by Gen. Hugh Shelton Despite repeated U.S. promises, the Obama administration has failed to protect these dissidents or even facilitate their rapid resettlement. This administration has been woefully dragging its feet in admitting some of these dissidents to the U.S. as political refugees and missing the opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of the world our leadership by setting the example. It appears that hope springs eternal and the delay is based on the concern that any such humanitarian gesture might anger Tehran. As a matter of principle, the U.S. must not overlook Irans soul-crushing oppression inside Iran and its hunting of dissidents abroad in its zeal to conclude a nuclear agreement. Going into the talks, the U.S. should announce that it will agree to admit as political refugees all or a substantial portion of the residents, who are extremely vulnerable at Camp Liberty and are at the mercy of Iraqs increasingly pro-Iranian government. Many of these dissidents have relatives in the U.S and studied in Western universities.[...] By emphasizing that Iran needs to observe human rights and abandon terrorism, we will be increasing the chances of a success for a nuclear deal, because it would compel the regime to alter its behavior. The U.S. should, therefore, make any relaxation of sanctions conditional on Irans behavior at home, demanding greater transparency into its criminal justice system and respect for its international treaty obligations, as well as ending its support for terrorism. If Iran balks at the negotiations it will be doing so at its own peril. The sanctions would remain in place and the shaky regime would have no recourse for economic relief. The Iranian regime would be forced to defend its untenable position to its own people. Either way, the leverage that brought Iran to the table remains in place; the regime will need to gamble between economic isolation and the risk of being criticized and challenged internally by its own people. This is in the face of what has happened in Egypt and Syria. We are dealing from a position of strength. Lets hope we dont squander it.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 22:10:45 +0000
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