Aleppo Tragedy is a Stark Reminder of the Price of Western Neglect

Fox News

UANI Advisory Board Member Giulio Terzi in Fox News: "The carnage in Aleppo is a much stronger reminder than we should have ever needed about the importance of a change in Western foreign policies. President Obama's attempt to "reorient" U.S. foreign policy has in practice turned into the outright abandonment of the U.S. role in the Middle East. And the people of Aleppo are only some of those who have suffered or might suffer as a result. Through its withdrawal from Middle Eastern affairs, the Obama administration has had a devastating impact on Western interests in the region. But perhaps more importantly, it has had a devastating effect on the civilian populations of the region, chiefly those of Syria and Iran... in Iran, the theocratic regime that came to power after the 1979 Islamic revolution is harvesting the fruits of a misguided nuclear agreement. The regime has sought to enrich itself with new Western partnerships, but has by no means diminished its anti-Western rhetoric or its threats against other nations in the region. Quite the contrary, that rhetoric and those threats have increased, and Iran has used its newfound wealth to deepen its involvement in the affairs of nearby countries, with Syria being especially prominent among them... The crisis in Iran is far less obvious to those who aren't closely watching the country. But those who are understand that public discontent is at an all-time high, necessitating a persistent crackdown on political and civil activism, labor rights movements, and so on... There is a need for a shift not only toward reengaging with the Middle East, but also toward engaging with the popular sentiment in those countries, often for the first time. That sentiment isn't difficult to understand. The people of Iran want to be free of the repressive theocratic government that jails people for dissent or for being in the same room as someone of the opposite sex. And of course they also want their government to cease wasting Iranian resources in supporting the Assad regime and shedding innocent blood on foreign soil."