[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 25 (Thursday, February 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        AMERICA CAN AND SHOULD HELP THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM IN IRAN

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 8, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, cracks are forming in the iron grip of 
the Iranian regime. The latest wave of protests sweeping Iran 
demonstrates yet again that dictatorial regimes are inherently doomed 
because they lack the enduring consent of the people they rule.
  Yet just as our forefathers required foreign assistance to finally 
shed the chains of tyranny, we too must stand with the Iranian people 
as they defy their oppressors. Utilizing our economic, political, and 
technological might, rather than armed intervention, the United States 
should rectify past inaction and amplify the voices of Iranians.
  For nearly four decades, the mullahs in Tehran have used brutality 
and religious zeal to cling to power and steal from the Iranian people. 
When they seized power in 1979, they were part of a larger, 
ideologically diverse movement opposed to the monarchical rule of the 
Shah. The Islamist clerics led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, however, 
turned on their revolutionary comrades and imposed theocratic rule once 
the monarchy fell. Thousands of Iranians of different political stripes 
were executed without trial while many more, such as members of the 
People's Mujahideen of Iran, were forced into exile. Whatever promise 
many Iranians thought would come in 1979 proved to be a mirage that 
replaced one corrupt dictator with another.
  Since then, the theocrats in Tehran have wasted their nation's vast 
resources on their violent regional ambitions, sponsoring terrorism and 
militancy from Lebanon to Yemen. However, it is the Iranian people more 
than any that have endured the persistent brutality of the supreme 
leader and his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps thugs. We witnessed 
this in 2009, when thousands of Iranians took to the street to reject 
the rigged election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The subsequent 
crackdown by the regime killed dozens and imprisoned thousands more in 
an attempt to silence an emerging opposition.
  In spite of the blatant savagery by Iran's rulers, the Obama 
Administration said little. Upon coming to office, President Obama and 
his national security staff had softened America's tone towards the 
extremist government in Tehran as part of broader policy of appeasement 
that culminated in the Iran nuclear deal. The shameful response by the 
Obama Administration in the face of such savagery was all too 
reminiscent of American inaction during the Hungarian uprising in 1956 
against the Soviet Union. That sad chapter in American leadership 
crushed the hopes of millions living behind the Iron Curtain. 
Succeeding Cold War presidents pointedly saw that America could not 
remain silent to Soviet oppression. Today we must echo the bold 
leadership of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, who are 
forever immortalized by their outspoken criticism of the evil empire. 
Their words emboldened fledgling democratic movements throughout 
Eastern Europe and ultimately contributed to the peaceful demise of the 
Soviet empire.
  America still holds a unique duty as leader of the free world. For 
more than two centuries, the United States has been a symbol and 
protector of liberty around the globe. Our shining example of 
government of the people, by the people, and for the people has 
inspired generations to demand more from their rulers. When the 
American government heeds the call of those in bondage, it provides an 
immeasurable assurance of hope that they do not suffer in silence.
  My congressional colleagues and I are watching the current protests 
in Iran closely. What started as a protest of the poor economic 
conditions inside Iran quickly sharpened its focus toward the regime 
that is responsible for the country's ills. If there is any silver 
lining to the misguided nuclear agreement the Obama Administration 
struck with Tehran, it is that the billions of dollars delivered to the 
mullahs has exposed their corruption. The Iranian people have rightly 
seen that despite the removal of sanctions, they are no better off 
because the wealth of their nation is being hoarded by the ayatollah 
and his IRGC goons to spread terror externally.
  Our support can be more than just encouraging words. We can harness 
the innovation of the U.S. tech industry to allow Iranians the ability 
to securely communicate with each other and the outside world. Through 
their bravery, they can document the atrocities of the regime which we 
can then use to prosecute on the world stage. I welcome President 
Trump's leadership on the cause of the Iranian people and urge my 
colleagues that now is the time that we must act.

                          ____________________