More prudence
U.S. must not underestimate the extent of Iran's national
security worries
March 11, 2004
iranian.com
Mr. Colin Powell
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Dear Secretary Powell:
As an Iranian-American political scientist
with extensive background in research and publication in the
area of Iran's foreign affairs, I write this letter to
urge you to continue the path of diplomatic normalization between the United
States and Iran. I am convinced that this path is in the interest of both nations
as well as the world community.
There are no doubts in my mind about the
positive impact of this path on the issue of freedom and democracy
in Iran, as a normal
relations with the United States will undoubtedly prove conducive to a more
pluralistic political environment in Iran nowadays suffering
from the deletrious effects
of twenty five years of diplomatic estrangement between a regional power
and a superpower.
While I personally deplore the recent setback for democracy in
Iran, I have reason to be optimistic that the reform movement can
reconstruct itself
and wage a renewed
effort toward expanding the scope of freedom and liberties in Iran. At the
same time, we must not underestimate the extent of Iran's national
security worries,
which are somewhat exacerbated by the massive infusion of foreign powers in
Iran's vicinity since September 11, 2001.
Fortunately, in both Afghanistan and Iraq the
government of Islamic Republic of Iran has played a constructive role as repeatedly
admitted by you and your
colleagues in the Department of State. In Afghanistan, Iran's influence with
the Northern Front was a key factor for the peaceful transfer of power and,
as vividly demonstrated by the recent meetings of leaders of Iran
and Afghanistan,
the two countries are well on their way to expanding their economic relations.
In both your meeting with Iran's foreign minister at the "6 plus 2" meeting
at the UN headquarter in September 2002, as well as at the 2003 NATO summit in
Munich, the U.S. Government has acknowledged Iran's contribution to the global
campaign against narco-traffic emmanting from Afghanistan and Central Asia. And
in Iraq, as is well-known Iran has from the outset supported the participation
of Iraqi Shiites in the post-war interim government and has similarly played
a positive role with respect to the various Iraqi Kurdish factions.
In fact, Iran's role in conflict management is nothing new and
for over a decade Tehran has been actively involved in the on-going
international efforts to settle
disputes in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Case in point, thanks to Iran's
mediating role, the warring factions in Tajikistan have repeatedly
met in Iran and have
signed peace agreements, and the positive role of Iran in ending the civil
war in that country has been explicitly acknolwledged by the U.S.
envoy involved
with the so-called Minsk Group.
Similarly, Iran has been actively involved as
mediator in the sad conflict between the republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan
and the representatives of OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe) involved in mediating the Nagorno-Karebakh conflict
have repeatedly acknowledged
Iran's significant contribution to peace between the two republics. Even your
respected colleague, Mr. Steve Mann, who is the U.S. Government's Special Envoy
on the Caspian Sea, openly acknowledged Iran's positive role in our recent
conversation at the International Conference on Oil and Gas in
Istanbul, Turkey.
Moreover, Iran through the Organization of Islamic Conference
has in the recent past spearheaded efforts with respect to the
tragedy in Chechnyia. For more detail
on these matters I direct your excellency's attention to my recent articles: "President
Khatami and the OIC Mediation in Chechyia," Iranian Journal of International
Affairs," Fall 1999, and "Iran's Foreign Policy Since 9/11," Brown's
Journal of World Affairs, no. 2., 2003.
Dear Secretary Powell: As a Muslim country, Iran has a vested interest in the status
of holy sites, as well as legitimate concerns about the plight
of Palestinian people. Unfortunately,
the U.S. Government has adopted a double standards with respect to the continuing
violation of human rights of Palestinians by the Israeli Government and, hopefully,
this can be remedied with more active invovlement of the U.S. Government in
Middle East peace.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Government and the media
have consistently
overlooked Iran's positive role in steering the Shiite groups in Lebanon
toward peaceful, parliamentary politics. Worse, the U.S. overnment
has overlooked
the issue of regional proliferation and the arms race in the
region and, instead,
singled out Iran without due attention to the regional dynamic within which
any Iranian government, now or in the future, operates.
Instead
of demonization of
Iran, what is needed is a more prudent policy that takes into consideration
the plethora of Iran's legitimate national security worries,
and the expanding areas
of shared interests between Iran and the United States. Instead of a
blanket condemnation of Iran's government, what is needed is a
sophisticated appraoch
that, whicle reproaching Tehran's rulers for their transgression of rights
and foreign policy adventurism, simultaneously keeps an open
eye to their critical
contributions to the cause of peace and regional stability.
Respectfully yours,
Kaveh L. Afrasiabi, Ph.D.
Author of After Khomeini: New Directions in Iran's Foreign Policy
.................... Spam?! Khalaas!
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