Perhaps sensing that the phrase “deeply disappointing” conveyed a naivete and disinclination to do anything about the convicted American journalist, the president has now said that he is “gravely concerned” about the conviction of Roxana Saberi. FOX News reports:

“She is an American citizen and I have complete confidence that she was not engaging in any sort of espionage,” Obama said. “She is an Iranian American who was interested in the country which her family came from. And it is appropriate for her to be treated as such and to be released.”

“Appropriate” for her to be released? (Hmm. Not “necessary” or “imperative,” but appropriate.)  Does that convey a sense of urgency to the mullahs, any hint that their actions have consequences? Perhaps with steely-eyed determination we are conveying in private that this action is intolerable and will impact any productive relationship Iran might expect with the Obama administration. Maybe behind closed doors we are telling the Iranians that we will take measured but swift action if they do not release an America citizen from the dungeons of Evin. But even if we are, I would think that message is undercut by the polite public language.

Contrast the president’s language with that of the two senators from Saberi’s home state (where she previously won the title of Miss North Dakota) as related by The Hill:

North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad (D) also released a statement Saturday calling the prison sentence “preposterous.”

“She is a well respected journalist and the charges against her are baseless,” Conrad said. “She was tried in a secret trial without her attorney even being present. That is a travesty of justice.”

Conrad’s remarks also highlighted the wedge that the verdict could drive into rapprochement attempts.

“Iran is doing enormous damage to their creditability on the world stage with behavior like this,” he said.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) called the incident a “shocking miscarriage of justice” in a Saturday.

Unfortunately, the forcefulness of the their language remains unmatched by the White House, which is the only voice that matters in these things.

One final thought: I can’t help but look at the photo of the lovely Ms. Saberi and wonder about her appearance after  two and a half months in Evin prison, or think of how she will look if her full eight year sentence is carried out. For a primer on how prisoners are treated there, go here.

One hopes the full force of the United States government is being applied to rescue one of our own citizens from a hellish captivity. And if we cannot find the words to properly express outrage or the will to force her release, we can expect that the Iranians and many other dictatorial regimes will conclude they have free rein to take pot shots at America and nab our citizens.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 7:40 PM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.