Iran's Brutal Repression

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 15, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

            Banning Iran’s largest pro-reform party, President Mahomoud Ahmadinejad continued his brutal crackdown against pro-reform demonstrators, protesting the disputed June 14, 2009 election, handing the 53-year-old president a second term.  Since defeating pro-reform candidate Mir-Hossain Mousavi in a disputed election, Ahmandiejad has performed his own version of the April 12, 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, where Chinese Communist tanks rolled over pro-democracy protestors, squelching a fledgling civil rights movement.  While Ahamadinejad hasn’t yet ordered the wholesale slaughter of innocents, he’s systematically beaten, arrested, tried and executed Mousavi supporters, leading to the most flagrant human rights abuses since Tiananmen Square.  Meanwhile, Iran continues to enrich uranium, defying the U.N. Security Council considering a new round of new sanctions.

            President Barack Obama gave Tehran until the end of 2009 to halt its uranium enrichment program, now spread over Iran in underground bunkers, drawing dangerously close to weapons grade material.  While juggling a lot of balls, especially dancing on the razor’s edge trying to get health care reform passed, Obama will be forced eventually to deal with Tehran’s stubborn refusal to stop enriching uranium.  With prospects for Security Council cooperation drawing dim, the U.S. will be forced, together with its allies in the region, to contain a growing Iranian nuclear threat.  Of all U.S. allies, only Israel has the intel and military capability of assisting the U.S. in containing Ahmadinejad, a determined enemy seeking to dominate the region.  Picking a recent fight with Israel over expected building plans in East Jerusalem, the U.S. weakens its position trying to contain growing Iranian nuclear threat.

            When Vice President Joe Biden visited Israel last week, he was embarrassed by Israel’s announcement that it intended to move ahead building plans for 1,600 units in East Jerusalem, the desired capital of an eventual Palestinian state.  Biden’s trip comes at a time when the Palestinian population is split in two:  One side controlled by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and the other side by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.  U.S. officials know they can’t work on a peace deal with only 50% of Palestinians.  Controlling the West Bank, U.S. ally and expected peace partner Mahmoud Abbas can’t speak or negotiate for Hamas.  U.S. officials hope that Hamas would eventually go along with a peace accord with the Palestinian Authority.  Hamas’ Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh refuses to deal with Abbas and makes no promises about negotiating a peace deal with Israel, its mortal enemy.

            Recent artificial disagreements with the U.S. over Israel’s expected construction plans in East Jerusalem make no sense, not only for eventual Mideast peace but also dealing with Iran’s feverish pursuit of weapons grade uranium.  No one can deny—including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—that more construction in East Jerusalem, or anywhere else in the West Bank, antagonizes Palestinians.  Netanyahu faces domestic pressure from Israel’s ultra-orthodox, pro-settler parties, including his own Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberaman, to continue building in what the Palestinians call the so-called “occupied territories.”  What Israel doesn’t get is that Mideast peacemaking provides a good diversion from an otherwise bruising domestic agenda for Obama, marred by a stubborn recession, high unemployment and uphill battle to get health care reform passed.

               Netanyahu rained on Biden’s parade, talking about Jerusalem construction plans on his recent visit, prompting harsh words for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.  There’s no doubt that Netanyahu’s PR need some work but so does the White House, allowing Hillary shoot off her mouth.  U.S. officials know, especially Clinton and Biden, that it’s premature to make peace overtures when Palestinians haven’t settled their current civil war.  Before Abbas in the West Bank and Haniyeh in Gaza resolve their differences, it’s counterproductive to get into a shouting match between Tel Aviv and Washington.  Once Palestinians figure out who’s in charge, then Netanyahu must contain his ultra-nationalist parties, and do what his conservative predecessor former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon once did:  Make peace.  If he doesn’t get onboard, then the U.S. has something to beef about.

            U.S. officials shouldn’t let domestic problems interfere with important foreign policy challenges.  Instead of creating a row with Israel, the State Dept. would be better off plotting strategy and making contingency plans with Israel to deal with a growing Iranian nuclear threat.  Ahmadinejad’s brutal crackdown should worry all peace-loving nations serious on maintaining stability in the oil-rich and strategic Persian Gulf.  Picking a fight with Israel over hypotheticals shows bad judgment, especially in light of dangerous developments in Iran.  Politics in the Security Council, especially currently antagonistic relationships with Russia and China, make the prospects of new sanctions against Iran unlikely.  Instead of publicly rebuking Israel the U.S. should be working on ways to deal with far more serious foreign policy issues:  What to do to stop Iran’s brutal repression and pursuit of its first A-bomb.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.