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AIC Update January 2005 | Volume # 2 | Number # 4 | |||
| a catalyst for change through dialogue and understanding |
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Talking Points: AIC Press Releases & Alerts: Perspectives & Commentary: AIC in the News: |
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Talking Points:
Each week the Council publishes Talking Points in AIC UPDATE to improve dialogue on issues integral to improving US-Iran relations.
In the days following President Bush’s inaugural address, Vice President Dick Cheney continues to reiterate the Bush administration’s position on Iran, by identifying it as a top threat to world peace and Middle East stability, accusing Tehran of sponsoring terrorism against Americans and building a "fairly robust new nuclear program.” However, the most disconcerting statement came only hours after the President’s speech, in which Vice President Cheney warned that Israel "might well decide to act first" militarily to eliminate Iran's nuclear capabilities if the United States and its allies fail to resolve the standoff with Tehran diplomatically. AIC Press Releases & Alerts:
AMERICAN IRANIAN COUNCIL American Iranian Council Alert tel: 609-252-9099 | fax: 609-252-9698 Internet Petition Urges Prevention of Attack on Iran Princeton, NJ (January 23, 2005) During the week of January 17, 2005 an internet petition began circulating, urging the members and officers of the United Nations General Assembly to pass a resolution preventing an attack on Iran by the United States. Some 4,000 signatures have been collected on behalf of this petition which is hosted on www.petitiononline.com, a major contributor to this internet fad. The petition reads as follows: To: United Nations General Assembly We, the undersigned, urge you, the members and officers of the United Nations General Assembly, to pass a resolution against and to use all of your diplomatic and political powers to prevent an attack on the sovereign nation of Iran by the United States of America and/or her allies. Sincerely, The Undersigned The preceding petition can be found at: www.petitiononline.com The American Iranian Council supports the underlying goal of this petition and believes that both the Iranian-American community and the larger American community must become involved if Iran is to become a democratically developed member of the global community with full respect for human rights, through peaceful means. The Council believes citizen engagement is the primary tool for fostering constructive dialogue on the fate of US-Iran relations. However, many experts suggest that the utilization of the United Nations as an obstructionist body has only proved that the United States is willing to take unilateral actions. The utilization of the United Nations as a body for dialogue would prove measurably more successful in improving US-Iran relations. The American Iranian Council urges supporters of this petition to also support constructive engagement between the United States and Iran, rather than just obstructionist measures that promote the status quo relationship. The American Iranian Council (AIC) is a nonprofit and nonpartisan tax-exempt [501 (C) 3] educational organization dedicated to improved US-Iran relations through dialogue, better understanding, and constructive engagement. 
Perspectives & Commentary:
Undoubtedly, one of the most difficult tests for the newly mandated Bush administration will be developing a comprehensive Iran policy. The wider state of US-Iran relations remains volatile in the post-September 11 environment, unsatisfactory to both governments, and serving the national interests of neither country. President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld have both publicly admitted that the United States does not possess the leverage necessary to thwart Iranian nuclear ambition. A more effective Iran policy should provide for measured engagement, thereby establishing an effective channel for leverage, since the government of Iran seems resigned to ignore vaguely articulated, piecemeal, symbolic, and ambiguous complaints in the absence of normal relations. Therefore, existing policy concessions must be repackaged to provide for a more transparent and functional approach. The Islamic Republic has indeed hinted at the establishment of a "normalized situation" before negotiations on mutual concerns can start. A dialogue on the issues must address more than nuclear proliferation, it must also address the totality of the problem. President Bush’s new foreign policy team must develop a comprehensive policy that exploits existing channels, allowing for the reciprocal impact of economic diplomacy. While the US firms continue to be barred from open investment in Iran, primarily the result of unilateral sanctions, European countries are imposing monopolistic deals on the country via the nuclear bargaining table. Moreover, US investment in Iranian agricultural and pharmaceutical industries remains meager, partially the result of OFAC licensing requirements. While the country is rich in oil and gas, geography, and human resources, it lacks the required capital and technology, shortcomings that the United States can mitigate. The presumption that “a weaker Iran is a better Iran” was the basis of the now defunct “dual containment” policy. A new US policy should promote greater economic development, to foster political leverage via the provision of economic carrots. Likewise, a comprehensive US policy should support democratic reforms in Iran, but refrain from taking side in Iran's factional politics. The Bush administration appears committed to the democratic transformation of the Gulf region, but should not engage further regional initiatives without respect for the sovereignty and integrity of Iran and its religion, culture, and institutions. Washington must make clear that any discourse suggesting it seeks to intervene in Iran’s internal affairs are without foundation. Likewise, the United States should not become engaged in the dangerous exploits of Iranian dissidents and exiles. The endogenous reform movement and the emerging proactive Iranian diplomacy are rock solid, despite recent setbacks, as they are based on structural changes in the Iranian society and developments globally. Prompting a dialogue on democratization does not require gambling on factional politics, a dangerous act, as proven by our military exploits in Iraq. A new policy of engagement must be developed to reverse mutual hostilities and combat nuclear proliferation. This policy does not necessitate American appropriation of nuclear negotiations, but it does require that the United States infuse the debate with articulated demands and support for its European allies. Accusatory politics, to this point, has done little to prove Iran has a nuclear weapon, the fissile material to build one, the operating facilities to produce or test one, or the delivery system to utilize one. Based upon final conclusions in the Iraq case, accusations regarding weapons of mass destruction must be substantiated not only by physical evidence but by imminent and threatening intentions. On the latter, the US case against Iranian nuclear development is feeble and based on a history of distrust. Therefore, the United States must articulate a global policy on the development and utilization of nuclear fuel supplies. However, engagement on this issue must be met with equitable engagement on the totality of issues, as they are equally important and propel our nuclear fears. Ultimately the key to normalization of relations remains building mutual trust between the governments and peoples of Iran and the United States, a condition explicitly revealed by high-ranking foreign policy officials on both sides. The Bush administration should state a willingness to promote a direct dialogue on human rights, terrorism, nuclear weapons, and regional stability. To this point, the United States has only engaged the region in a destructive manner, legitimizing the Iranian regime’s characterization of the United States as the “Great Satan.” Corresponding analysis suggests that if the United States continues to pursue a policy of regime change toward the Iran, it will unite the Iranian populace behind anti-Americanism, continue to cultivate indigenous insurgencies, and destabilize the region, threatening pro-American governments and interests across the greater Middle East. Building trust requires further participation in international organizations complimented by direct dialogue. Iran is now an active participant in a multitude of bilateral and multilateral, regional and global, organizations and conventions. The United States and Iran can and should cooperate on issues of mutual concern and interest within and outside of these institutions but certainly in coordination and harmony with friends and foes. With US military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, regional cooperation has become a necessity. Likewise, the United States must develop a policy that utilizes rather than punishes our European, Russian, and Chinese interlocutors for engaging in Iran. Fundamentally, a new Iran policy must recognize the region and global interests of Tehran and the Iranian public. A policy of reciprocal engagement and mutual trust requires the open acknowledgement of the legitimate regional interests and roles of both the United States and Iran. The status quo does not serve the national interests of either country, and as such it must change. Under current conditions, we are allowing a history of mistrust and a policy of sticks to determine the future. President Bush’s new foreign policy team must develop an informed vision of the Middle East and a comprehensive policy of demands and related rewards. AIC In The News:
Top academics, policymakers and professionals serve on the AIC Board. AIC UPDATE includes relevant opinions, articles, quotes, and commentaries of AIC's Board Members.
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| About Update AIC Update is a public service of the American Iranian Council aimed at educating Americans, including Iranian-Americans, about US-Iran relations. AIC Update is an information resource for US-Iran relations and the efforts of the American Iranian Council to perpetuate meaningful dialogue between the United States and Iran. | Vision The vision of the American Iranian Council is that the United States and Iran will work together, since their common interests far outweigh their differences. AIC also envisions the Iranian-American community playing an increasingly significant role in American society, and Iran becoming a democratically developed member of the global community with full respect for human rights. | Mission The mission of AIC is to be a constructive force, in cooperation and partnership with other organizations, in bringing the United States and Iran together, involving the Iranian-American community in the dialogue, and bringing attention to social and political conditions in Iran. |
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