Today’s Catch-22
Washington Post: Md. Bank Freezes Funds of Scholar Jailed in Tehran
It was a hard enough day for Shaul Bakhash, as he dealt with the ongoing drama surrounding the imprisonment in Iran of his wife, noted American scholar Haleh Esfandiari. Then he found an express letter on the doorstep of his Potomac home yesterday morning announcing that Citibank had frozen his wife’s bank accounts on grounds that she is now a “resident” of Iran.
In the letter, Citibank said the accounts had been frozen “in accordance with U.S. Sanctions regulations,” which stipulate that U.S. banks are prohibited from servicing accounts for residents of Iran.
Forgot who Haleh Esfandiari was? Here’s a little background
The Jewish Week: Iran Scholar Accused Of Pro-Israel Ties
An Iranian-American scholar detained in Tehran after visiting her elderly mother has been accused — inaccurately — of being an Israeli agent and an official of the pro-Israel lobby.Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, is the wife of Shaul Bakhash, a leading Iran scholar and an Iranian Jewish émigré. Bakhash teaches at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
In December, Esfandiari was robbed and her travel documents were stolen; Iranian authorities did no allow her to leave the country. Instead, she was then put under house arrest, interrogated extensively by Iranian intelligence officials and pressed to confess to engaging in anti-government activities.
On May 8 Esfandiari was charged with “endangering national security through propaganda against the system and espionage for foreigners,†according to Iranian prosecutors, and thrown in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
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14 Responses to “Today’s Catch-22”
Our dear Leader never makes a mistake. Everyone we detain, torture and kill is definitely a terrorist.
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We live in a sh***y unjust world, that’s for sure.
Chris: Do you actually think that GWB = Ahmedinajad?
Holly,
I think that GWB has killed far more innocent people than Ahmedinejad has.
And while the current Iranian regime has always been suspect with regards to Western notions of democracy and law, the U.S. system prided itself on equal justice, openness and rights of the accused. Bush & co. have sought to undermine that.
To answer your question:
If you leave out the rhetoric on both sides (Bush claims to be on the side of God in spreading peace, democracy, freedom and security, while Ahmedinejad claims to be on the side of God in bringing security to his country while destroying Israel) and judge them based only on their actions, Bush is a monster compared to Ahmedinejad.
So I take it none of you are going to address the insanity of Citibank freezing a persons account because they’ve been imprisoned by a foreign nation? Sorry, last time I checked getting thrown in jail didn’t make one a resident of anyplace… it made them a prisoner.
Dustin,
I think I’m going to be a “resident” of Guantanamo courtesy of Dick Cheney for that last post I made.
No Chris, that would happen if you were an Iranian citizen critizing the Iranian power structure.
That’s the whole point of the Haleh Esfandiari story.
Chris: I think you need to get some help.
Chris,
You really have gone over the edge with that comment.
Yes, Dustin, the first thought I had was to question how sitting in jail for something you didn’t do could make you a “resident” of a nation ruled by a tyrannical theocracy.
Holly,
What’s the body count up to now? Give me the run down of Bush v. Ahmedinejad.
Chris,
I suggest you get past just listing all the evils of Bush.
I agree with many of your criticisms, but I disagree violently with your conslusions.
Criticizing our country and our leaders appropriately is just about the most patriotic thing one can do. It’s a sign of personal responsiblity for our country’s actions.
However, if our country is wrong about something, that doesn’t make another country right. If Bush is wrong, that doesn’t make Ahmedihane right.
Embracing the enemy of my enemy has led to some very bad consequences for our country. We should contemplate that lesson on a personal level, as well.
Ask yourself this: would you rather be a citizen of Iran criticizing their leadership?
Try to keep a perspective, for heaven’s sake.
If Chris were around during the Cold War, we know whose side he would favor and whose he would disfavor.
domajot,
When did I ever say that Iran was a great place that I wanted to live in?
I was strictly comparing Ahmedenijad to Bush. Not the United States to Iran. Not which government I’d rather live under.
Saying that Stalin was ultimately a worse monster than Hitler doesn’t mean I embrace Hitler does it?
Chris-
I think you lose sight of the larger picture. No matter how bad Bush is, he is still restrained by the civil society behind him. Ahmedijan is willing to imprison and/or kill large numbers of his own people, who are largely powerless, in order to achieve an increasingly more restrictive rule over them.
Just recently he proposed more restrictions on women.
I see your point about their personalities, but you have to keep it in the context of the societies they represent.
At the end of the day, I would still rather see Bush controlling atomic war capabilities than Ahmedijane.
domajot,
I never made any point about their personalities. I was just comparing their actions. And statistically speaking, Bush has done far greater harm to far greater number of people.