The New Iran Man at the State Department's Iran Desk

[phoenix80]

John Limbert will be the senior Iran official at the State Department, replacing Dennis Ross, who has moved to the National Security Council (and who has not been heard from publicly since). Should America be concerned? Yes. Limbert is not a neutral arbiter; he serves on the advisory board of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).

What is the National Iranian American Council?

The Council is widely considered the de facto lobby for the Iranian regime in America. It opposes sanctions on Iran, soft-pedals any controversial events in Iran, and counsels "patience" regarding Iran's stance towards its nuclear program. The NIAC has been at the forefront of lobbying against continued congressional funding of the Voice of America Persia service, Radio Farad, and grants for Iranian civil society. To top it off, the NIAC has reportedly received funding from anti-Israel advocate George Soros, who at the very least was an honored guest and speaker at one of its symposiums. (He called for a more equitable Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and advocated for America to renounce regime-change as a goal).

The NIAC staunchly opposes any military attacks on Iran. In other words, it all but serves as Iran's embassy in Washington -- though the NIAC vociferously disputes this characterization. However, there is very little sunlight between the views of the regime and the NIAC....

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/...the_state.html

[JJackson]

This sounds like great news. Some fresh thinking on Iran is long overdue.

PS
The author of the article should go back to his doctor and get his IV drip adjusted as his AIPAC levels are in danger of causing permanent brain damage.

[Rex Brynen]

This is a truly bizarre piece, that says far more about the paranoid world that some ideologues live in than it does about anything else.

First, it characterizes NIAC as "widely considered the de facto lobby for the Iranian regime in America." Really? If so, it has an odd way of showing it:

NIAC Condemns Executions, Recent Human Rights Violations in Iran
Written by NIAC
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Iranian-Americans speak out over death sentences for post-election detainees and execution of juvenile
For Immediate Release

Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns a decision by the Iranian Justice Ministry to impose death sentences on three Iranians for allegedly participating in post-election protests. The three sentenced to execution, Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani, Arash Pour-Rahmani, and Hamed Rouhinejad, were not given adequate access to legal representation during their trials, and were coerced into giving "confessions" that were the basis for their sentences, according to Amnesty International.
This announcement came within days of the execution of Behnoud Shojaii, a juvenile offender who was hanged in Tehran's Evin prison on October 11. Shojaii was under the age of 18 when sentenced to death.

Iran ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994 which explicitly forbids the practice of executing juveniles, however executions have continued in Iran to such an extent that Tehran is the world's leader in the practice. In 2004, the judiciary proposed to effectively end the practice of executing minors; however, it was largely ignored by judges and officials. In recent years, Iran has come under increased scrutiny by human rights organizations for this gross human rights abuse, among many others.

or

NIAC Calls for New Election in Iran
Written by NIAC Staff
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Condemn Government's Use of Violence and Killing of its Citizens

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: GOLI FASSIHIAN
TEL: 202-215-0998

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC), the largest organization of Iranian-Americans in the US, released the following statement in response to ongoing violence in Iran:

The National Iranian American Council strongly condemns the government of Iran's escalating violence against demonstrators and reiterates its demand that the government cease using lethal force against unarmed protesters and bystanders.

The only plausible way to end the violence is for new elections to be held with independent monitors ensuring its fairness. Such elections would be consistent with the Iranian constitution.

We support President Obama's decision not to take sides in the disputed election, particularly in the absence of any candidate calling upon him to do so. At the same time, the White House needs to speak vociferously against the bloodshed taking place before our eyes.

While the Iranian people's struggle for democracy is not new, Iran will never find internal or external balance unless the human rights, will, and needs of its people are met.

or

NIAC Condemns Prison Sentence for Iranian American Scholar
Written by NIAC Staff
Thursday, 22 October 2009
For Immediate Release

Washington DC - The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) condemns the Iranian Justice Ministry’s decision to sentence Iranian American Kian Tajbakhsh to 12 years in prison. On July 9, Mr. Tajbakhsh, a scholar of urban planning, was arrested at his home in Iran.

Mr. Tajbakhsh appeared at the mass trial of accused opposition leaders following the unrest of the highly questionable June 12 election. He was accused of contacting foreign agents and promoting activities dangerous to the government. During the trial, Mr. Tajbakhsh provided a vague confession which rights groups suspect was coerced, and which outlined his role in fomenting resistance to the June election in Iran.

The NIAC website has pages of condemnation of Iranian human rights abuses, electoral fraud, mistreatment of Bahais, etc

Second, it attacks the NIAC for having friendly relations with J-Street, the moderate American Jewish organization. J-Street is somehow labelled as "the anti-Israel lobby" despite having been endorsed by a former Israeli FM, a former IDF Chief of Staff, a former head of Mossad, a former israeli National Security Advisor, a former deputy head of the Israeli NSC, among others.

NIAC's Trita Parsi is condemned for associating with the Middle East Institute, with MEI characterized as "one of the public-relations agencies for the Muslim world in Washington." Yet a quick glance at the latest issue of MEI's flagship Middle East Journal shows it has scholarly (NOT policy) articles on political authoritarianism in Egypt, Morocco, and Qatar. Some PR, that.

Finally, and most bizarrely, Parsi is also condemned for writing a book on Israeli-Iranian relations that was--oh the horror of it--praised by former Israeli FM Shlomo Ben-Ami. What greater evidence of "anti-Semitism" could there be?

[phoenix80]

NIAC is a lobby for the Iranian regime. And this appointment shows how close the mullahs are now to the policy-makers in Washington DC. I am very frightened by this appointment.

[Rex Brynen]

NIAC is a lobby for the Iranian regime. And this appointment shows how close the mullahs are now to the policy-makers in Washington DC. I am very frightened by this appointment.

In what ways does repeatedly condemning the Iranian regime's human rights record, supporting Iranian human rights activists, and calling for democratic elections, make it a lobby for the regime?

[JJackson]

Before we get to your question we need to answer the question - So what?

AIPAC is a lobby for the Israeli regime. And the previous appointment shows how close the rabbis were to the policy-makers in Washington DC. I was very frightened by that appointment.
In fact I was very frightened by the whole regime (US that is).

[JJackson]

Well yes - in as far as I don't see why one should be allowed to lobby and the other not.

[phoenix80]

In what ways does repeatedly condemning the Iranian regime's human rights record, supporting Iranian human rights activists, and calling for democratic elections, make it a lobby for the regime?

It is a cover for them. They don't believe in what they say. They call for human rights abuses in Iran on one side and on the other they call for the US government not to fund human rights groups who monitor such abuses. The NIAC and Iranian regime's agenda are hardly different.

This website (non-Partisan, independent) monitors the Iranian regime's lobbyists such as NIAC in the US:

http://english.iranianlobby.com/

Before we get to your question we need to answer the question - So what?

AIPAC is a lobby for the Israeli regime. And the previous appointment shows how close the rabbis were to the policy-makers in Washington DC. I was very frightened by that appointment.
In fact I was very frightened by the whole regime (US that is).

I can't believe I am reading this here. Are you equating the Jews and the government of Israel with the Iranian regime?

[Rex Brynen]

It is a cover for them. They don't believe in what they say. They call for human rights abuses in Iran on one side and on the other they call for the US government not to fund human rights groups who monitor such abuses. The NIAC and Iranian regime's agenda are hardly different.

Frankly, I also think US funding of Iranian human rights organizations is a bad idea, since it facilitates the regime's efforts to paint activists as stooges of the Great Satan. There's no shortage of anti-regime Iranians who feel the same way, as you know.

Moreover, as I noted in my original post on the original article, efforts to paint NIAC as somehow anti-Israel because it has associated with an increasingly prominent liberal American Jewish organization (J Street) suggests that the American Thinker article that started this thread can hardly be considered a credible contribution on the issue.

I won't comment on this further, other to suggest that anyone who is interested have a look at the NIAC and J-Street websites and draw their own conclusions.