Robert A. Seiple (born December 6, 1942) is an American non-profit executive, former military officer, university administrator, and diplomat. He served as the athletic director at Brown University from 1975 to 1979. (wikipedia)
It brings to mind all the potential cases that may arise there and in Iraq, in the future ? which takes it to a whole new level.
Relative to what's at stake, it's trivial. What was at stake was a violation of the core principle of the universality of the human right of religious liberty.
How this gets handled will determine much about our dream, of having democracy in an Islamic country, reinforcing one another.
If Rahman is released or found to be mentally unstable or if this is one-time deal making, what we have is not universal freedom of conscience, but government benevolence. It peaks and valleys depending on how winds are blowing.
This is the most distinctive gift that America has to give. We've been working this for 200 years, and we've earned the right to export it, but we also have international covenants. When something happens, we have the right to speak out on the highest of principles.
