{"id":192535,"date":"2021-03-06T12:14:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T17:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=192535"},"modified":"2021-03-06T12:14:44","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T17:14:44","slug":"iranian-dissidents-slam-nominee-for-top-defense-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iranian-dissidents-slam-nominee-for-top-defense-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Iranian Dissidents Slam Nominee for Top Defense Post"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Firanian-dissidents-slam-nominee-for-top-defense-post%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=192535&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-475513098_736x514.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee for a top Pentagon post, Colin Kahl, is coming under fire from Iranian dissidents for his close ties with\u00a0advocates for the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kahl, nominated to be the undersecretary of defense for policy, is a White House and State Department veteran who spoke at<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">multiple events for the National Iranian American Council, an organization that helped arrange meetings between U.S. and Iranian government officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In 2012,\u00a0NIAC lost a defamation suit against Iranian-American activist Hassan Dai, who had\u00a0called the organization a lobbying group for the Iranian regime. During the case, records emerged that showed NIAC working with Iranian officials and engaging in other lobbying activities, and a federal judge ruled that NIAC leader Trita Parsi\u2019s work was &#8220;not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kahl also hosted meetings at the White House with NIAC founder Trita Parsi, who actively discouraged the Obama administration from supporting opposition protests against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He has promoted the work of a pollster at the University of Tehran Center for Public Opinion Research, which is run by one of the Iranian regime\u2019s most vocal public advocates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Senate Republicans have raised concerns about Kahl\u2019s policy views and temperament in the wake of a\u00a0<em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/gop-grills-biden-nominee-for-top-defense-post\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/gop-grills-biden-nominee-for-top-defense-post\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1615087478672000&#038;usg=AFQjCNHSBhfJfHmtGmcmcOu9Fy5t8XmNIA\" data-mt-detrack-inspected=\"true\" data-mt-detrack-attachment-inspected=\"true\">reported<\/a> on his history of heated partisan Twitter posts taking aim at the Republican Party. Sens. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), Joni Ernst (R., Iowa) and Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) said they will <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/gop-grills-biden-nominee-for-top-defense-post\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/gop-grills-biden-nominee-for-top-defense-post\/&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1615087478672000&#038;usg=AFQjCNHSBhfJfHmtGmcmcOu9Fy5t8XmNIA\" data-mt-detrack-inspected=\"true\" data-mt-detrack-attachment-inspected=\"true\">oppose<\/a> Kahl\u2019s nomination due to serious policy disagreements\u2014including Kahl\u2019s opposition to Iran sanctions and criticism of the U.S. military strike on Iranian terror chief Qassem Soleimani.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The criticism from Iranian dissidents is likely to draw further scrutiny of his nomination.<\/p>\n<div class=\"posts-content__category-widget md:hidden -ml-4 -mr-4 my-8 px-4 py-6 bg-gray-100\">\n<h4 class=\"mt-0 text-red-600 font-medium font-sans uppercase\">Recent Stories in Biden Administration<\/h4>\n<ul class=\"list-none p-0\">\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/iranian-dissidents-slam-nominee-top-defense-post\/\"><strong>Iranian Dissidents Slam Nominee for Top Defense Post<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/biden-labor-board-blocks-construction-workers-from-union-exodus\/\"><strong>Biden Labor Board Blocks Construction Workers From Union Exodus<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li class><a class=\"text-black block mb-3 pb-3 border-b border-white\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/gop-grills-biden-nominee-for-top-defense-post\/\"><strong>GOP Grills Biden Nominee for Top Defense Post<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kaveh Shahrooz, a Canadian-Iranian human rights activist and fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, said he was troubled by Kahl\u2019s involvement with NIAC and Parsi, who, Shahrooz said, &#8220;carry water for the Iranian regime and who have very little regard for human rights and democracy in Iran.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;I see NIAC as a fundamentally anti-American organization. Its interests are not aligned with American interests. They are aligned with the Iranian regime,&#8221; said Shahrooz. &#8220;I would think it was very, very unwise to appoint someone to that position in the Department of Defense who doesn\u2019t recognize what NIAC is about, or doesn\u2019t care, or promotes that view.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The organization staunchly opposed U.S. sanctions and actively lobbied for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that conceded a number of financial benefits to the regime and allowed the government to continue an enrichment program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kahl spoke at a NIAC conference on Feb. 21, 2012, titled &#8220;The Iranian Nuclear Dilemma&#8221; and another on Oct. 24, 2013, titled &#8220;Making or Breaking U.S.-Iran Diplomacy.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During the 2013 NIAC event, Kahl described his interactions with Congress over the Iranian nuclear issue as &#8220;pretty disappointing&#8221; and argued that the United States would have to offer Iran a &#8220;face-saving arrangement&#8221; as part of a nuclear deal that allowed the regime to continue a level of uranium enrichment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2012, Kahl appeared on a Stimson Center panel alongside Ebrahim Mohseni, a pollster who worked at the regime-controlled University of Tehran Center for Public Opinion Research. The polling center is run by Mohammad Marandi, the son of Iran\u2019s minister of health and the supreme leader\u2019s personal doctor, and often releases data that is highly favorable toward the Iranian government\u2019s interests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During the event, Kahl enthusiastically cited Mohseni\u2019s findings and claimed the majority of the Iranian public would rather have sanctions or war with the United States than give up the regime\u2019s nuclear enrichment program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;I think it\u2019s particularly striking the finding that they care so much about the right to domestic enrichment that they\u2019re willing to run the risk of a war,&#8221; said Kahl. &#8220;It may be against the conventional wisdom on Capitol Hill and some segments of this town, but it\u2019s not against the conventional wisdom as it relates to every Iran expert on planet earth. And that is, that this regime will not accept a diplomatic deal that doesn\u2019t respect their right to enrichment.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kahl added that Mohseni\u2019s findings were &#8220;particularly important&#8221; for U.S. leaders to consider while attempting to craft a nuclear deal with Iran, arguing that any deal needed to allow for the regime\u2019s &#8220;right to enrichment.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hassan Dai, the Iranian-American democracy activist, has written about Mohseni and the University of Tehran Center for Public Opinion Research, and called the findings &#8220;ridiculous.&#8221; He also said Kahl &#8220;should be ashamed&#8221; to be on the panel.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"my-8 hide-print\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1526555381173-4\" class=\"mobile-250 desktop-90\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee for a top Pentagon post, Colin Kahl, is coming under fire from Iranian dissidents for his close ties with\u00a0advocates for the Iranian regime. Kahl, nominated to &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274904,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-475513098_736x514.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Iranian Dissidents Slam Nominee for Top Defense Post","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/GettyImages-475513098_736x514.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Iranian Dissidents Slam Nominee for Top Defense Post","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}