Let's all be thankful the United States isn't Iran anymore

An American spy has been captured by the Iranian authorities, after being apprehended, at face value, for illegally purchasing alcohol. And by "spy" I actually mean "journalist"- and she's being held without charges right now, which I know must be terrifying to her family, because Iran has sporadically refused to acknowledge even having her in custody, but particularly because of the fate of another reporter who fell into the hands of the authorities, and never lived to see freedom again. We must bear in mind that the death IS being treated as a homicide... even if nobody has actually been punished yet. Roxana Seberi, the captured journalist, reportedly had been gathering information in Iran even after her press card was revoked according to Iranian officials.

Now is the time to shake our heads and tell ourselves how wonderful we are to have a free, unthreatened media in the United States. Undoubtedly, we assure each other, Iran is a barbaric land ruled by a despot who is attempting to squash potential political uprising by first squashing reporters from Western nations, which may spread dangerous ideas of freedom amongst the people. I give you the example of an article by Steve Watson and Paul Watson, who cite their sources so well that I felt compelled to give them credit for doing some of the footwork for me, rather than take their sources without my thanks. If they were not protected (1) from persecution for seditious libel, they may have thought twice before speaking up about the various ways our government has been conducting espionage in Iraq for years now. According to journalist Seymour Hersh, American special forces have been crossing the border and conducting secret operations with groups that could reasonably be considered terrorist organizations against Iran's government, in attempts to undermine the government. Beautiful! Making accusations like that using anonymous sources that he cannot be forced to name! The very existance of Hersh's writings at once demonstrates the freedoms Americans enjoy as well as the need to use those freedoms to keep watch on the deceptions of own government (theoretically fiercely protective of those freedoms).

Iran does not have our First Amendment, nor our Fifth Amendment, so we must not view any of their actions or restrictions as though their government is violating something that WE agreed upon and hold sacred. (Ignoring international law for the time being) It makes sense- GOOD sense, to want to lock up "reporters" gathering information in your nation when you are on the brink of war. It does not make sense to give guarantees of anonymity to anyone who speaks to a reporter, or to grant Iranian citizens protection against charges of seditious libel. The United States has openly said that it wanted to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Well... if we're so close to going to war with Iran, then it's quite reasonable to suspect that the United States may be planning on beginning a propaganda campaign in Iran even before the first shots have been fired. It wouldn't even have to be effective propaganda- the presence itself of an organization within Iran speaking out against Iran's government and making accusations of illegal activity would signal that the leadership is not able to effectively suppress dissent in times of national distress. We already play with acts of war by sending unmanned drones over Iranian airspace, but shooting down their drones when they enter Iraqi territory and leaving them the belittling choice of admitting to wrongdoing or explaining that their technology is so woefully inferior to ours that they cannot properly control their aircraft.

Hersh, in an interview with CNN, compares the situation in Iran now to the U.S. interference in Afghanistan depicted in the movie "Charlie Wilson's War." And this, at last, takes me exactly to the comparison I want to make. Charlie Wilson's War depicts government deception in an extremely positive light, showing how political figures operated outside the rules for a cause that was just, and perfectly in line with what was for the good of America. The government does not feel threatened by the movie, and its makers have not been persecuted. Shall I now point to an Iranian political film that was persecuted recently? Nay. I point instead to "The Spirit of '76",(2) a film which was banned in the United States during World War I because it had the potential

Therefore, as I say, this is no time or place for the exploitation of that which, at another time or place, or under different circumstances, might be harmless and innocuous in its every aspect. It is like the "right of free speech," upon which such great stress is now being laid. That which in ordinary times might be clearly permissible, or even commendable, in this hour of national emergency, effort, and peril, may be as clearly treasonable, and therefore properly subject to review and repression. The constitutional guaranty of "free speech" carries with it no right to subvert the [**7] purposes and destiny of the nation.

In addition, this may, by his own admission, knew that these things -- the bayoneting of the babe and the like -- had been severely criticized [*949] and were inhibited. He knew that objection had been made to them. He knew, just as well as he knows we are sitting here now, that the private presentation of this film on last Tuesday morning was for the purpose of seeing if there was anything objectionable in it. To fit it for such private presentation it was gone over by him with a fine tooth comb, no doubt; but immediately thereafter a sedulous effort was indulged in by him to insert those things which would tend to "excite" and to create a prejudice against Great Britain. This demands an inquiry into the ultimate motives and purposes of this man, and no doubt justifies other and different action against him. But in any event, referring to the special problem now before us, and considering only the harm not to come to us, I feel that I can do no less than to say that, so far as it is within the power of this court, this thing has got to stop.

Goldstein, responsible for creating this film, was sentenced to ten years in prison. The judgement was later affirmed by a higher court.

In times of tension and suspicion, governments take action that those in positions made safer by time or by distance may look upon with contempt. Let us not dwell on constructing an image of a foreign government as vile, nor should we grow too cynnical of the government of our own people without purpose. If you seek a conclusion from me, you may have it, but my point is ambiguity itself. All actions have their contexts. In the coming months, when some rally against action in Iran and others for it, consider that the more often a man stands on the fence, the more often he gets the best view of both sides.

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Note: Some of my links were to LexisNexis, which may not work for all. I have added notation for reference.

1.NEW YORK TIMES CO. v. SULLIVAN
2. UNITED STATES v. MOTION PICTURE FILM "THE SPIRIT OF '76"