By now, you have no doubt seen the images leaked from Iran, victims of a ruthless dictatorial regime that is massacring its own people. While a near-total communications blackout makes exact causality counts impossible, estimates reported by CBS News put the death toll at more than 20,000.
These victims are not terrorists, as the regime claims. They are regular Iranians, young and old, rural and urban, demanding a shot at a real life, where they can speak and think freely, and choose who governs them. They are demanding an end to a regime that wastes the resources and lives of a once great country to fund terror and aggression throughout the Middle East.
But we are left to wonder: where is the outrage and where are the expressions of support from our leaders? Where are the campus protesters who claim to speak for and fight for the very things their Iranian peers are dying for? Is it not the bare minimum we owe these brave Iranians to express solidarity so they know they are not alone and that the American people are with them?
Here at No Labels, we will be monitoring the social media accounts and public statements of members of Congress to see who is rising to the occasion and who is conspicuously silent at what could be a truly historic moment.
Join us this Friday, January 16 at 1:00 PM ET for a conversation with Behnam Ben Taleblu, Senior Director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Behnam is one of the leading experts on Iranian security and political issues, and his analysis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and on C-SPAN. He appeared on C-SPAN earlier this week, discussing the protests and potential US response, and recently co-authored analysis on how the administration should respond to this crisis.
If you want to directly support organizations documenting human rights abuses and advocating for Iranian protesters, consider donating to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), an independent nonprofit that investigates violations, provides accurate information to policymakers, and amplifies the voices of those risking their lives for freedom.
The Iranian people are fighting for their future. The least we can do is let them know they are not fighting alone.
