For all the cynics, contacting your representative WORKS!

In an interview published last Monday, US Congressman Henry A. Waxman (D-CA30), whose district boasts a very large number of Iranian Americans, stated that he’s getting “mixed messages” from our community on how to deal with the Iran situation, but recent polling has shown that on the whole there is very minimal support for military action in the Iranian American community.

It is important for our community to recognize the power it does have in changing and influencing the opinions of their members of Congress. This interview is just the latest clear example that they are listening to us and making judgements, in part, based on our opinions.

Bipartisan Consensus-Building: The Key to Any U.S. Strategy

On June 23, panelists at the Partnership for a Secure America discussion on “Bipartisan Foreign Policy for January 2009” demanded bipartisan national security policy in the next presidential administration.

The panel, which featured Ambassador Tom Pickering, Undersecretary of State, 1997-2000; Robert McFarlane, National Security Advisor, 1983-85; and Frederick Barton, senior adviser in the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ International Security Program, called for U.S. national security reform that clearly defines U.S. strategic interests, abandons party lines, and builds consensus between and among policymakers and the American public.

Conference of Mayors’ International Affairs Committee Passes No War in Iran Resolution

The “Opposing Military Intervention in Iran” Resolution passed through the International Affairs Committee, 7-5, at the US Conference of Mayors last Friday. This event is currently being held in Miami, Florida and the resolution needed to be voted out of committee in order to reach the Conference floor. The full floor vote was scheduled for this morning at 10am E.S.T. but the results have yet to be released.

The committee’s passage of the resolution was an important development in the case against war with Iran. It is another indication that the public do not want military action to be taken against Iran. The members of the International Affairs Committee who argued against this resolution did not base their logic on national interest. Instead their objections rested more on the desire not to divide the Conference. It has been reported that they did not want to create debate and disruption among the mayors gathered in Miami and cause a repeat of the “Iraq: Bring the Troops Home” resolution which led to a two hour debate during last year’s meeting.

Led by Youth, Future of Iranian-American Participation Grows Brighter

Iranian American participation in civic life is growing, and it is the younger generations that are leading this effort. As some of the other NIAC interns observed last week, Iranian Americans have often distanced themselves from politics in socially vibrant but politically dormant communities. From expert Iranian scholars to average Iranian American citizens, many label this lack of political engagement “understandable” and “unsurprising” given Iranians political past. And the trend is both those things.

What it is not, however, is here to stay.

Learning a Lesson from North Korea

Yesterday, June 21, the Washington Post broke a story about North Korea’s nuclear activities that just about defied comprehension.

If you’re not familiar with recent events, the United States and others negotiated a disarmament agreement with North Korea to dismantle their nuclear weapons in exchange for economic incentives and energy aid. For most observers, this deal was a huge breakthrough. Remember: North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, declared to the world it possesses at least six nuclear weapons, and even detonated a weapon in October of 2006 in the first nuclear test of the twenty-first century.

Rep. Harman: The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Is Obsolete

Rep. Harman makes some good points in this article. I wonder if she would consider the second best option of invasive inspections and international ownership and maintenance of a nuclear fuel bank on Iranian soil, as outlined in the Pickering-Walsh-Luers proposal…

The Challenge of Universal Human Rights

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ten years after its enactment, Eleanor Roosevelt spoke at the United Nations, saying:

Where do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home.  In the world of the individual person: the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.

Speak Out and Make a Difference

This week, as part of the Campaign for New American Policy on Iran’s “National Call-In Day,” over 6,000 calls came in from all over the country to members of Congress to advocate direct diplomacy with Iran.  As feedback comes in from NIAC members and Iranian Americans throughout the country, it is clear our Congressional representatives are listening to the voice of Iranian Americans calling for diplomacy with Iran.

With the constant drumbeat for war, this is as it should be.

Day 1 with NIAC

One of the great aspects of America is that we have many different cultures and identities living together in relative harmony. As a democracy, the American political institution functions best when citizens participate. The Iranian-American community may be small, but as an important minority it is our duty as US citizens to engage in American civic life. Unfortunately, the Iranian community is largely politically inactive, but non-partisan organizations like NIAC have sought to encourage the community to engage in American civic life to a greater extent.

Move forward, not back

Being an Iranian, raised in Sweden and now living in the United States, I have had the pleasure to experience the Iranian community in these two countries as well as many others. What I have discovered is a common similarity among all Iranian regardless of where we live. Even though there are of course many similarities between us, there is one in particular that has really grabbed my attention; that is our lack of involvement in the political arena.

“Time to Talk to Iran” event and press conference – 06/10

I attended my first event on behalf of NIAC the other day. It was set-up by the Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran (CNAPI) and the Enough Fear Campaign and was entitled “Time to Talk to Iran.” By setting up a line of attention-grabbing red 1960’s style “hotline” telephones the organizers were able to attract people to speak directly to Iranians. Apart from being fun and fresh, this initiative had a serious message behind it: America should use diplomacy rather than go to war with Iran.

Congressman Ed Markey on the US double standard

In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today, Massachusetts Representative Edward Markey makes an important point: the US has no business championing Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy program in light of the country’s vast oil wealth.  But he also overlooks an equally important one: in working with Saudi Arabia and signing nuclear agreements with the Arab states and Israel, the US is helping create the very nuclearized Middle East that experts warned would come as a RESULT of a nuclear Iran. Preemption anyone?