The US government should openly support the Iranian Resistance and its ten-point plan to replace the theocratic dictatorship in Tehran, a former U.S. ambassador has declared.
Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell said he is among almost 40 prominent Americans who issued a policy statement urging stronger confrontation of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, regional hostilities, and human rights abuses.
He wrote in an article published a number of news website: “My view and that of the co-signers of the statement is that the ten-point plan of the National Council of Resistance of Iran represents a viable alternative to an intractably hostile Iranian regime. Simply supporting that alternative and coordinating with it politically would go a long way toward safeguarding Western interests.
“The way forward in dealing with the Islamic Republic is to go on exerting political and economic pressure on the regime in partnership with the country’s domestic opponents, who speak for the potential of the Iranian people to establish the democracy and civic freedoms that they have been denied for much of their history, especially under the rule of the ayatollahs.”
He said of Maryam Rajavi’s ten-point plan for the future of Iran: “My co-signers and I are well familiar with this plan, which includes a commitment to free and fair elections, the rule of law, safeguards for the rights of women and minorities, separation of church and state, and a non-nuclear Iran that makes every effort to maintain peace with its neighbors.
“I can only assume that the President Obama has neither read nor contemplated the implications of the ten-point plan
“If they would simply give a fair hearing to the NCRI platform, as the policy statement points out they have not done, those delegates would quickly understand how much the goals of the resistance dovetail with the long-term interests of Western nations with regard to Iran and the broader Middle East.
“As our statement pointed out, more than 142 people have died in Iranian exile communities in Iraq since the US left those people behind, still holding documents guaranteeing them Protected Persons Status.
“Inside of Iran, political imprisonments and torture continue as usual and the rate of executions is steadily climbing even under the presidency of the supposedly moderate Hassan Rouhani.
“Notions of moderation in Iran’s dealings with the US are falling apart as the June 30 deadline for a nuclear agreement draws near and Iranian demands remain outlandish. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic is ramping up its support for terrorist groups and other rogue states while injecting itself into regional conflicts and posing new threats to its neighbors.
“It is as important as ever that the US government both recognizes another alternative to that regime and that it commits to a policy of using every available resource to pressure the regime to scale back its aggression and human rights abuses.
“The role of the NCRI in exposing details of the Iranian nuclear program has long since demonstrated to Western policy-makers that the resistance could be a valuable ally.
“The current administration needs only to give due attention to that resistance in order to better understand the other ways in which it can help Western nations to achieve appropriate goals in Iran without sacrificing their own blood and treasure.”
He added: “My colleagues and I have made the case directly to the US government for this newly collaborative relationship. I hope that it will listen, but now I bring this issue to the American people, as well. If you are concerned about the threat posed by Iran, see to it that your representatives in government understand that there is a ready bulwark against that threat, and it has been ignored for too long.”
