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Prisoner of Her Desires

[New York Times] Reuel Marc Gerecht - In the U.S. and Europe, there is a widespread belief that the Bush administration has failed to engage Iran diplomatically. Among the advisers to the Iraq Study Group, of which I was one, most believed that the Bush administration, not the mullahs' regime, was the most culpable party in foreclosing dialogue between Washington and Tehran after 9/11. Yet it ought to be clear that just the opposite is the case. The clerical regime today is no more interested in reaching a peaceful modus vivendi with the U.S. than it was in the 1990s, when President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright all but begged President Mohammad Khatami of Iran to just talk to them. Case in point: Haleh Esfandiari, an American citizen and the director of the Middle Eastern program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, has been jailed in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since May 8. For years, she has been an articulate and determined advocate of better relations between her homeland, Iran, and her adopted country. By arresting her during a visit to her 93-year-old mother, the clerical regime sent a blatant message about the effectiveness of engagement. A 67-year-old woman who has over the years shown Iran's representatives in the U.S. and other visiting Iranians, including esteemed clerics, the utmost kindness and respect, is a perfect target to show the regime's distaste for Iranians who want to build bridges. The writer, a former CIA officer, is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
2007-05-25 01:00:00
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