russell Building, as evidenced by the accompanying photo from the NIAC webpage.

Senator Feinstein mentioned that her state of California has a large Iranian contingent. Perhaps she is unaware that these are mostly Iranians who fled execution and torture of the IRI. Others are prominent Iranians who left Iran for better business opportunities.

We need to clarify that in the view of the majority of both Iranians and non-Iranians who side with the Iranian people, NIAC is a lobbyist trying to match APAC, the Jewish lobby, and break it up or infiltrate it. In my opinion, they have been successful in the latter.

According to NIAC News, Hoshang Amir Ahamdi, NIAC President, has just returned from visiting Iran at the invitation of Ahmadinejad. Senator Feinstein and many other well intentioned Democrats ostensibly supporting the Iranian people apparently believe NIAC is genuine; whereas, in fact, it represents only the interest of the IRI, not the Iranian people. If their intent is to convey a message that Iranians agree with NIAC, that implication should be corrected among Senators, Congressmen and women.

The Democratic Senator made a series of points in her speech and added that this is “a fresh approach.” This fresh approach didn’t fly well with Iranians. The Senator’s office can verify that she was inundated with angry letters, e-mails and faxes from Iranians. According to Senator Feinstein’s Press Office, the purpose of her lecture was “to have an open dialogue with the IRI”, similar to what President Reagan had with the Soviet Union during the cold war or Henry Kissinger in the 1970s with China.

However, there is a major difference between the views of the Iranian people and that of Russians from the old Soviet Union and Chinese of their current system of government. Some Russians, admit the fall of the Berlin wall was a break through for Democracy, however, after years of being robbed and threatened with violence by the mob and the death of investigative journalists, many Russians think communism worked for unity and strength of their country and, most importantly, kept inflation under control.

Iranian’s view of the IRI is exactly the opposite because IRI is the sole reason for the dysfunctional Iranian society. Overwhelmingly, Iranians have no interest in keeping the IRI on power. It is the single most notable source of corruption, crime, and inflation in our country. After three decades of crimes by the IRI and shutting down every effort of the opposition, Iranians are still struggling, paying with their blood and sweat for freedom.

There is plenty of interest among Iranians in a regime change. Nearly 85 percent oppose the existing government; even though they have absolutely no choice but to line up at voting booths to make sure their birth certificate is stamped so they will have their job the next day.

There is no strategy from the outside world benefitting the Iranian people. Their opposition movements both inside and outside Iran seem to be on their own. There is no organized effort to counter the billions of dollars that IRI spends to get publicity in the US Senate and buy strategists and think tanks. It is not enough for top Democratic Party leaders to only hint to the Iranian people that, if they change the regime, we will embrace you and shake your hand as new leaders. We need friends and we need them now.

The appearance of Senator Feinstein could not have come at a more sensitive and inopportune moment in the history of the IRI. The Iranian dictatorship is losing its grip on power every day; even as they try harder to look more powerful.

IRI is hanging by a thread. The struggle to stay in power has negatively impacted its image and performance. In January 2008, after a massive shift of public opinion, Shahroodi, head of IRI judiciary, ordered the cessation of public executions; fearing uprising by Iranians angry at seeing their fellow citizens hanged from cranes in the street. In the past few months, during the US election campaign, IRINN programming has shifted from all negative to mostly programs emphasizing the well being of the Iranian people.

Senators such as Feinstein and powerful figures such as Albright who are quoted directly on IRINN and seen at NIAC luncheons attempting to boost a relationship with the IRI through NIAC are betting on the wrong horse. Leaving the Iranian people high and dry in the battle for democracy is not going to help Middle East peace.

Many Democrats believe the sanctions should be ended. With all due respect, the sanctions are just beginning to work; visibly wearing down the Iranian government. Cutting sanctions means only that we got what we wanted and don’t care about Iranians and their dream of freedom. Companies and countries dealing with the IRI or indirectly benefiting must also be held responsible in order for unilateral sanctions to work against the IRI.

The IRI is boasting about its economic boom on the multi-million dollar TV Networks, most of them in English. The IRI policy is to look good in the eyes of the buyer and make as much as money possible out of the Iranian people and stretch power as long as possible.

To do so, they plan their strategies well in advance. In the summer of 2007, IRI announced a shortage of gasoline and issued ration cards. This was not welcomed by Iranians. In the ensuing protests, IRI elements burned a few gas stations, IRNA, the official IRI photo agency took a few photographs and a few hundred people were arrested but later released. The price of gasoline, which previously retailed for 300 Tomans/liter ($1.34/gallon at exchange rate: 850 Toman/dollar), was purposely inflated 250 to 300 percent and now costs 750 to 1000 Tomans/liter ($3.11 to $4.14/gallon at current exchange rate: 917 Toman/dollar); this in a country where the average income of retirees is 83,000 Toman ($90) per month and entry level employees earn about 250,000 Toman ($270) per month. Although the gas rationing card allows only 3 liters per car per day for non-commercial usage and 30 liters/day for taxis, the government controlled stations will sell as much as you need if you have the money. The gas card is sort of there and sort of not in case IRI needs an alibi for its energy shortage. According to the IRI research of Iranian oil resources, Iran will run out of fossil fuel oil in 70 years. However, it didn’t indicate anything about the 500 year natural gas reserve.

The IRI knows if it were to triple the price of gasoline in Iran without long term planning, people would be in the streets protesting. That, of course, means bad publicity, more photos of protest shown in US news media and no help in “the dialogue.” To silence its critics, IRI uses media and the lobby system outside Iran and exploits Democrats to display what the IRI wants seen and not what it is really doing to the Iranian people.

No one seems interested in speaking to the Senate or Congress about crimes against the Iranians and hearing the causes of women and children; the most voiceless victims of the IRI.

Although the Iranian regime has no place in the hearts and minds of the Iranian people, for Democrats to back the idea that IRI can be influenced through talks, they are essentially, if unwittingly, stabbing the Iranian people. The road to democracy for Iran must not be paved with handshakes with Ahmadinejad and his government or the Iranian people will never forgive the US government and whoever becomes the next US President; as they have not forgiven former President Carter for his grand miscalculation in bringing this regime to power three decades ago.

For Democrats this was only a leader’s mistake but Iranians paid with their lives and are still trying to remove and repair that mistake.

On April 7, 2008, Ahmadinejad, expecting a full room and an enthusiastic audience, instead faced a half empty amphitheater for his speech on a nuclear Iran. Half way through his most important speech of 2008 announcing five new centrifuges for Iran’s nuclear facilities, he forgot his memorized speech. A camera shift showed the amused audience looking at one another until he regained his train of thought and completed his speech. Forgetting what he was trying to say exposed a very different man from the tough Ahmadinejad boasting at Columbia University, “there are no gays in Iran.”

He also stated that, in the views of the IRI, “The fight for nuclear energy is over. We are done with the process.” He didn’t offer any explanation of what he meant by “It is over.” There was, however, perhaps a hint in Iran’s Javan newspaper read on IRINN; a quote from Madeline Albright, “US foreign policy has been stripped away and destroyed.”

IRINN is the regimes broadcast arm. No IRI employee dares to publicly show opposition to the government. Still, it did not prevent an expert, sent to an international oil and energy conference outside Iran, from publicly mocking the IRI. “Iran doesn’t have enough refined petroleum products for itself but the foreign policy of the 8th Assembly obligates us to invest money for petroleum in Malaysia, Indonesia and Syria to show a strong face.”

The Iranian government has done a 360 on their broadcast messages to appeal to the Democratic Party. PressTV has even showed up at Obama’s campaign and the IRI seems to publicly endorse him.

The Iranian people seem to be the forgotten factor of democracy for the Middle East. Iranians know and encourage everyone to remember: War is not and never will be the answer. Also, in the view of the Iranian people, negotiation with the IRI is an egregious mistake in granting desired but undeserved recognition to a corrupt, oppressive, intractable enemy.

The Islamic Republic of Iran cannot survive beyond a certain point without help but, with the assistance of Democrats, it will go on indefinitely and with it the dream of Israel/Middle East peace. IRI will never accept Israel and will never be a friend of America.