Op-Ed
The Iranian Hostage Crisis: Then and Now
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John Manetta Once Told Me
Heartless, Not Stupid
.jpg "Heartless, Not Stupid")
Striking new developments in the Iranian Hostage Crisis: nothing has changed. Despite the headlines that you may see emblazoned across the New York Times and Washington Post, there is nothing new going on in Iran.
Iran continues to thumb its nose at the United States and Great Britain, as it parades the 15 British sailors and Royal Marines turned hostages around on their national airways. Propaganda videos continue to air on the state-run Al-Alam television station. Recent “confessions” were delivered by two of the most senior ranking officers on the boarding party that was seized March 23 in Iraqi waters. Lieutenant Felix Carmen, in a moment of “uncoerced” genuine candor, used his time on Al-Alam to address the Iranian populous saying: “I can understand why you were so angry about our intrusion into your waters.” Captain Chris Air, standing in front of a map of the Gulf, finally came clean and admitted to the world that his boarding party was, in fact, “inside Iranian waters.”
These confessions come only days after Leading Seaman Faye Turney, whose release was promised than rescinded by the Iranian negotiators, wrote a letter addressed to the “representatives of the House of Commons” asking, “Isn’t it time for us to start withdrawing forces from Iraq and let them determine their own future?” Foreign policy experts have determined that this letter was dictated to Seaman Turney by Representative John Murtha.
When British sailors and marines voluntarily confess to straying into Iranian waters, mum is the word for liberals everywhere. Given Iran’s stellar record regarding human rights, why shouldn’t we believe Captain Air when he notes that the hostages have been treated “very well by [the Iranians]?”
When 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to having a hand in dozens of other terrorists operations — including the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, two assassination plots on Pope John Paul II and the Bali nightclub bombing -— baseless allegations of American torture and coercion were launched by the international community. Liberals did all they could to turn this moral victory into another defeat: Mohammed’s claims, they contend, should be regarded as lies and exaggeration. But when Gitmo’s detainees claim they have been tortured, a Congressional inquiry must be launched.
Why is it that stories of coercion and torture are only raised in Gitmo and not Iran? Where are the champions of prisoner rights in Iran? Where is Amnesty International? Where is Joe Biden? Where is Nancy Pelosi — oh wait, she’s in Syria making nice with Bashar Assad, who provides aid to Iraq’s Sunni insurgents.
Silence from the Left is to be expected. What is surprising, however, is the lack of interest that President Bush has shown in this incident. Bush mentioned this crisis in passing at a press conference last week stating, “Iran must give back the hostages … They’re innocent, they did nothing wrong and they were summarily plucked out of waters.” Anyone with the least bit of sense recognizes that the Iranians kidnapped the British sailors. The United Nations has even declared that Iran is in the wrong, proving that organizations without sense recognize the seizure as an act of kidnapping.
This incident, however, is not surprising in the least. It was only a matter of time before the Iranian government launched a direct assault against the West. The continued policy of appeasement embraced by the West has only emboldened Ahmadinejad and the other Iranian hardliners.
Iran continues to supply Iraqi insurgents with explosive materials and other tools of war. Iran has even supplied Sunni insurgents with IED materials, as well. The religious “civil war” that we hear so much about on the news is negligible to Iran: they will assist any insurgent campaign as long as they deliver coalition casualties.
Iranian forces have even gone so far as to launch direct assaults into Iraq. Last year, a joint American and Iraqi patrol was ambushed by members of the Iranian military. On Sept. 7, 2006, coalition forces approached an Iranian officer, who had “strayed” into Iraqi territory. When they moved closer to the officer, it was discovered that he had brought with him an entire platoon of Iranian foot soldiers. The Iranians began to surround the small patrol of Americans and Iraqis and opened fire when coalition troops began to retreat. In the ensuing firefight one Iranian was killed and four Iraqi personnel were taken prisoner (read: hostage).
The 15 Britons seized on March 23 do not represent a recent phenomena or turn of events. This is not the first time that the Iranian military has invaded Iraqi territory and walked away with hostages, but we should make it the last.
When Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah, the United States embassy was seized by Iranians. 52 hostages were held prisoner for 444 days. Following the disastrous Operation Eagle Claw, which cost the lives of eight American servicemen, the Carter Administration engaged in “dialogue” and “negotiations” with the Iranians to no avail. The Iranians lied, double-crossed and issued outlandish demands to negotiators then, and they will do the same today. This is because every day that those 15 British hostages remain in captivity is a day of moral triumph for the Iranian hardliners. Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs will enjoy the same increasing domestic support that Musavi-Khoeniha and Behzad Nabavi gained in the first crisis. And terrorists worldwide will become more emboldened.
President-Elect Ronald Reagan recognized this trend and reacted accordingly. He publicly stated that if the hostages were not freed by the time he took office, he would react using force: hours before Reagan was sworn in, the hostages were released. President Bush would be wise to follow the path of Reagan, rather than Carter, before 12 days becomes 444.
Billy McMorris is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at wjm27@cornell.edu. John Manetta Once Told Me appears alternate Wednesdays.