February 16, 2016 | Forbes

Can Iran Change For The Better

We are apparently unwilling to listen to the plain meaning of Iranian words. I invariably get an uncomfortable silence when I ask listeners “what do you think the Iranians mean when they chant ‘Death to America’?” It is as if the chanting were some sort of folk ritual, a quaint part of another culture and hence beyond criticism (all cultures having the same moral standing, don’t you know?).

When Iranian armed forces captured American sailors, and released photographs of the Americans kneeling with their hands behind their heads, Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Iranians for quickly releasing our sailors, and there was no complaint when the Iranian regime put out a video showing American captives in tears, nor when the scene was reenacted in the streets during the celebration of the 1979 Revolution. Nor was there a formal complaint when Iranian missiles were launched in the vicinity of a US aircraft carrier, the Truman. Nor do we demand that the Iranians stop killing US military personnel in Iraq. These, like the ‘death’ chants, are very clearly hostile acts, but our government is not moved to act, or even to condemn them.

Indeed, the Obama Administration is straining to exempt Iran—the world’s leading terror sponsor—from a law requiring visas for foreign visitors to Middle East countries:

As soon as President Barack Obama signed the law last December, removing visa waiver privileges for foreign citizens who have visited Iran and other Middle Eastern nations, the Iranians objected and Secretary of State John Kerry assured Tehran that the administration would use its executive authority to ensure the law would not impede “the legitimate business interests of Iran.”

Congress objected to that at the time, but didn’t know then that the State Department was also pressing to exempt all dual-nationality Iranians who are outside of Iran, in the hope of encouraging political change inside that country.

The State Department—with evident White House support—seems to think that the chants, the killing of Americans, the kidnapping of sailors and the public humiliations, are all subject to change, if only we help Iran do business in this country. There is no apparent basis for this belief, not is there any reason to believe that President Obama wants political change in Iran. Indeed, when millions of Iranians took to the streets in the summer of 2009, and begged for American support, he quietly sided with the Tehran tyrants, not with those who were demanding real change, for which they had just voted.

I don’t think that serious Iran analysts believe that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has the slightest intention of changing the system over which he rules. When he intones “Death to America,” that is exactly what he means, and he constantly works to that end.   Yes, he wants the maximum concessions from us—whether it’s special treatment for dual-nationality travelers or the release of billions of dollars in blocked funds, or support for his pro-Assad war in Syria—but past experience has convinced him that he can have all of this without a tough-minded American response.

Meanwhile, President Obama takes pains not to confront Khamenei when he strikes against us, rather he offers greater largesse after each provocation. He could have denounced the humiliation of our sailors. He could have shot back at the Iranian ship that launched the missiles. He could have ordered our special forces in Iraq to kill the Iranians who murdered our men there. Instead, he caters to Khamenei’s wishes in every case.

We are apparently unwilling to listen to the plain meaning of Iranian words. I invariably get an uncomfortable silence when I ask listeners “what do you think the Iranians mean when they chant ‘Death to America’?” It is as if the chanting were some sort of folk ritual, a quaint part of another culture and hence beyond criticism (all cultures having the same moral standing, don’t you know?).

When Iranian armed forces captured American sailors, and released photographs of the Americans kneeling with their hands behind their heads, Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Iranians for quickly releasing our sailors, and there was no complaint when the Iranian regime put out a video showing American captives in tears, nor when the scene was reenacted in the streets during the celebration of the 1979 Revolution. Nor was there a formal complaint when Iranian missiles were launched in the vicinity of a US aircraft carrier, the Truman. Nor do we demand that the Iranians stop killing US military personnel in Iraq. These, like the ‘death’ chants, are very clearly hostile acts, but our government is not moved to act, or even to condemn them.

Indeed, the Obama Administration is straining to exempt Iran—the world’s leading terror sponsor—from a law requiring visas for foreign visitors to Middle East countries:

As soon as President Barack Obama signed the law last December, removing visa waiver privileges for foreign citizens who have visited Iran and other Middle Eastern nations, the Iranians objected and Secretary of State John Kerry assured Tehran that the administration would use its executive authority to ensure the law would not impede “the legitimate business interests of Iran.”

Congress objected to that at the time, but didn’t know then that the State Department was also pressing to exempt all dual-nationality Iranians who are outside of Iran, in the hope of encouraging political change inside that country.

Michael Ledeen is the Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @michaelledeen 

Issues:

Iran