For more than two decades now, US policy on Iran has depended almost entirely on sanctions. Even now, Congress is set to pass the latest in a long line of "crippling" pressures: a gasoline embargo that both Republicans and Democrats believe is unlikely to alter Iran's behavior in the slightest, but which some hope will cause enough pain for the Iranian people that they will protest a little harder than they already are.
But the yardstick for an effective Iran policy is not how much pain and suffering it will cause among innocent Iranians. Rather, changing the policies and behavior of Tehran's repressive government should be our ultimate goal. This means that when it comes to sanctions, bigger is not always better. If Washington wants to do something on Iran, it should first stop helping the Ahmadinejad government repress its people.
Luckily, there is a chance that things are about to change. Just as most of Congress is stuck in the narrow mindset of draconian sanctions, two new bills have been introduced that offer a new way forward on Iran. The Stand with the Iranian People Act (SWIPA), led by Rep. Keith Ellison, and the Iranian Digital Empowerment Act (IDEA), led by Rep. Jim Moran, both seek to redefine how Congress approaches the Iran issue, in favor of a smarter, more holistic strategy.
SWIPA removes damaging barriers in existing US law that block Americans and Iranians from working together on projects like building hospitals and schools in Iran or promoting human rights. It also places tough, targeted sanctions on human rights abusers within the Iranian government as well as on companies that provide the government with tools of repression.
Similarly, IDEA will enable Iranians to access instant messaging programs like Google Chat and Microsoft Messenger that the companies themselves have shut down in Iran due to US sanctions. It also clarifies that sanctions do not prohibit anti-censorship and anti-spying software to be sent out of the US to Iranians.
A good starting point for lawmakers seeking to find a new course on Iran is to first do no harm. The growing movement for change in Iran is historic, and it represents a tectonic shift in the political dynamic there. When Washington feels the need to take a page out of the sanctions playbook, more than anything else it should discriminate between the government and the people. Holding human rights abusers accountable for their crimes by freezing their bank accounts and denying them travel visas is a perfectly valid form of international pressure -- and it doesn't risk stifling civil society the way blanket sanctions would.
Beyond smarter sanctions, though, the US needs to start exercising smart power in Iran. This means identifying areas in which our current policies are counterproductive -- and getting out of our own way. For example, the world recognized what a crucial role social media services like Twitter and Facebook played in the events in Iran this summer, yet current US sanctions actually prohibit Americans from providing Internet communications software to the Iranian people. Microsoft and Google have both shut down instant messenger services because their programs are enabled by a download not authorized for export to Iran under US law. The same can be said for anti-surveillance software that allows Iranian users to surf the web free of government spying.
Just this summer, the Senate authorized $20 million for the development of software and other programs that allow users in Iran to bypass government censorship and monitoring efforts. But current laws still prohibit an American from sending these programs to Iran!
Did you know that after one of Iran's most terrible natural disasters -- the 2003 earthquake in Bam that killed over 25,000 people -- the Iranian government sought advice from American engineers to reinforce thousands of primary schools around the country to make them more earthquake-proof? Sadly, that type of assistance was deemed "dual-use" under US sanctions, and the Americans were barred from making the trip.
These and countless other examples reinforce the conclusion that America's approach to Iran over the past three decades has been shockingly myopic. Many avenues exist for the US to foster goodwill among the Iranian population, and even to provide them with the tools they need to bring about positive change in their political system, yet we continue to put up barriers to greater cooperation.
As policymakers consider next steps on Iran, the Iranian people are sure to continue their struggle to have their voices heard. For the future of US-Iran cooperation and for the security of the region, US lawmakers should stand with the Iranian people, rather than continuing to stand on their backs.
Follow Patrick Disney on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NIACouncil
New sanctions against Iran passed Congress yesterday.
The vote was 412 to 12.
Great book to read by an Iranian Jew exiled in America after 1979:
http://www.royahakakian.com/live/
Also, there are hundreds of Iranian jews living in NY and Los Angeles, Ask them how they were treated by the savage thugs of Islamic Republic.
The number of Jews before Islamic Republic took over in 1979: More than 100,000
Today: Less than 20,000.
I think you need to be more honest with your feelings and make peace with your emotions and stop dismissing everyone like we do not know what we are talking about and surprisingly you are the only one.
""Addressing a large crowd of rabid Islamists the mid-ranking cleric Shojooni:
" they would say Imam (Khomeini) is dead needs to be contemplated upon because in my opinion and those of the world’s dispossessed and oppressed, just as Imam Hossein is alive, Imam Khomeini is also alive and will stay so.”
“…I saw the Great Leader (Khamenie) and told him that I hope the Muslim world would use its brain and you become the leader of all Islamic countries. The Leader said thank you and immediately went to do the final prayer…”
“It is not about election anymore, something else is in their mind. That is why I recommend that the Basijies, (Revolutionary) Guards, clergy and people on the streets hold on tight to the Rule of the Jurist and the Great Leader. And I tell the enemies of this revolution that should Master give the word, we will bite and chew up the throats of these guys."
“The Americans were planning on creating the Greater Middle East in (this) region, but to their detriment a Greater Iranian Shite Middle East which begins in Lebanon and continues to the Iranian border has been formed.”
These are no hallucinations; aside their infighting these guys are messianic Islamists on a mission. Listen to them, these are not idle talks, these are actionable plans..."
http://iranian.com/main/blog/fred/long-live-imam-khomeini
http://www.kaleme.org/1388/09/21/klm-5440
Please try to read a few of these linked sources or do you own independent research, instead of parroting VEVAK's and MOIS's talking point issued from the IRI's Intellgience Minstry.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/12/opinion-the-wrecking-ball.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story...
The Real Story of 1979 Islamic Massacre in Iran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCjOk2t6Ah4 Have you seen this video, rp?
Khomeini interview in 1978 asking the world to help him for the regime change:
http://iranian.com/main/singlepage/2008/khomeini-1978
Khomeini, himself, the ultimate pursuer of independence and the bastion of protection against foreign intervention, believes that the peoples of the world, and the governments of the world, should step in and affect a regime change in Iran to save Iranians from Human Rights abuses and the tyranny of the Shah..
Complicity of France in Manufacturing the Iranian Revolution and Jimmy Carter's betrayal of the Iranian People
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1857
"A Century of War" by William Engdhal:
http://www.amazon.com/Century-War-Anglo-American-Politics-World/dp/074532309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232661747&sr=1-1
Excerpts from the book,
http://www.payvand.com/news/06/mar/1090.html
Some critical analysis as opposed to total unconditional acceptance of any and most all oppressive acts by the State would also surely help the negotiation process.
{{Did you know that after one of Iran's most terrible natural disasters--the 2003 earthquake in Bam that killed over 25,000 people--the Iranian government sought advice from American engineers to renovate thousands of primary schools around the country to make them more earthquake-proof? Sadly, that type of assistance was deemed "dual-use" under US sanctions, and the Americans were barred from making the trip.}}
This is an interesting point. I do believe it demonstrates our problem understanding the message jeasus brought: Working with friends is easy, we must learn to work with our "enimies" if we want to "achieve" lasting security and prosperity.
I believe we should end all support for inciting the overthrow of the Iranian government.
Additionally, we should stop blocking the export of Iranian natural gas. The Nabucco pipeling will never be profitable without Iranian gas, and the IPI pipeline can deliver gas to India without US military being used to "create peace" in Afghanistan. Supporting the TAPI pipeline over the IPI pipeline, because we "have a problem with Iran," has not brought us any closer to achieving security in the region.
by Gary Sick
Info RSS Gary Sick served on the National Security Council staff under Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan. He was the principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis and is the author of two books on U.S.-Iranian relations. Mr. Sick is a captain (ret.) in the U.S. Navy, with service in the Persian Gulf, North Africa and the Mediterranean.
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Ahmadinejad’s grip is slipping. The ayatollah is losing ground. And the military is on the rise. Gary Sick on how Obama should handle the aftershocks of a political earthquake.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-26/irans-dangerous-power-vacuum/?cid=bs:featured4
ran's jails--an inside view
Global Post / Iason Athanasiadis
16-Dec-2009
Some of the most notorious holding centers are the Gohardasht prison in the satellite town of Karaj and a site simply known as Minus 4 in the basement of the Interior Ministry in central Tehran. Kazem Jalali, a spokesman for a parliamentary committee investigating prison conditions, announced that he would be seeking access to Minus 4 but it is unclear whether permission was ever granted.
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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/middle-east/091214/iran-prison-torture?page=0,1