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SHEEHAN: Mandela’s Legacy Lives on in Iranian Resistance – Townhall.com – Commentary

Posted in analysis, arak, ashraf, assad, baghdad, chemical weapons, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, freedom, geneva, global, hostages, human rights, human security, IAEA, intelligence, international relations, iran, iraq, israel, kerry, maliki, mandela, media, MEK, MI6, military, murder, NCRI, nuclear, obama, P5+1, paris, peace, PMOI, policy, politics, protest, rajavi, regime change, sanctions, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, tehran, terrorism, the hill, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons, white house on December 10, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

SHEEHAN: Mandela’s Legacy Lives on in Iranian Resistance – Townhall.com – Commentary

As the international community commemorates Human Rights Day and world leaders gather to mourn the loss of former South African President Nelson Mandela, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan takes to Townhall.com to contend that Mandela’s commitment to freedom and human rights lives on in the Iranian opposition.

UPDATE: 12/13 – Syndicated @ The Hill

Speaking from the White House briefing room shortly after Mandela’s passing, President Obama remembered his fellow Nobel Peace Prize recipient as a “a man who took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice.” Mandela’s principles – like those of the Iranian opposition – were forged in the crucible of injustice, exclusion, imprisonment, and exile. Like the Iranian opposition, he challenged the terror tag used to delegitimize his country’s quest for freedom. And like the Iranian opposition he rejected overtures that failed to address non-negotiable issues of injustice, asymmetry, and human rights. His tireless commitment to peace and justice inspired both hopes and fears but the long road to freedom he charted provides the contemporary architecture that inspires democratic movements seeking regime change from within.

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Sheehan Speaking at GMU on U.S. – Iran Conflict

Posted in analysis, ashraf, assad, baghdad, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, courses, covert, crimes against humanity, data, delisting, democracy, deterrence, diplomacy, dissident, DOMES, education, european union, evidence-based, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, global, gmu, hostages, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iraq, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, regime change, research, S-CAR, sanctions, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, teaching, tehran, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons, white house on November 15, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

U.S. – Iran Conflict: Beyond the Current Discourse / School for Conflict Analysis & Resolution / Center for the Study of Gender & Conflict/ George Mason University

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will participate in a conference on U.S.-Iran policy at George Mason University on November 23. Also speaking at the event will be:

Dr. Walid Phares, Adviser to Anti-Terrorism Caucus in U.S. House of Representatives and Co‐Secretary General of Transatlantic Euro-American Caucus Legislative Group on Counter Terrorism
Dr. Donna Hughes, Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair in Women’s Studies at the University of Rhode Island
Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan, Director of Graduate Programs in Negotiations and Conflict Management and Global Affairs and Human Security at the University of Baltimore
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad, Scholar and Practitioner at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University

Conflict Management in the Iranian Context: Diplomatic Engagement vs. Democratic Change from Within

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan

Presentation Abstract: Washington policymakers concerned with the Iranian regime’s human rights violations, proxy violence, and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction have grown accustomed to the false dichotomy of prolonged negotiations and tactical military strikes. Such framing treats the Iranian regime as a fixture of the Middle East landscape and forecloses any potential for democratic change from within. This discussion will challenge conventional assumptions about conflict management in the Iranian context by exploring the unintended consequences of the U.S. policy of engagement as well as the military option. The discussion will also explore the prospect of regime change from within via the organized Iranian opposition.

Sheehan Article Featured on MSNBC

Posted in analysis, ashraf, assad, baghdad, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, crimes against humanity, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, freedom, ginsberg, global, hostages, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iraq, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, MSNBC, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, PMOI, policy, politics, rajavi, regime change, sanctions, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, tehran, terrorism, the hill, think-tank, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons, white house on November 4, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

An article by Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan was featured on MSNBC in advance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s visit to the White House on Nov. 1. The commentary was featured in an interview with Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco., who described Maliki as part of the problem and not the solution. #Screenshot

SHEEHAN: Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill

Background Readings –

Sheehan to Participate in Twitter Q&A

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TWITTER Q&A – DR. IVAN SASCHA SHEEHAN (@ProfSheehan)

– OCTOBER 31 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM (USA EST)

On the eve of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s visit with U.S. President Barack Obama, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will participate in a Twitter Q&A hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Foreign Affairs Committee. You can participate in the live discussion by tweeting questions and comments to @iran_policy using the #FreeThe7.

Dr. Sheehan will address questions related to US-Iran policy, Iraqi complicity in recent violence directed at the Iranian opposition, and measures that must be taken in the U.S. Congress and by the White House to curtail Tehran’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

SHEEHAN: Challenging a Terrorist Tag in the Media: Framing the Politics of Resistance and an Iranian Opposition Group – Digest of Middle East Studies – Fall 2013 – Vol. 22, Issue 2

SHEEHAN: Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill

SHEEHAN: Time for Scholars to Examine Iranian Opposition – UPI.com

SHEEHAN: During Debate on Syria, U.S. Officials Must Also Protect Iranian Opposition – Diplomatic Courier

Dr. Sheehan will also remark on recent appearances where he addressed matters related to Iran policy in the U.S. Congress as well as in the academic community.

SHEEHAN: Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill – Commentary

Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill – Commentary

Posted in analysis, ashraf, assad, baghdad, chemical weapons, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, european union, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, freedom, gingrich, global, hostages, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, iran, iran policy committee, iraq, israel, killing, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, military, mossad, murder, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, rajavi, regime change, republican, rhetoric, sanctions, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, tehran, terrorism, the hill, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons, white house on October 24, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

In advance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s visit to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published in The Hill on the need for the White House to press the Iraqi leader to explain the recent massacre of Iranian refugees in northeast Iraq and signal a decisive shift in policy toward Tehran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s November 1 visit to Washington will say as much about the United States’ Iran policy as it does about future relations with Baghdad… Analysts will be watching closely to see if Mr. Obama leverages his influence over the leader that many are calling a puppet of the Iranian regime…

…The meeting poses a dilemma for the Obama White House: Embrace the Iraqi leader and signal the Iranian regime that the U.S. will bless the unholy alliance between Tehran and Baghdad by turning a blind eye to the slaughter of Iranian dissidents; or reject the failed strategy of appeasement and engage Tehran – via Baghdad – from a position of strength.

Time for Scholars to Examine Iranian Opposition – UPI.com – Commentary

Posted in analysis, briefing, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, debate, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, freedom, gingrich, global, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iraq, israel, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, peace, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, rajavi, regime change, republican, sanctions, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war on October 18, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

SHEEHAN: Time for Scholars to Examine Iranian Opposition – UPI.com – Commentary

With the latest round of P5+1 nuclear negotiations in Geneva concluded, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published through United Press International on the need for the academic community to consider the wisdom of existing Iran policy in light of recent violence directed at the Iranian opposition detained in Iraq.

Tehran’s negotiating style, which relies on the cyclical use of threat and accommodation, has frustrated the West and served the regime’s ultimate interest – buying time for nuclear armament… Attention to these matters in scholarly circles is needed to ensure that the false dichotomy of prolonged negotiations and tactical military strikes is rejected and other tools for averting an Iranian nuclear crisis considered…

…The slaughter of Iranian dissidents comes at a challenging time for the Obama White House. Condemning the act of Iraqi aggression, carried out on behalf of Iran, could jeopardize sensitive backroom negotiations on the nuclear issue and the policy of appeasement that the administration seems inclined to pursue. It also raises questions as to the legality of providing military assistance to Iraqi forces in view of the Leahy law and Arms Export Control Act.

Digest of Middle East Studies (DOMES) / Wiley-Blackwell / Policy Studies Organization / Online ISSN: 1949-3606 / Fall 2013, Vol. 22, Issue 2

Sheehan Study on Iranian Opposition Published in Digest of Middle East Studies

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Challenging a Terrorist Tag in the Media: Framing the Politics of Resistance and an Iranian Opposition Group – Digest of Middle East Studies – Fall 2013 – Vol. 22, Issue 2

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published in the latest edition of the Digest of Middle East Studies, a peer reviewed journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Policy Studies Organization. The journal is edited by Middle East scholar Professor Mohammed M. Aman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Study Abstract:

Scholars have shown that media framing has a powerful effect on citizen perception and policy debates. Research has provided less insight into the ability of marginalized actors to promote their preferred frames in the media in a dynamic political context. The efforts of an exiled Iranian opposition group to get its name removed from official terror lists in the US, UK and EU provides a valuable platform to examine this problem. Using content analysis, I explore how the group promoted its frames in the opinion sections of major world news publications over nine years (2003–2012). I then examine the extent to which journalists aligned to its frames, as opposed to rival official frames, over time in the larger arena of news. The results support research showing that by nurturing small opportunities, marginalized political actors can expand media capacity and influence, but these effects are mediated at least in part by critical or focusing events that make rival frames less salient. The study sheds light on the complex relationship between activists, the government and the media. It has implications for the ability of marginalized political actors to get their frames into public discourse. It also has implications for terror tagging and media coverage of other controversial issues.

Sheehan to Speak at National Security Briefing on Capitol Hill

Posted in analysis, assad, briefing, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, delisting, democracy, deterrence, diplomacy, dissident, european union, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, freedom, global, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iran policy committee, iraq, israel, killing, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, murder, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, presidential election, rajavi, regime change, republican, sanctions, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons on October 8, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

IRAN: Hassan Rouhani’s “Words” and “Deeds” / Foreign Affairs and National Security Briefing / Rayburn House Office Building RHOB-2226 (Capitol Hill, Rayburn Bldg.)/ U.S. Congress / October 9, 2013

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan has been invited to speak at a national security briefing in the U.S. Congress on October 9, 2013. The event – open to Members of Congress, congressional staffers, and select media – will be held in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. The briefing will feature remarks from:

Hon. Michael Mukasey, 81st Attorney General of the United States;
Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chair, Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa, House Foreign Affairs Committee;
Hon. Ted Poe (R-TX), Chair, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Non-Proliferation and Trade, House Foreign Affairs Committee;
Hon. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, House Foreign Affairs Committee;
Hon. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Chair, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging threats, House Foreign Affairs Committee;
Hon. Judy Chu (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee;
Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security;
Col. Thomas Cantwell, Commandant of Camp Ashraf, Iraq (2003-2004)
Col. Wes Martin, Chief Anti-terrorism, Protection Officer for Coalition Forces, Iraq (2006-2007);
Prof. Ivan Sascha Sheehan, Director, Negotiation and Conflict Management/ Global Affairs and Human Security, School of Public and International Affairs, University of Baltimore

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Sheehan Invited to Address University of Nebraska Omaha’s Global Studies Conference

Posted in analysis, assad, bloomfield, CIA, clinton, college of public affairs, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, debate, delisting, democracy, deterrence, diplomacy, dissident, european union, evidence-based, fordow, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, freedom, global, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iraq, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, peace, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, rajavi, regime change, research, sanctions, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, soldier, state department, strike, syria, teaching, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, university of baltimore, unrest, war, weapons on October 1, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will speak at the 36th Annual Global Studies Conference at the University of Nebraska Omaha on October 3-4, 2013. The theme for the conference is Regime Change and Civil Society after the Arab Spring. Dr. Sheehan will discuss recent violence directed at the primary opposition to clerical rule in Iran, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/PMOI), and the increasing recognition among policy officials that the Paris-based de-facto Parliament-in-Exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), is best positioned to promote democratic change from within through a soft revolution.

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During Debate on Syria, U.S. Officials Must Also Protect Iranian Opposition – Commentary

Posted in analysis, assad, CIA, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, diplomatic courier, dissident, foreign policy, freedom, human rights, intelligence, international relations, iran, iraq, killing, maliki, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, NCRI, obama, PMOI, policy, regime change, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, war on September 4, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

SHEEHAN: During Debate on Syria, U.S. Officials Must Also Protect Iranian Opposition – Commentary

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan in the Diplomatic Courier on the September 1 assault on Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf and the need to protect the Iranian opposition.

As the U.S. debates the merits of action in support of the Syrian people, senior U.S. officials should not lose sight of those that have long supported freedom in Iran…. Just as brutal acts of violence directed at the Syrian people should not go unpunished, neither should heinous assaults on unarmed Iranian dissidents–including women and children…

The violence against the Iranian resistance is a clear violation of the quadripartite agreement signed by the Iraqi Government and ratified by the U.S. Government and the United Nations on August 17, 2012.

–Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan

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Iranian Elections and a Persian Spring – Commentary

Posted in analysis, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, european union, evidence-based, foreign policy, freedom, global, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, iran, iraq, israel, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, presidential election, protest, rajavi, regime change, republican, sanctions, sheehan, state department, strike, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons on June 23, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

SHEEHAN: Iranian Elections and a Persian Spring – Commentary

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan from Paris on the deteriorating situation in Iran and the prospects for an Iranian spring.

Those gathering in Paris urged the international community to reset Iran policy by acknowledging that the strategy of appeasement failed and that sham elections are not a substitute for authentic democracy. They also asked world leaders to pay as much attention to the people of Iran as they do the regime’s authoritarian rulers by supporting democratic change from within.

—Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan

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Sheehan Invited to Paris to Attend Annual Conference for Democratic Change in Iran

Posted in analysis, brussels, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, foreign policy, freedom, gingrich, global, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, iran, iraq, israel, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, mossad, NCRI, nuclear, obama, paris, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, presidential election, protest, rajavi, regime change, research, sanctions, sheehan, state department, strike, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war on June 17, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

On June 22, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will travel to Paris as a guest of the Organizing Committee for the Convention of Democracy in Iran to serve as an academic observer at an international gathering of expatriate Iranians. The event will feature remarks from leaders from more than fifty countries, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. policymakers, and distinguished academics from around the world. Democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and prospects for an Iranian Spring will be discussed in the wake of the tightly controlled presidential elections held on June 14th. UPDATE: #PHOTOS

The Opposition on the Eve of the Iranian Elections – Commentary

Posted in analysis, CIA, congress, counterterrorism, covert, databases, delisting, democracy, democrat, deterrence, diplomacy, dissident, european union, evidence-based, foreign policy, global, human rights, intelligence, international relations, iran, iran policy committee, iraq, israel, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, presidential election, protest, rajavi, regime change, republican, research, sanctions, scholarly, sheehan, state department, strike, tanter, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war on June 13, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

SHEEHAN & TANTER: The Opposition on the Eve of the Iranian Elections – Commentary

Professors Ivan Sascha Sheehan and Raymond Tanter at United Press International on the need for the U.S. officials to make an evidence-based assessment of the Iranian regime and their opposition in the wake of the tightly controlled presidential elections on June 14.

Challenging the regime by acknowledging the facts is the first step toward providing ordinary Iranians what they will be denied at the ballot box on Friday: An opportunity to exercise self determination armed with credible information.

–Sheehan & Tanter