There is an unfortunate tendency within American foreign policy circles to develop irrational hatreds. Part of this is the product of partisanship: Within the halls of Congress, too often countries cease being partners and instead become political footballs. And part of it is tunnel vision. Human rights are important, but those who define themselves as activists are frequently unwilling to understand either the complexities of other societies or accept that the potential for instability is real, and the results of that instability could lead to far worse human rights situations.

Consider Iran under the Shah: Iran was an important Cold War ally for the U.S. and, in the words of Jimmy Carter, “an island of stability in a sea of turmoil.” Iran’s lynchpin status led successive American administrations to paper over differences with the Shah. As Secretary of State Cyrus Vance explained in his memoirs, Carter was unwilling to turn a blind eye to the Shah’s human rights abuses. The Shah had long been unpopular among diplomats and, as Iranians took to the streets to protest his dictatorial ways, many in the State Department counseled in favor of abandoning the pro-American leader. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski explained that “the lower echelons at State, notably the head of the Iran Desk … were motivated by doctrinal dislike of the Shah and simply wanted him out of power altogether.” They got their wish. Human rights activists swore until they were blue in the face that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was, as Senate aide William Miller described him, “a progressive force for human rights.” Richard Falk, a Princeton political scientist who was influential in the Carter administration and later enjoyed senior U.N. appointments, urged the White House to embrace Khomeini. “The depiction of him [Khomeini] as fanatical, reactionary, and the bearer of crude prejudices seems certainly and happily false,” he explained, adding, “His close advisers are uniformly composed of moderate, progressive individuals … who share a notable record of concern with human rights.” Of course, what followed, was an all-out assault on human rights that has led Iranians to pine for the days of the Shah.