Boxer Calls On Iran To Release Imprisoned Backpackers

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and a collection of other Senate Democrats called upon Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to release three Americans imprisoned after allegedly straying onto Iranian soil while backpacking last August.

“Enough is enough,” Boxer said during a press conference Tuesday in the U.S. Capitol. “We call on [Ahmadinedjad] today to immediately release the three [Americans] on humanitarian grounds.”

Boxer added that if the Iranian government is unwilling to release the prisoners, then they should at least allow their families to visit them in prison by granting travel visas. Additionally, Boxer asked for the prisoners be given permission to contact their families via telephone.

The California Senator stressed the urgency of the situation, explaining that Swiss authorities who visited the prisoners reported that two of the Americans are in poor health.

The Senators’ call for the backpackers’ release coincides with Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York for an international conference on nuclear policy. According to Boxer, attempts by the prisoners’ families to arrange a meeting with the Iranian president in the city have been fruitless.

The Iranian government has refused to release the backpackers amid concerns that they were engaged in espionage, a charge that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn.) dismissed as “absurd.”

“They are pawns in an international struggle,” Specter said.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) added that evidence shown to the Senators from intelligence officials has further dissuaded the Senators from entertaining the notion that the Americans were spies.

The three backpackers have been identified as Shane Bauer, Sarah Emily Shourd and Joshua Fattal. Both Bauer and Shourd are journalists.

Obama Repeats Rhetoric On Iran

In a joint news conference Friday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Barack Obama reiterated his position that he is taking a wait-and-see approach to the post-election chaos in Iran.

“We are still waiting to see how the situation in Iran plays out,” Obama said.

The President said that the prospect of Iran attaining a nuclear weapon in the near future is a big problem for both the U.S. and for security in the Middle East. He added that the post-election events of the past few weeks will impact the possibility of future dialogue between the U.S. and Iran.

Obama also mentioned that Iranian opposition candidate Hossein Mousavi has expressed interest in communicating directly with the White House. Obama did not say whether or not he has plans to speak with Mousavi.

When asked to respond to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad’s demand that the U.S. apologize for ripping his regime’s strong-arm treatment of election protestors, Obama said, “I don't take Mr. Ahmadinejad's comments seriously.” He later added, “I would suggest that Mr. Ahmadinejad think carefully about the obligations he owes to his own people.”

Obama neatly sidestepped a question later in the news conference about Ahmadinejad’s recent comparison of him to former President George W. Bush.

The President was asked one question about the recent spike in violence in Iraq to which he professed, “there will continue to be some violence in Iraq for some time."

He then explained that the biggest challenge facing American forces in Iraq right now is not preventing attacks by al-Qaeda, but rather helping Sunnis and Shiites resolve their differences over geographical boundaries and oil revenues. The President did not field any follow-up questions on the subject.

Talk Radio News Service White House Correspondent Victoria Jones contributed to this report.

Experts Re-examine Impact Of Iranian Demonstrations

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

During this past weekend, the media attention placed on Iran’s election and popular upheavals have monopolized all TV channels while presenting images of a quasi civil war in the Islamic republic.

Many state leaders have called for a revision of the elections results, claiming that proof of irregularities is abundant, which would render this Friday’s elections undemocratic.

Yet today, experts gathered at the New America Foundation to discuss the significance and outcome of the reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and some even tamed down the media-delivered message that the elections should be rejected by the international community.

Afshin Molavi, a fellow at the New America Foundation, reexamined the clouded image provided by the mainstream media.

“This was the most open and lively and vibrant elections we have seen... Ahmadinejad performed fairly well. He was really pounding his opponents, in particularly( Mir-Hossein) Mousavi as an associate of Rafsanjani who steeped in corruption,” said Molavi.

Flynt Leverett, director of the American Strategy Program at NAF, wrote in his Politico article titled ‘Ahmadinejad Won. Get Over It’ that “The [mainstream media] ignore the fact that Ahmadinejad’s 62.6% of the vote in this year’s election is essentially the same as the 61.69% he received in the final count of the 2005 presidential election.”

According to Ken Ballen, president of the Terror Free Tomorrow, there has also been a misconception on the Ahmadinejad followers whom he claims have been demonized by foreign press and categorized as anti-democratic hard-liners.

On the contrary, polls carried out by Terror Free Tomorrow show otherwise. “86% of the people who said they would vote for Ahmadinejad and supported his reelection also chose ensuring free elections,’ said Ballen.

As for media anticipation that Mousavi would be elected on the account that Ahmadinejad was blamed for having hurt the economy, Leverett added that “While many Iranians complain about inflation, the TFT poll found that most Iranian voters do not hold Ahmadinejad responsible.”

Leverett insisted that the impact of the demonstrations has declined, since demonstrators have expanded their stance from simply protesting voter irregularities to standing against the the notion of an Islamic Republic, which according to Leverett is less likely to achieve results.

“This demonstration is over, in any real strategic sense,” said Leverett.

The demonstrations this weekend have seen both Pro-Ahmadinejad and opposition crowds amass in the streets of Tehran.

Pence Recognizes Dissenters In Iran

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

U.S. Congressman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) has introduced a resolution to show support for citizens in Iran who voted against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Rep. Pence described these citizens as being in a struggle for “freedom, civil liberties and the protection of the rule of law.” The Congressman said the resolution will also acknowledge U.S. concern over irregularities reported in the June 12 Iranian Presidential election.

Pence added that the resolution “will condemn the violence against demonstrators by pro-government militia in Tehran in the wake of the elections. It will affirm our belief in the individuality of individual rights and the importance of democratic and fair elections.”

The Congressman remarked that he appreciated President Obama’s comments yesterday about the troubling violence in Tehran. However, he believes the administration should do more to express the “unqualified support of the American people” for Iranians fighting for free elections and democracy.

“We cannot stand idly by, speak of Iran’s sovereignty, speak of her own right to choose her own leadership at a time when hundreds of thousands of Iranians are risking their lives to stand up for free elections and democracy,” added Pence.

The resolution is titled H.R. 549.

How does the U.S. approach Iran?

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

"If the United States is able to set a new tone in context with the
relationship in Afghanistan and elsewhere I think in of that
itself will change the nuclear calculations of Iran's leadership."
said Karim Sadjadpour, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace.

In a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "Iranian
Political and Nuclear Realities and U.S. Policy Options" witnesses
gave their recommendations on how the U.S. should approach Iran
concerning nuclear production. The hearing comes after a report
released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stating that
Natanz, an Iranian nuclear plant, has gained enough reactor-grade
uranium to allow Iran to create an atomic bomb.

Sadjapour focused on three key options that he thinks the U.S. should
follow. The first being to commence the dialogue with Iran by aiming
to build confidence on areas of common interest such as Afghanistan
and Iraq rather than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the nuclear
issue. "Focus on Supreme leader in Iran, Khamenei not the President,
Ahmadinejad. If I had to describe him (Ahmadinejad) in one word, is
mistrustful...He believes that if you compromise you project
weakness." he said. Sadjapour also stated that it is imperative that
the U.S. maintain an airtight international approach saying that each
country should approach Iran with the same talking points.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Zambia and Egypt, Frank Wisner, said that Iran
is important, Iran is dangerous and Iran is urgent. "I do not believe
in the military option...there is no room for a military
response...the issues of national survival that are first and foremost
on Iran's mind gives me some hope that we can get traction if we chose
to engage and engage fully but I won't pretend for a moment that
dealing with Iranians will not be extremely tough. There will be many
setbacks and many deceptions...I personally welcome as I'm certain all
of us do, an appointment of a new special representative to take a
hard look at Iran and our foreign policies." he concluded.