Letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
August 31, 2006
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Rice:
I write to express my objections to the State Department's decision to grant a visa for former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to travel in the United States. According to press accounts, there will be no restrictions on President Khatami's travel and he will be permitted to give public speeches in Washington, DC, and Chicago and may include a speech at the University of Virginia and a visit to Thomas Jefferson's home at Monticello.
While I appreciate that we are an open society that is tolerant of diverse viewpoints, I question the benefit of permitting a person who headed a regime that is a leading sponsor of terrorism, permitted human rights abuses, including repression of women and religious minorities, and presided over Iran's secret nuclear program, which is now the focus of possible UN action, to travel without restriction in the United States. The actions of the Iranian government under President Khatami include the expenditure of billions of dollars on nuclear reactors and sophisticated weapons and the failure to implement reforms that are necessary for Iran to abide by its treaty obligations. Granting this travel visa gives support to the current Iranian strategy of stalling action while it builds its nuclear capabilities and dividing the tentative coalition of states opposing Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Additionally, as you may know, I have been a longtime advocate for allowing victims of Iranian sponsored terrorism to seek rightful compensation for their suffering. Allowing a leader of Iran to enter the United States and travel freely is an affront to these Americans, many of whom live in Virginia, and sends the wrong message to State sponsors of terrorism and victims alike. Furthermore, I understand President Khatami's visa was granted three days after his application when ordinary Iranians are required to wait months for their visas to be approved and when Iranians who have been granted visas have reportedly been detained upon their arrival in the United States and forced to leave our country.
Instead of permitting President Khatami to travel without restriction in the United States, I urge you to press for the strongest possible sanctions at the U.N. Security Council in response to Iran's continued refusal to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency's investigation of its clandestine nuclear program. While these sanctions should be targeted at the current regime and spare the Iranian people as much as possible, I believe the array of sanctions should include travel bans on Iranian leaders, a ban on sales of nuclear equipment and dual-use technology that could be useful to Iran's nuclear program, a ban on extending credits or loans to Iran, and a freeze on overseas assets of Iranian officials, government agencies, and corporate entities that facilitate the importation of equipment and materials for the nuclear program.
The Iranian challenge is a difficult one and I applaud your efforts, and those of President Bush, in taking the lead to raise the diplomatic, economic, political, and possible military costs to the Ahmadinejad regime of its prohibited nuclear activities. However, I believe granting this visa is a step in the wrong direction.
With warm regards, I remain
Sincerely,
George Allen
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