We know of four American citizens who lack the freedom to opine on President Obama’s recently announced deal with the Islamic state of Iran: Jason Rezaian, Robert Levinson, Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati. Mr. Rezaian is a Washington Post journalist; Mr. Abedini, a Christian pastor and orphanage founder; Mr. Levinson, a CIA contractor; and Mr. Hekmati, a decorated Marine veteran. All four began the negotiations as Iranian prisoners, and their continued imprisonment after the deal is a scarring indictment of our leaders’ misguided moral compasses.
In short, three major American values were disregarded as the White House went all in for legacy via a deal with the Iranian government. First, in allowing Iran to continue detaining Mr. Rezaian, stationed in Tehran as a reporter, our country gave up on honoring freedom of the press. Secondly, Mr. Abedini’s continued imprisonment is yet another reminder that the White House has little interest in defending Christians from persecution. The pastor’s detainment is a complete abdication of our government’s moral obligation to promote the freedom of religion worldwide, as written into law in 1998. Lastly, the President abandoned our troops when he chose instead to negotiate with the terrorists and hostage takers in Iran’s government but didn’t demand the release of Mr. Hekmati and Mr. Levinson.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the last time Americans were held hostage in Iran. Back in 1980, American-Iranian relations were tense too. The middle-eastern nation was undergoing a revolution and repudiating all elements of Western culture. Our embassy in Tehran was attacked when the exiled Shah of Iran fled to America for cancer treatment. An insurgent Ronald Reagan, soon to be elected President of the United States, traversed the nation preaching the moral imperative of freeing our dignitaries. He could have been preaching the danger of Iran’s rebellious revolution to the West, but his focus remained on freeing American hostages. And, on his inauguration day of January 20, 1981, every American hostage in the embassy was released back to our soil. Today some can only wonder: What the heck happened to foreign policy that puts our own people and values first?
In the President’s Iran deal, we fork over $150 billion to the Iranian government, drop all economic sanctions, allow the country to retain nuclear capabilities, and release their top nuclear scientist. All of our leverage to pressure the Iranians into releasing the four American prisoners has been promised away. We capitulated without ever seriously demanding anything. The focus of American diplomacy must be the promotion of our values and interests of our people. The country should borrow Olivia Pope’s white hat and model it for the world, putting the safety of our own citizens first in any diplomatic negotiation. Unfortunately, this deal does just the opposite; it subverts the lives of four great Americans with the White House’s legacy and Iran’s economy. Should you agree that no American should be left behind, please call your Congressman and Senators and let them know to vote against this disaster of a deal.
Max Schreiber is a Pratt senior and bi-weekly fall columnist. His column is part three in a five-part series on the Iranian nuclear deal. The columnists for the five-part series are Schreiber, Albert Antar, Eidan Jacob, Pi Praveen and Edward Torgas.
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