Identity Politics and electing Iranian Americans

Last week, NIAC sent out a report on its mailing list about an Iranian-American candidate for US Congress. Darius Shahinfar declared his candidacy from New York’s 21^st district and faces a competitive primary to be the Democratic nominee in an overwhelmingly Democratic district. In response to the article, I received several emails from our members and other Iranian Americans asking some very legitimate questions –

Should our community automatically support an Iranian American candidate? Does he even have a chance with four primary opponents? Can Iranian Americans impact this race in upstate New York?

I want to spark a conversation on these topics and tackle them one by one. First, follow me behind the link to talk about identity politics…

“Google Bombing” a Unique Strategy to Voice Opinion

In an attempt to ensure that all opinions are voiced, Google Inc. has unintentionally taken up the cause of two of the least savory characters in the Middle East. By inaccurately using the moniker of “Arabian Gulf” as an alternative name for what has historically been known as the “Persian Gulf,” the Google Earth application is promoting the same geographically inaccurate term that was first used by the likes of Egyptian General Gamal Nasser and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the Pan-Arab movement of the 1960s.

In the Holiday Season, No Room for Warmongering

President Bush’s interview on Radio Farda should leave no doubt that Iran is still in the crosshairs. At the beginning of the end of his presidency, President Bush leaves the legacy of a ruinous war in Iraq, a destabilizing situation in Afghanistan, and an inflammatory situation with Iran that his administration cannot (or perhaps, will not) solve.

In his address to the Iranian people for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, President Bush performed a feat of rhetorical gymnastics: he extended good wishes to the Iranian people, while simultaneously banging the drum of war. Bush pronounced the United States’ respect for the great Iranian history and culture, but blamed the Iranian government for isolating the Iranian people for the last 30 years.

The Mujahedeen is lobbying hard on Capitol Hill

To those who know the Mujahedin-e Khalq, its presence on Capitol Hill is disturbing. After all, the very men and women prowling the halls of Congress are named on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. It recently hosted a conference- complete with a decadent spread of Persian food- for Congress and staff in banquet hall of a congressional office building.

Termed a Marxist cult by Ervand Abrahamian, the MeK and its political arm, the National Council for Resistance in Iran, operates in the US through various front groups such as Committee for Support of Referendum in Iran. Several members of Congress receive campaign contributions by the group’s members and many others have been targeted, including high ranking senators and representatives from California.

Wikipedia victory

In a March 19 email to NIAC, Wikipedia promised to “indefinitely halt” all editing on Wikipedia articles, “Trita Parsi” and “The National Iranian American Council.”

In Wikipedia’s own words, “It seems clear that a small group of people, if not possibly a single person posing as several, has been consistently trying to re-add…questionable, poorly sourced information about your organization [NIAC] and its president. In addition to being possibly libelous, it is strongly against the policies of our project.”

Sanctions cost us hearts and minds

Iranians, who usually have positive feelings towards the US, have grown increasingly disillusioned, according to a new opinion survey conducted by Terror Free Tomorrow: The Center for Public Opinion (TFT) and D3 Systems (D3).

The survey polls 1,001 Iranians in all 30 Iranian provinces. While the majority of Iranians polled back improved US-Iran relations, many are growing disillusioned with the US’s response to Iran’s nuclear program.

And this disillusionment has sent them straight into Ahmadinejad’s camp.

Why can’t VOA Persian be as good as the English version?

As I read an article on Voice of America’s English website that objectively discusses sanctions as a strategy of foreign policy, I couldn’t help but ask myself, Why is it that VOA Persian can’t uphold that same standard of journalism?

Iranian Chemical Victims Remain Forgotten

As Iraq’s infamous Chemical Ali awaits execution, an article published on Friday by Anuj Chopra reminds us of the thousands of Iranian victims who still remain forgotten by the international community.

While the world knows a great deal about the Halabja massacres of Iraqi Kurds, for which Chemical Ali has been condemned to death, few realize that it was the Iranian Kurds across the border—attacked months earlier—that were the first civilian victims of chemical weapons. This was the first intentional use of chemical weapons against civilians in recorded history.

Voting in Special Elections

April 8^th marks a phenomenal opportunity for Iranian Americans to affect policy through the ballot-box. In light of the recent passing of Tom Lantos (D-CA), the 12^th Congressional District in Northern California will hold a special election to determine his replacement. Special elections are held when a Congressional seat is vacated in the middle of a term.  A few recent examples indicate that Iranian Americans can heavily influence the outcome of the CA-12 Special election.

Fallon’s Retirement has unclear implications for US-Iran War

On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced that Admiral William Fallon, the 41-year navy veteran and commander of US Central Command (CentCom) requested permission to retire, and that Secretary Gates approved his request.  Last week, Thomas Barnett of Esquire Magazine published a revealing piece speculating that Fallon might be pushed out because he “was the strongest man standing between the Bush Administration and a war with Iran.”