Ken Blackwell, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and senior fellow for Human Rights and Constitutional Governance at the Family Research Council in Washington, wrote an article for American Thinker in which he details how U.S. policy can help Iran.
He pointed out that in around 100 days a crucial election will take place in America. No matter what the outcome is, he said, the next president will have the same national security worries. The Middle East is in the middle of a great crisis and the terrorism emanating from Islamic extremism is targeting America and Europe.
Iran is one of America’s main foreign policy challenges, he states. Iran is “ruled by a theocracy that plays an active and destructive role in all major wars in the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq to Yemen”. He points out that Tehran is the main state sponsor of terrorism in the world and is “one of the originators of modern extremist Islam”. He added that the nuclear agreement has made no difference because Iran continues its “provocative gestures” toward the West – test-firing ballistic missiles, for example.
Blackwell mentioned the 9th July Free Iran rally in Paris that was organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). There were over 100,000 attendees from all over the world. One of the most notable guests was Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal who pledged his support for the Iranian opposition, agreeing that regime change is imperative.
“The message of the rally as a whole was that this unity can help Iran to achieve freedom through regime change by the Iranian people and their organized resistance. Insofar as the rally demonstrated international consensus regarding the legitimacy of the NCRI’s cause, it also showed that there is indeed a domestically organized and globally recognized force for change within Iran.”
The regime’s reaction to the Resistance goes to show how much of a threat the Resistance is to the regime. Many regime officials “lashed out” at France for hosting the event and at the politicians supporting it. Years ago the regime dismissed the Resistance as insignificant but now they cannot ignore it.
Speaking about Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Resistance, he said she is effective in “coordinating pro-democracy Iranians, especially the youth and women, in campaigns against the religious fascism ruling Iran”.
He highlighted that Iranians want change. “A democratic and non-extremist Iran is the guarantor of peace and stability in the entire region, promising good economic relations and the region’s achievement of its maximum potential. It will improve development, growth, and cooperation with the West. And once this has been achieved, we in the West can focus our regional efforts on investments and transactions, instead of the impossible task of trying to stabilize the region through short-sighted military interventions.”
He said that he hopes the next president will deal with Iran differently and “support an era of domestically-fostered stability”. He said: “More than ever before, both Iran and America are eagerly awaiting a change in policy. And with adequate coordination between the next administration and the existing Iranian resistance, both nations can achieve what they desire.”
