April 4, 2014 | Quote
Insiders: Merkley’s Iran Thesis a ‘Political Liability’
The emergence of Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D., Ore.) college thesisadvocating for Iran has sparked concerns among political insiders who say that his minority views could complicate the lawmaker’s chances for reelection in 2014.
In his 1979 college thesis, Merkley argued that the U.S. power is in a sharp decline and that it should coddle the Iranians as a result.
Merkley’s soft line on Iran and belief in American decline prompted foreign policy experts to warn that the thesis provides a troubling window into the lawmaker’s current thinking about Iran.
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“If I were an Oregon voter, what I would worry about is that his anti-Americanism with regard to a radical religious regime in Iran may still, at least in part, be there,” said Michael Ledeen, a freedom scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “Has he changed his mind?”
Merkley’s belief that America is on the downswing and should tread carefully with the Iranians is a minority view, according to Ledeen.
“Most of Congress would not agree with this, I think,” Ledeen said. “Most of Congress, like most Americans, are not fooled by Iran and easily gulled by those who say, ‘Hey lets be nice to Iran.’”
“The American public is not inclined to be nice to Iran and I don’t think the Senate is inclined to be nice to Iran,” Ledeen said. “If Merkley still thinks what he thought in 1979 he’s a bit of an outlier.”