A New Iran policy

So what will the number one Foreign Policy challenge be for the Obama Administration in 2011? The answer was perhaps given by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the in-coming House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman when she said that Iran was challenge “No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.”


As the WikiLeaks’ revelations made clear, the entire Middle East from Israel to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf countries are in a state of extreme anxiety over Iran’s policies. Their concern is not limited to the regime's determined efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, but also by its brutal and systematic violation of human rights, its persistent support for extremist and Islamic fundamentalist groups, and its determination to interfere in the affairs of other nations and especially Iraq.

The Obama Administration needs to realise that it’s “dual track” policy towards Iran of “diplomatic engagements and sanctions”, is not only incompatible with the situation, it is now directly counter productive.

The Administration’s attempt to engage with the Iranian regime have both been fruitless and completely divorced from reality. The State Department Doves have consistently advocated this failed policy out of a mistaken view that the regime in Teheran was powerful and stable and they consequently argued that the only plausible option was to cut a deal with the Mullah’s regime and ignore it’s opponents. Events have proved the Doves to be wrong.

The anti Government protests which began in 2009 have consistently highlighted the weakness of their case and proved the opposite to be true. They repeatedly exposed a regime which was fragmented, devoid of a sound political base and fiercely opposed by a generation of young men and women who yearn for freedom and overwhelmingly support the demands of organised resistance for internal regime change.


Ahmadinajhad’s ruthless regime has not only failed to stop the unrest, it has exacerbated internal schisms and underlined the regimes weaknesses.

The new realities call for a new policy on Iran.

The time has come to adopt internal regime change as the US policy on Iran. That is not to call for US military intervention, it is a call to stand at the side of the Iranian people and their organized resistance to bring about democratic change.

Last week, at an international conference in Paris, dozens of political figures and former high-ranking officials from the U.S., Europe, and Arab countries, including Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City; Frances Townsend, advisor to president George W. Bush on Homeland Security and Counterterrorism; Michael Mukasey, former Attorney General; and Tom Ridge, former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, urged the international community to adopt a new approach towards the Iranian regime and the threats it poses.

As a first step they all called on the American Government to remove the Peoples Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the main opposition movement, from the State Department’s proscribed list of foreign terrorist organisations.

The PMOI which supports the overthrow the present Iranian government and the establishment of a democratic secular government, has been on the list since 1997, when the Clinton administration put it there in a bid to secure closer cooperation with Teheran. The results of this approach are now clear.

Calling the designation a “disgrace,” Giuliani said the US should act enthusiastically on the side of the PMOI and its objectives.

Townsend reiterated “the greatest single step … the United States Government can take to really put pressure on the Iranian regime and enable change is by delisting the PMOI. We should do that because the listing is not warranted by the evidence that is both public nor is justified by anything that is classified.”

In July, a U.S .Federal Appeals Court challenged the basis of this designation and ordered the State Department to reconsider its decision. The UK and European Union removed the PMOI from their list of prescribed terrorist organizations in 2008 and 2009 respectively.

Removing the terrorist tag would gain considerable support in Congress. A bipartisan group of more than 110 members sponsored a House resolution calling for the delisting of the PMOI only recently.

The blacklisting of the PMOI has not only restricted the main Iranian opposition, it has positively encouraged the Mullah’s regime to more vigorously suppress its opponents, especially PMOI supporters, inside Iran. Its proxies in Iraq exploit the label to justify threats to Camp Ashraf in Iraq, where 3,400 members of the organization live. In July 2009, the camp came under attack by Iraqi forces at the behest of Teheran. Eleven people died, all of them unarmed and designated “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and 500 were wounded. The listing therefore puts the lives of these people at risk.

As Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance put it, "The correct solution to the Iranian problem is regime change, a democratic change by the Iranian people and Resistance. This is the defining factor in the Iranian equation. Thus, any policy that blocks the Resistance ignores the most important factor for change in Iran and protects the regime.”

When Iranians need all the resources at their disposal to bring about change, the unjust designation sends the wrong message to the brave Iranians who regularly take to the streets asking “Obama, Obama, are you with them or with us?”

It is now time to answer with a clear message. “We are with you.”

Motion to further highlight Shared Parenting Issue

Brian Binley MP for Northampton South has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) to further his calls for shared parenting orders which enhance the welfare of a child.

The Early Day Motion is designed to further highlight the issue and also to gauge support in the House of Commons for a Shared Parenting Bill.

Brian has continually raised the issue of shared parenting as he believes that it is of vital importance that Children have the love and support of both parents in their development.

Brian recently sponsored a Ten Minute Rule Motion which enabled grandparents access rights to their grandchildren and both Brian’s Shared Parenting Orders Bill and the Ten Minute Rule Motion are due to have their second readings in the Commons on Friday 17th June 2010.

Brian said: “I have tabled the motion to further raise awareness of this extremely important issue.”

“I am hopeful that my colleagues in the House will recognise the importance of this issue and its wider impact within society and support this EDM.”

The Early Day Motion was supported by 5 other MP’s including Edward Leigh, Graham Stuart, Craig Whittaker, David Blunkett and Douglas Carswell.

MP calls on coroner to act in public interest

Brian Binley MP for Northampton South has called on County Coroner, Anne Pember to act in the public interest and hold an enquiry into the deaths of five elderly residents at Parkside Care Home in Northampton.

In his letter Brian said: “We are both public servants who have a duty to respond to the public when the quality of service we provide is questioned.”

Brian continued: “Could you also do me the courtesy of telling me why you dismissed my request, not for an open inquest as you erroneously state in your letter, but for an enquiry into the matter which would enable you to provide a positive response which could be aired in the media to quell the serious concerns expressed.”

Brian went on to state that the letters he received from the Care Quality Commission and Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley MP, were constructive and incidentally did not carry a “Private and Confidential” appellation and both will be passed to the media and has requested that the Coroner acts in a similar manner.

MP backs grandparent’s access rights

Brian Binley MP for Northampton South has supported a Ten Minute Rule Motion in the House of Commons which enabled grandparent’s access rights to their grandchildren.

The Motion is similar in its nature to the Shared Parenting Orders Bill tabled by Brian in July which called for shared parenting orders to enhance the welfare of a child, which is due to have its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 17th June 2011.

Brian said: “Grandparents can play a vital role in the development of their grandchildren.

“Some 1.3 million families in England use grandparents as the primary source of care for around 1.8 million children offering a saving of an estimated £4.8 billion a year given the average cost of child care.”

“Very often Court Orders are made without the knowledge of the importance of grandparent’s and fathers involvement and this motion and my bill will make sure that no parent or grandparent is shut out from a child’s life.”

“I hope that the Motion will go some way to addressing the problems we currently face in our society.”