Thomas Pickering, Lee
Hamilton, General Michael Hayden among former top officials who back report
claiming US policies 'may have narrowed the options for dealing with Iran by
hardening the regime's resistance to pressure'
Yitzhak Benhorin
|
WASHINGTON
- A
panel of former senior American officials and outside experts
expressed their support on Thursday for a document which calls on President
Barack Obama to
reconsider the harsh economic sanctions imposed on Iran.
The
report, published by a panel called the Iran Project, said US policies
"may have slowed but they have not stopped the advancement of Iran's
nuclear program. They have not led to a breakthrough in nuclear talks
(sanctions have weakened Iran's economy but not yet led to changed policies or
actions); nor have they improved Iran's human rights practices."
According
to the paper, titled "Strategic options for Iran: Balancing pressure with
diplomacy," US policies "may have narrowed the options for dealing
with Iran by hardening the regime's resistance to pressure… After 30 years of
sanctioning and trying to isolate Iran, it seems doubtful that pressure alone
will change the decision of Iran's leaders… A strengthened diplomatic track
that includes the promise of sanctions relief in exchange for verifiable
cooperation could help to end the standoff and produce a nuclear deal."
'Balance
has been misaligned.' Military procession in Iran (Photo: AFP)
The
former officials, including several who recently left the Obama administration,
said in the letter of support that they "applaud the drafters of this
paper and their goal of contributing an objective, nonpartisan analysis to a
complex and important policy discussion." However, they stressed they
"do not necessarily agree with every word in this properly detailed and
balanced report."
Among
those who signed the letter of support are Thomas Pickering, one of the most
revered ambassadors in the history of US diplomacy; former Congressman Lee
Hamilton, who served as the vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission; General Michael
Hayden, who headed the CIA during George W. Bush's presidency; and former
Republican senator Richard Lugar.
Pickering,
who served as ambassador to Israel, among other countries, told the New
York Times "I fundamentally believe that the balance between sanctions and
diplomacy has been misaligned," and urged Obama to review the covert
program against Iran – which has included computer sabotage of its nuclear
facilities – to "stop anything that is peripheral, that is not buying us
much time" in slowing Iran’s progress.
State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that the administration
was sticking with its approach.
"We just completed a series of diplomatic talks"
with America's allies in dealing with Tehran, she said, "including three
recent rounds of meetings that included Iran." She added that a "dual
track approach of rigorous sanctions and serious negotiations is the right
approach. However, the onus is on Iran to take the next steps and move the
process forward."
