05 November 2009
Snubbing Iran’s Democrats
Mariam Memarsadeghi and Akbar Atri, whose OpEd, “The President Snubs Iran’s Democrats,” appears in the November 4, 2009, Wall Street Journal, ought to know better than to characterize the Obama Administration’s refraint from openly supporting opposition groups in Iran like Takhim Vahdat as snubbing democrats. Or perhaps they have deliberately chosen that as their strategy.
It is not the mission of the U.S. to foment democratic revolution abroad. Ms. Memarsadeghi apparently is closely associated with NGOs that seek to promote political change as well as human rights in the Middle East. She should know that only subtle and covert programs are tools that the U.S. government can use, particularly in that region, without abandoning its ability to interact effectively and peacefully with other state governments.
Despite its apparent frustration, Takhim Vahdat must publicly allow the Obama Administration to play that game while encouraging it to support the group’s humanitarian operations. Washington is filled with appropriate channels to seek covert government assistance for political reform in Iran; there also are many private sector sources of such assistance. Using the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed page for that purpose may cause a public opinion stir in Washington, but it won’t go far towards changing the status quo in Tehran.
Mariam Memarsadeghi and Akbar Atri, whose OpEd, “The President Snubs Iran’s Democrats,” appears in the November 4, 2009, Wall Street Journal, ought to know better than to characterize the Obama Administration’s refraint from openly supporting opposition groups in Iran like Takhim Vahdat as snubbing democrats. Or perhaps they have deliberately chosen that as their strategy.
It is not the mission of the U.S. to foment democratic revolution abroad. Ms. Memarsadeghi apparently is closely associated with NGOs that seek to promote political change as well as human rights in the Middle East. She should know that only subtle and covert programs are tools that the U.S. government can use, particularly in that region, without abandoning its ability to interact effectively and peacefully with other state governments.
Despite its apparent frustration, Takhim Vahdat must publicly allow the Obama Administration to play that game while encouraging it to support the group’s humanitarian operations. Washington is filled with appropriate channels to seek covert government assistance for political reform in Iran; there also are many private sector sources of such assistance. Using the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed page for that purpose may cause a public opinion stir in Washington, but it won’t go far towards changing the status quo in Tehran.
Comments:
Post a Comment
