In Case You Missed It: Trading with the Enemy | Op-Ed by UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, Appears in Tuesday's New York Post

In Case You Missed It: Trading with the Enemy

Op-Ed by UANI President, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, Appears in Tuesday's New York Post

Trading with the enemy

As Iran helps kill our troops, multinationals do biz with both sides

By MARK D. WALLACE

New York Post 

July 26, 2011

It may not be politically expedient to admit, but Iran is engaged in a live, "hot" war with the United States and its NATO allies -- even as we continue to do business with it.

US officials have recently detailed Iran's latest hostile military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the training and arming of insurgent groups directly responsible for the death of many Americans on the battlefield.

As Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said while visiting Iraq, "We are very concerned about Iran and the weapons they are providing to extremists here in Iraq . . . In June, we lost a hell of a lot of Americans as a result of those attacks. And we cannot just simply stand back and allow this to continue to happen."

Iran is deliberately killing US troops and has been for years. Last month was the deadliest for Americans in Iraq since 2009; the US military attributed most of the casualties to Shia extremists who'd received training and weaponry from Iran. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen said, "Iran is very directly supporting extremist Shia groups which are killing our troops."

Iran's war against America extends to Afghanistan, where both US and NATO troops each day face Iranian-armed foes. In March, British special forces intercepted a Taliban convoy carrying 48 Iranian-made 122mm rockets. Gen. David Petraeus notes that al Qaeda operatives use Iran as a transit point to travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the full knowledge of the Iranian government.

Plus, Iran has trained an estimated 3,000 Taliban fighters within its borders. One Taliban commander frankly said, "Our religions and our histories are different, but our target is the same -- we both want to kill Americans."

It's past time for US policymakers to at least acknowledge Iran's war with our nation and adopt appropriate policies and laws -- especially when it comes to the international business community and its all-too-convenient blinders.

By continuing to do business in Iran, major corporations are lining the pockets of a regime that is killing US and NATO troops.

While some companies, such as Caterpillar and Terex, have voluntarily and commendably pulled out of Iran, such multinationals as Nokia, Nissan and Honeywell continue their business there. And even as they enrich a regime engaged in killing Americans, these corporations benefit from US federal and state contracts worth billions.

In the past, Western firms were stigmatized for doing business with America's enemies, yet today large companies do business in Iran with impunity and even receive billion-dollar contracts from our Defense Department. This is obscene.

What should American policymakers do? As a first crucial step, our federal and state governments should pass tough laws to bar companies that do business in Iran from getting government contracts.

For the moment, gridlock seems to be preventing action in Washington. So United Against Nuclear Iran has been working with state legislatures to pass "contract debarment" laws. Such statutes prohibit firms that do business in Iran from maintaining their state contracts, forcing them to choose between Iran and America for business -- with an obvious outcome.

California is now enforcing its own version, the 2010 Iran Contracting Act, and has already successfully pressured numerous multinationals to end their business in Iran; Florida implemented a similar law this month. The other 48 states should follow suit and take a stand against companies that are empowering a regime that kills US soldiers.

It's time for all members of the international business community to recognize that their business in Iran is enriching a regime that's at war with America and its NATO allies. US policymakers and business leaders must acknowledge that Iran is a wartime enemy and take strong measures against a regime that has American blood on its hands.

Mark D. Wallace is president of United Against Nuclear Iran. He served as US ambassador to the United Nations, as representative for UN management and reform.

Click here to view the Op-Ed on the New York Post's website.

Click here to visit UANI's Model Legislation homepage.

Click here to read UANI's new Iran Contracting Model Legislation on contract debarment.
Click here to send a message to your State Governor and Representatives to pass UANI's Iran Contracting Legislation.