Bamdad's article “Regime change” begins with an illogical assertion and ends with unfounded innuendoes, all of which do nothing to support his conclusion that the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a proxy of the Iranian government as indicated by his statement: “Only, a puppet organization like NIAC would dare defend the mullahs from extinction.”
Well let me defend that puppet. NIAC was established to assist Iranian-Americans establish a political voice, not to establish a political unit. I think in this day and age it is safe to say that Iranians don't agree upon anything. Hence the dichotomy, how do you create an organization which lobbies an Iranian voice, when there is no unified Iranian voice. Easy, you allow all opinions to be expressed. And in fact that's precisely what NIAC has been doing.
With respect to NIAC's letter campaign concerning H.R. 282: NIAC's report indicates that 82% of the individuals who used their website as a vehicle for addressing members of Congress did not support H.R. 282. I'm not sure why that should come to a surprise to anyone. The bill, called the “Iran Freedom Act”, says that the U.S. will use any means to support regime change in Iran.
It is not unfair to say that many Iranians are against any US intervention in Iran. US foreign policy in Iran has been disastrous in the past, much of which Bamdad alludes to. Given the historical errors committed by the United States in previous “regime change” experiments in Iran it is fair to conclude that many Iranians are against external regime change.
The vast majority of Iranians I know, inside and outside of Iran, seem very clear. This is our revolution to wage and if we want regime change, it will come from us. In fact, Bamdad seems to articulate the same concerns: “Frankly, with much of my immediate family still in Iran, I really don't relish the prospect of anyone bombing Tehran or any other major urban center.” Nevertheless, Bamdad believes that “maybe” people in America and Iran want the US to intervene in Iran.
Maybe, Bamdad, but maybe is not probably and it is surely not certainly and in light of the abovementioned arguments, maybe is not even likely, its more like 17.5%. What is interesting to me is that those who did not support H.R. 282 express these same concerns, which Bamdad shares: “making regime change official US policy on Iran is the equivalent of declaring war. And through war, democracy cannot prevail.”
Bamdad article is not an honest attack against NIAC. It is unfounded and has no legitimate reasoning to it. It creates the ridiculous idea that anyone who opposes US intervention in Iran is not only supportive of the current regime, but also most likely supported by the regime's $80 million. In that sense, Bamdad's logic would imply the interesting conjecture that the Iranian government is funding Reza Pahlavi who has actively (but mostly passively) argued against US external regime change. And that to me would the most interesting conspiracy of all.
So, really, the only conclusion that we can draw from Bamdad's article is this: Reza Pahlavi supporting the Iranian regime is the wrong move. It will not take long before this age of modernity and technological advances in communication will reveal that your support for a peaceful internal change in Iran without US intervention is actually a conspiracy to maintain this mullacracy and is financed by the Iranian government.
In all seriousness though, I think at the heart of this problem is a misconception. That misconception being that H.R. 282 is intended to support regime change in Iran by supporting students and organizations in Iran. But the bill does not state that. H.R. 282 simply makes regime change in Iran a component of America's foreign policy; much like Iraqi regime change became a policy in 2002. It opens the door to an American invasion of Iran and opens up the possibility that “Tehran will be bombed.” Therefore, it is not a conspiracy to think that the vast majority of Iranian-Americans are against H.R. 282. It is only a conspiracy to think that you, Bamdad, are not part of an illogical minority.
About
Nema Milaninia is a law student in Southern California and owner of the weblog Iranian Truth.
