Mike Pence was Vice President before moving on to Iran. He is speaking now with Iranian opposition members.
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), also known as the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran, is a resistance movement in exile. They protest the regime currently in Iran and seek a future Iran which promises democracy and seperates religious leaders from government.
Pence claimed that he recalled watching the Arab Spring unfold in Congress, and being shocked at what then-President Barack Obama had done.
Like many Americans, I watched with excitement and hope as Iran’s people rose up in 2009 to claim freedom. Millions upon millions of brave young people filled Tabriz and Tehran in the 2009 revolt. What was visible for the entire world, it appeared in every village and city in between. They denounced the fraudulent elections and demanded an end to years of oppression. The leader of the free universe was there to support those brave protestors. As a member, I witnessed this firsthand.
The President of the United States, Congress at the time, remained silent. However, I was able to see the hearts of American citizens. As a House Foreign Affairs Committee member, I recognized the lack of American leadership and the courageous Iranians who took to the streets in support of freedom as an abdication. The American cause for freedom is liberty. This cause is not to be ignored.
Pence also decried the weakness on display in the current administration, noting how quickly the Biden team ran back into the arms of the Iranian government with promises of more money and more support without any real means of check Iran’s nuclear program in check.
Only strength can bring peace. President Biden's reembrace of the JCPOA with new concessions offered to the tyrants in Tehran, with each passing day, with the virtual abandonment of our ally Israel and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the adversaries of freedom are sensing weakness in the American administration. They’ve been emboldened to test our resolve.
I’ll be very clear. There’s one person responsible for the merciless war being waged in Ukraine, and that is Vladimir Putin. Putin needs to be punished. It is clear that the Russian president must be held accountable for his actions in Iran, reopening Nord Stream 2 pipe to Russia and the disastrous withdrawal of Afghanistan. Evil is triggered by weakness. This is why the US administration has allowed evil to rise in Iran, and other parts of the world.
Pence’s statement is right on the money. It was American weakness that showed Vladimir Putin he can get away with whatever he wants to, and it’s American weakness saying the same thing to Iran’s government. America’s cause, as Pence said above, is freedom. That cause is not being compromised by dictators or tyrants.
All of this does not mean America shouldn’t be ready to embark on another Middle East adventure. But it’s important to note just how vital the United States is in the region. The U.S. is seen as a major opponent to Iran’s tyranny, instability, and invasion of the region by countries all over the world. Our allies – Israel first and foremost among them – need that influence and backing in order to oppose the chaos that Iran brings into the Arab world.
But the current and previous Democrat administrations have given up any pretext of caring about our allies’ interest in that part of the world, and as a result, the worst of the worst there feel emboldened. It’s no wonder some of our allies would look to Russia for support instead of us. Not only does it hurt them but also us.
Mike Pence knows that. Mike Pompeo also understood that when he visited the MEK in May. The GOP has many members who recognize the significance of this role and are willing to help (politically).
About Post Author
