Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Regrading Her VOA Interview
The Honorable Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
November 2, 2011
Dear Secretary Clinton,
We, the undersigned, express grave concern over your remarks during a recent interview at VOA. After watching the interview and hearing many of your statements, we felt it necessary to write and express our disappointment.
Madam Secretary, you rightfully stated that the Iranian regime is a “dictatorship” and warned that the Islamic Republic in Iran is moving towards a “military dictatorship.” We also appreciate your empathy regarding the strengths and resilience of the Iranian people which is currently controlled by an oppressive regime and share your views regarding the Quds Force and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapon’s program. However, we believe this administration’s appeasement policies toward Iran and its own doubletalk have in large measure contributed to the current situation in Iran.
Madam Secretary, the Iranian community is puzzled as to why such a high-ranking United States official would want to pursue dialogue and diplomacy with a regime that is regarded by you and others as a “state sponsor of terrorism” and as a dictatorship?”
Madam Secretary, the Iranian community is confused about the message you were trying to convey. We were certainly hoping that unlike President Obama during his first New Year’s message who offered his hand and received a clenched fist, or remained alarmingly silent while Iranians were butchered by Basij, Hezbollah and Hamas thugs as suggested by so-called Green leaders, you would not commit the same error.
Madam Secretary, the Iranian community is well aware that the Islamic Republic has infiltrated many sensitive US institutions and that they are hard at work disguising the regime’s crimes and advocating for favorable policies toward it. Their harmful impact and influence was clearly evident throughout the interview.
Madam Secretary, the United States should not apologize to the Iranian regime. If the United States is to apologize to anyone, it should be to the Iranian people and the suffering brought onto them because of misguided policies of the United States beginning with President Carter. May we remind you that Iranians are banned from visiting Dr. Mossadegh’s village and his resting place. Former President Rafsanjani’s book on Dr. Mossadegh is a banned book in Iran. That is how much respect mullahs have for Dr. Mossadegh, who is considered a national hero by many Iranians. If an apology is needed, it is owed to Iranian Nationalists, not the mullahs.
Madam Secretary, the Iranian community urges you to keep the following points in mind when dealing with Iran:
- Many rulers have conquered Iran throughout our history. They might have managed to destroy our cities, and burn our libraries but have failed to destroy our identity, culture and love of life. Conqueror after conqueror has eventually succumbed to our rich culture, customs, traditions and intellect. Mullahs have tried to destroy our Persian identity and have failed miserably. Their strategy has backfired and many Iranians are turning away from the Islamic Republic, reacquainting themselves with their ancestors and are fighting the regime in many clever and innovative ways.
- For you and Mr. Obama to identify the mullahs as civilized and culturally-rich Iranians, shows your lack of knowledge about our culture and history. Mullahs despise our cultural heritage and our past history and civilization. They view Iran as a conquered country. You insult many of us if in fact you think that mullahs have any respect or show any pride in our rich traditions.
- Iranians have first-hand witnessed the atrocities committed by the theocratic rulers under Sharia law. Your strategy by not confronting the mullahs and your continued willingness to pursue dialogue and diplomacy with a regime which, by your own admission, has Iranian and American blood on its hands, is an insult to Iranians and the families of our brave U.S. military men and women who have lost their lives defending the values we cherish so dearly.
- The Iranian bungled operation in using proxies to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador and to purposefully plan the operation inside the United States is a stunning rebuke to the Obama administration’s negotiation strategy with the Iranian regime.
- Republican and Democratic administrations since 1980 have yet to realize the harsh reality that the regime in Iran is a threat to world peace and is the United States’ number one strategic enemy. Mullahs have been at war with the United States ever since they came to power.
- In 1979, when Islamic extremists occupied the US embassy and held American hostages for 444 days, the United States did not respond effectively and thus emboldened the regime.
- In 1983, the Hezbollah blew up the American Embassy, the marine barracks in Lebanon and the Embassy Annex the following year killing 241 Americans.
- In 1983, the regime backed Al-Dawa blew up the US Embassy in Kuwait and attacked Raytheon’s residential area killing and wounding over 80.
- In 1984, the CIA station chief, William Buckley, was captured and eventually killed.
- In 1996, the US Air force Khobar towers in Saudi Arabia was blown up killing 19 and wounding almost 400.
- During the Chain Murder years, regime agents under direct orders from Khamenei and Rafsanjani assassinated over 120 Iranian opposition leaders abroad.
- Since 2003, the regime has provided rockets, mortars and enhanced IED’s that have killed many US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Madam Secretary, while you are trying to force mullahs to the negotiations table, mullahs are waging a radically aggressive campaign, support Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They support the Taliban in Afghanistan against NATO forces and use the IRGC’s elite Quds forces to train, finance, and equip Sunni and Shiite militias in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Unfortunately, your empty rhetoric, doubletalk and appeasement policies embolden the regime to commit even more atrocities. Attempts to negotiate and isolate have not deterred the regime. If the United States continues the half-measure policies of the past thirty three years, the regime will continue to kill more Americans and Iranians, commit more human rights violations, sponsor terrorism and pursue nuclear weapons.
Madam Secretary, for the record, Mousavi is not and has never been considered the leader of uprising when millions poured onto streets. Mousavi has made his allegiance to a theocratic form of government and his passion for the nuclear bomb is well documented. His relationship with Hezbollah and his role in executing thousands of Iranians is well known in Iran and the fact that not a single demonstration was held when Khamenei ordered his house arrest, should be an indication of the lack of any sizable support for him inside Iran. Mousavi is no friend of Iranians and certainly should not be considered a potential ally for the US. Iranians used Mr. Mousavi as pretext to demonstrate against the Islamic Republic. Iranian demonstrators loudly chanted “Mousavi is only a pretext; the entire regime is [our] target.” Mousavi is cunningly and deceptively propped up by the regime agents, IRI apologists and lobbyists to keep the United States intentionally misinformed.
We are concerned about the degree of infiltration of Islamic extremists and regime lobbyists in the United States. During the Rafsanjani presidency, it was decided to create an Iranian lobby in Washington to distract the United States from the regime’s human rights violations, multiple worldwide insurgencies and their nuclear weapons’ program. The regime spends millions annually in the United States, to shape the US policy and to prevent the Iranian opposition from forming a united front. Iranian cultural and Islamic study centers, many university ‘professors’, so-called ‘Iran experts’ and ‘foundations’ are a part of complex and sophisticated network of IRI lobbies designed to brainwash the American decision-makers with misinformation.
Madam Secretary, the IRGC owns and monitors the entire telecommunication system in Iran. Iranian students can easily travel to Turkey, Dubai and Azarbaijan to apply for a visa to study in the United States. Iranians do not need expensive software applications or virtual embassies. What they do need is nationwide access to a free and unmonitored Internet independent of the IRGC controlled network. The idea of a “Virtual Embassy” is ill-conceived.
Madam Secretary, Iranians are asking for a change in U.S. policy towards Iran. We have witnessed this regime in action for thirty-three years. We have reached the conclusion that this regime cannot be reformed. We are demanding a regime change. We want a free, democratic and secular form of government. Perhaps it is about time for the United States to support the anti-war and pro-democracy opposition groups and help us overcome the evil that has brought misery, oppression and chaos to the freedom loving people of Iran and the world. Thirty three years of appeasement, empty rhetoric and failed negotiations is enough.
Respectfully,
The Undersigned
Dr. Arash Irandoost, Founder, Pro-Democracy Movement of Iran www.pdmi.org
Firouzeh Ghaffarpour, Political Activist
Walton K. Martin III, Director, the Iran Information Project, USA
Parvin Irandoost, Human Rights Advocate
Dr. Gill Gillespie, Director, the Iran Information Project
Sheri Alvandin, Human Rights Activist and Publisher
Herb Hudson
Hashem Hakimi, Honrable Former Ambassador
M.T. Moslehi, Journalist and Political and Human Rights Activist
Amir – Ebrahimi
Kaveh Irani, Human rights activist, Canada
Dr. A. Samadani, Former President, Global University, USA
Siavash Lashgari
Roxanne Ganji
Iranian Lawyers of the Green Movement (ILGM)
Armin Atrod, Sweden
Shahnaz Atrod , Sweden
Siroos Sharafshahi, Editor-in-Chief, Sobh Iran newspaper, L.A.
Dokhi Abdi
Ali Kimiai, Political activist
Cyrus Shares – Iranian-American, Iran Secular Democracy, human rights and regime change advocate
Irandost
Shohreh Parsinejad
Arman Moseni, The Unicord Companies, www.unicordcorp.com
Arsineh Irani
Cyrus Pakdel, Freedom and Human Rights Advocate for Iran
Soheila Nikpour, Iranian Refugee Amnesty Network
Kouroush Haghighi
Sara Safiri
Dr. Masoud Behkhoo
Bahman Jazooyeh
Mehrshid Irani
Parviz Ashkani
Bahram Rad
Pouran Azad
Eileen Kolia
Fred Kolia
Mary Badal
Davood Anhari
Arleen Ali Abadi
Eileen Kolia
Marlene Davood
Lida Badal
Georget Khoshaba
Nahrien Moshabad
Betty Moshabad
Shamiran Yousef
Sandra Salmasi
Flora Tomeh
Almas Tomeh
Albert Shirabadi
Mariam Shirabadi
Parasto Oveissi, Make-up Artist
Ramin Bastami
cc:
The Honorable Michael McCaul – U.S. Representative, Texas
The Honorable Mark Kirk – U.S. Senate Illinois
The Honorable Brad Sherman – U.S. Representative, California
The Honorable Ted Poe – U.S. Representative, Texas
The Honorable Kirsten E. Gillibrand – U.S. Senate, New York
The Honorable Robert Dold – U.S. Representative, Illinois
The Honorable Ted Deutch – U.S. Representative, Florida
The Honorable John Cornyn – U.S. Senate, Texas
The Honorable Patrick Meehan – U.S. Representative, Pennsylvania
The Honorable William R. Keating – U.S. Representative Massachusetts
The Honorable Peter King – U.S. Representative, New York
The Honorable Bennie Thompson – U.S. Representative, Mississippi
The Honorable Gus Michael Bilirakis – U.S. Representative, Florida
The Honorable Jeff Duncan – U.S. Representative, South Carolina
The Honorable Danny Davis – U.S. Representative, Illinois
The Honorable Janice K. Hahn – U.S. Representative, California
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee – U.S. Representative, Texas
The Honorable Karen Lorraine Jacqueline Speier – U.S. Representative California
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PDMI is a group of non-partisan Iranians who aspire a free, secular democracy for Iran. We believe that regime change is the only option for Iran. Those who are interested in signing the letter, please go to www.pdmiran.org and leave your first and last name and your occupation in the comments section for inclusion it in the letter.
Thanks PDMI
