sanctions

I had lunch this week with a labor union organizer from Iran seeking support for the rights of workers in Iran. One of his biggest fears was that the implementation of additional sanctions would serve the interest of Iranian leadership making the case for foreign intervention as the reason for solidarity across all sectors in Iran. While it may appear that factions in Iran are sharp and irreconciliable there is a clear warning that movements in the direction of reform, and the well-being of the Iranian public, would be severely affected by new sanctions. Jim Fine's assessment below extends that analysis and provides background we should have in hand on the state of the sanctions legislation in Congress.  Mark C. Johnson

From Jim Fine at FCNL:

Operation Cast Lead was a massacre filled with thousands of heartbreaking stories. Each of the 1,400 persons killed represents an entire world. Yes, it is also a war crime to fire kassam rockets into Israel with the intention to kill civilians. Over 2,000 rockets and 1,600 mortar shells were fired into Israel in 2008 alone. Some among the Palestinian population use armed force to resist Israeli's military occupation and blockade of Gaza and the West Bank. According to international law, armed resistance against illegal occupation can be considered a just cause, as long as the rules of war are observed. However, as a person committed to nonviolence, I view the use of militarism by states or non-state actors to ensure security or resist occupation as a self-defeating strategy that promotes more violence and suffering and does not, in the end, result in well-being or peace for beleaguered populations. However, for those who believe in the use of military force as a viable option, Israel's response to kassam attacks went far beyond legal and ethical boundaries. The much maligned Goldstone Report proved beyond reasonable doubt that Israel intentionally targeted civilians and civilian institutions with deadly weapons. This is nothing new.

The following open letter authored by more than two dozen Iranian-born diasporic educators and activists was published on July 31st by The Guardian newspaper. I am one of the signatories to this letter.

Truth and reconciliation for Iran

To unify Iran, we suggest greater freedoms, an end to outside interference and a truth and reconciliation commission

As Congress prepares to consider more Iran sanctions, it should also consider that confrontational U.S. policies have come nowhere close to changing Iran's behavior in the last 30 years. On the other hand, in reaction to a contested election, the Iranians have formed an unprecedented home-grown movement for political expression through their own resources, their own desire for democratic progress, and their own sacrifices.

No coercive American government policy -- be it threat of force or punitive sanctions or negative broadcast propaganda -- is responsible for the wave of mass public protest that has taken Tehran by storm and split its political and religious establishments over the last month.

“Eid Shoma Mubarak,” said President Obama in his Norooz (Iranian New Year) message to Iranian-Americans, Iranians in Iran, and, for the first time since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, to the Iranian government.

Obama’s approach to the Iranian nation – both its government and people – was one of the most clear and positive steps an American president has taken toward a direct dialogue in the past 30 years. In response, the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and President Ahmadinejad both made it clear that Iran is ready for direct talks. They each said that Iran is ready to have a direct dialogue with the United States, but “under mutual respect.” Further, they added, “America must change its policy in taking action, not just by using words.”

Arish, Egypt — Yesterday, en route to the Rafah border crossing that leads into Gaza, our driver pointed to a long line of trucks laden with goods that are desperately needed in every area of Gaza. "You see," he said, "all of this is to help people." Generous people, around the world, want Gazans to have food, shelter, fuel, medicine and water while the Israeli military ruthlessly attacks their homes and neighborhoods. The aid shipments will surely save lives and ease affliction. Nevertheless, this relief will meet only a fraction of the need. What's more, the Egyptian government's recent decision to allow humanitarian goods into Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, a border over which they have sovereign control, is a departure from the normal state of siege that Gazans have endured for most of the past 16 months.