NIAC Poll Disputed

Recently the Washington DC based, Iranian organization, The National Iranian American Council, have been promoting a "poll" claiming that 4 out of 5 Iranian/Americans oppose House Resolution 282 and S.333.

The following was sent to me from an Iranian expatriate disputing this claim and encouraging people to write their U.S. representatives. READ MORE

I am a strong supporter of H.R. 282 / S. 333 and NIAC does not represent me.

Dear Madam/Sir:

NIAC recently released a Press Release dated April 20, 2005, in which it claims that there is strong opposition among Iranian Americans to H.R. 282 / S. 333 (Iran Freedom Support Act), a bill that would make regime change official U.S. policy on Iran and eliminate the sunset provision on existing sanctions on Iran.

As a freedom loving and patriotic Iranian-American, who is well informed of the opinions of other Iranian-Americans within U.S., I find the method of NIAC’s findings suspicious, biased and the result of such findings dubious.

Following are my objections regarding NIAC’s Press Release and its survey:

1. NIAC’s survey allows the same person with exactly the same information (name, address, email address, etc.) to vote more than once from the same computer.

2. NIAC’s survey allows non-existing email address for the voter.

3. The voter can be sitting in Chicago but give a postal or residence address in Texas and as long as the zip code is in Texas NIAC’s survey will submit the vote without any objection. In other words, one can be sitting in the office of the cleric rulers in Iran and claim to be Iranian-American residing in Chicago and to pretend that they are residing in U.S. all they need to know is the zip code and for that they can go to here .

4. All the 504 votes, NIAC is claiming to have received, could have very well been cast by one individual and NIAC’s survey does not have the ability or capability to verify the reliability of the voters.

5. NIAC’s Press Release regarding the opponents of H.R. 282 states: “making regime change official US policy on Iran is the equivalent of declaring war. And through war, democracy cannot prevail. They also expressed concerns that a confrontational approach would prompt the Iranian regime to crack down on pro-democracy forces in Iran, making their work to bring democracy to Iran even harder.” NIAC’s Press Release regarding the opponents of H.R. 282 also states: “We should not waste tax-payers’ money on exiled groups that Iranians and Iranian Americans themselves refuse to fund.” However and not to my surprise, I noticed the sample form-letter that NIAC provided for its voters opposing the Bill having exactly the same wording (see it here) which states: Making regime change official US policy on Iran is the equivalent of declaring war. And through war, democracy cannot prevail. Such a confrontational approach by the United States will only prompt the Iranian regime to crack down on pro-democracy forces in Iran, making their work to bring democracy to Iran even harder. Did the person who wrote the Press Release also write the sample form-letter for opposing the Bill? Is this how impartial NIAC is?

6. NIAC in its sample form-letter that it provided to the voters opposing the Bill states: “most Iranian opposition groups in exile are neither democratic nor legitimate. We should not waste tax-payers’ money on exiled groups that Iranians and Iranian Americans themselves refuse to fund”. Are we to believe that NIAC is impartial when instead of addressing the Bill in question it attempts to discredit the opposition groups?

7. If according to the sample form-letter provided for the voters, most opposition groups in exile are neither democratic nor legitimate, then what can we call the 4 out of 5 that NIAC claims to be against the Bill? Members of most of the opposition groups (4 out of 5)? Non-democratic and lacking legitimacy?

8. NIAC’s Press Release states: “In 2003, findings from a NIAC letter writing campaign addressing the student riots in Iran during that summer showed 22 percent of Iranian Americans supporting U.S. funding of Iranian opposition groups and satellite TV channels. That number has now dropped to 17.5 percent.” However, going back to NIAC’s Press Release dated January 31, 2005 (see the chart here) it shows that suddenly only 8.5 percent of NIAC’s legitimate/democratic (or possibly illegitimate/undemocratic) voters supported US funding of the Iranian exiled opposition. 8.5% only 3 months ago and 17.5% now? Why such discrepancy? Is this not enough proof testifying to the unreliability and fallibility of NIAC’s survey?

NIAC does not represent me and I do not find NIAC as a true representation of the overwhelming Iranian-American living in this country.

As a patriotic Iranian-American I support any legislation including H.R. 282 / S. 333 (Iran Freedom Support Act) that would make regime change official U.S. policy on Iran.

Sincerely,

Signature:

CC: US Congressmen and Congresswomen

CC: US Senate Members

CC: Several thousand people via e-mail (Please pass this on)