Devastating New Report

Today on Sekulow, a devastating new report as the ACLJ and the ECLJ take action at the United Nations. Keeping you informed and engaged, now more than ever, this is Sekulow. We want to hear from you.

Share and post your comments or call 1-800-684-3110. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow. The Human Rights Council at the United Nations meets February 28th through April 1st, but they prepare for this 49th session. And groups like the ACLJ working alongside our colleagues at the European Center for Law and Justice, which is a recognized organization within the UN apparatus. We have put together countries which we believe desire particular attention by the UN Human Rights Council. And the first of those, many of you could probably guess, what is the country that's shifted the most when it comes to human rights between 2021 and today? It's Afghanistan. And let me just tell you how bad in Afghanistan. This is in our report. We also did reports on other countries as well. We'll go through some of those.

Nigeria, Myanmar, Pakistan, where we have an office, India as well. But the situation, this is from our report quoting it, the situation for Christians has become so dangerous under Taliban rule that in its 2022 World Watch List report, Open Doors listed Afghanistan as the worst place, think about that, the worst place for Christians to live in the entire world. Now if you said, well, it's always been a war zone and we had troops there, we had 2,500 troops there and girls were going to school.

Was it perfect? No. It was never number one on this list. In fact, it's the first time in 10 years that another nation has exceeded North Korea's persecution level. You know, we talk about life issues and we always talk about how the US is stuck with North Korea and China as the only countries in the world that allow that kind of abortion on demand with no restrictions at the national level. Think about this, for 10 years, no other country came close to North Korea's specific persecution of Christians. And now for the first time, all really since the US began withdrawing and the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, it is now the worst place to live as a Christian. Think about how quickly and how these policy decisions change things so quickly on the ground. For the first time in 10 years, in this short window that the Taliban's been in control, it is worse than North Korea. And the tragedy of this, of course, is the fact that the Biden administration moved forward on this and with the withdrawal. And that's what gave the Taliban the capability of doing this. They didn't have that before.

Now they do. And that is what is also been causing this increased persecution. But to beat North Korea as the worst persecutor on religious liberty or religious freedom in the world is a big, big statement. And fan, people need to understand that when we're putting these reports together, that this is a big effort by the American Center for Law and Justice and our European Center for Law and Justice affiliates.

We've got multiple teams working on these reports and we will make oral presentations to the United Nations in just a few weeks. Well, first of all, Jay, what a perfect example of U.S. foreign policy having the impact of life and death around the world. And Jay, it's in that space that our work at the ACLJ actually becomes even more important because we speak into voids that the United States government is not speaking in.

But Jay, you're right. I mean, this takes a big team to pull off. And I want to get into some of the details in a later segment, but you talk about legal efforts on the ground with our affiliate offices. You talk about advocacy at the United Nations, at the Human Rights Council. And then you talk about taking action, working with partners on the ground to actually make things happen.

Jay takes a lot of people, takes a lot of resources. But again, life and death impact based on these actions that were taken. You know, folks, the ACLJ is able to do all this work. We work in partnership with the European Center for Law and Justice.

When we go through the report on Pakistan that we did, every case that we're talking about is a case that we're directly working on through our office in Lahore, Pakistan. We need your financial support at the ACLJ to continue this work. Donate today at ACLJ.org. That's ACLJ.org. Donate today. Support our work.

That's ACLJ.org. And you can see all these reports that we're doing, reports. But we're on the ground doing these cases.

Remember that. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work.

Become a member today. ACLJ.org. We're personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases. How we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists. The ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later. A play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry. And what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. So again, I just want to underscore, the UN, we're able to do these reports. Everybody can't do this. You have to have special status with the United Nations. And these were not countries dictated to us. They do that each year. They go through a group of countries.

They call it Universal Periodic Review. That's of every country in the world. What's their human rights situation? What's their situation with all these different kinds of human rights? These are countries we've decided that the UN Human Rights Council must take particular concern and pay specific attention to. Now I want to underscore, when we write about these, in some countries, we're not on the ground. It's true, like in Myanmar, we're talking about the situation there.

It is that bad. But for instance, in Pakistan, we have an office. Every single violation, and what the UN likes is specific. They don't like always just hearing, oh, this is the worst place now. They need cases. They need individuals. And you understand that, folks.

If I tell you a place is so horrible, but I can't give you a story about how it's affecting an individual and their family, it's a lot tougher to really take in and understand. So every case we talk about in our report on Pakistan is part of our Pakistan office's caseload. So these are our actual cases. And as we note, this is how that report begins. In its previous report to the council, the ECLJ highlighted three cases of major concern that involved serious human rights violation under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, abuse of young Christian and Hindu girls at the hands of the Muslim majority, and exploitation due to the continued practice of bonded slave labor.

We bring two of these cases again to the council's attention with one new case. All three require immediate intervention as Pakistani authorities have failed to provide justice. Now this is a country that has systems in place that can do the right thing.

That's right. You've got to push and push. One of the reasons why you have to push so hard is even the judges and prosecutors, their life can be in jeopardy. No, it's because the corruption is significant and there's all kinds of radicals.

Yeah, and there's radicals running it. But what is important to point out here, both in Afghanistan and the situation in Pakistan, is that lives are on the line here. So when we're putting these reports together, this is not just merely putting together some information that might be interesting to the United Nations. This is putting real cases with real people in front of the UN council here.

Now, what's important to understand is the Human Rights Council has a bias, and that bias is always towards Israel. And they don't really like hearing about Muslim countries that have engaged, Muslim majority countries that have engaged in this. But we go back to Afghanistan for a moment, and let's be honest, the withdrawal that was done by the Biden administration increased the religious persecution and death to Christians and other religious minorities in Afghanistan. And it did so significantly. 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan kept women going to school, religious minorities not being persecuted and killed in the streets. In a matter of months, that changed. This is the first time in years that another nation has exceeded, as we said earlier, North Korea's persecution level on this list that was put together by a religious liberty open doors, which really does monitor these things on a very significant basis. Not because improvements of human rights in North Korea, but because of the increased situation in Afghanistan.

And this was a failure of the United States. And by the way, if you're watching on any of our social media outlets, we encourage you as we give you analysis, you're not going to get elsewhere on this. We want to encourage you to share this feed with your friends right now.

Really important that you do this. Our director of policy, Harry Hutchinson, is with us. These reports, Harry, and putting this forward before the Human Rights Council is a very important part of our advocacy for people that really can't speak up for themselves.

I think that's precisely correct. And now more than ever, it's very, very important because the U.S. government, under the direction of Joe Biden, has engaged in a number of policy failures that are both shocking and, in my opinion, deliberate. We have experienced a fundamental upheaval in policy, particularly in Afghanistan, where the Biden administration precipitously withdrew American troops and therefore protection of both Americans and Christians in Afghanistan. So the Biden administration essentially said to those individuals, Christians and Americans in Afghanistan, you are on your own. We really don't care because we want to put the interest of the progressive globalist elites first. And this is not something that the progressive globalist elites are very, very concerned about. This cuts against their entire theory.

I think that is correct. And so what is necessary is for organizations like the ACLJ to fill in this gap, this vacancy in U.S. policy. The Biden administration has engaged in craven failure after craven failure from Afghanistan to Iran to Southeast Asia. Whenever there's an opportunity for the Biden administration to show its fecklessness and spinelessness to the entire world, it basically takes advantage of that opportunity. And that is why we have to all be concerned about what's going on in Afghanistan, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Burma. And oftentimes, how these countries are treating their own people is how they act on the world stage. So if there are human rights abusers, if you're China, how does China act on the world stage?

If you're Pakistan, how do you work on the world stage? And there's other countries, and I want to bring this one up. Nigeria, under the Trump administration, was listed as a country by the State Department, a country of particular concern, because the government has failed to secure about 50% of its population. So it's a country that is 50% Muslim and 50% Christian.

So it's not a tiny Christian minority. The problem has been the government has been unable or unwilling to secure Christians from attacks by radical Islamic groups. And why in the world during a time that is like the one you're describing, Jordan, would the U.S. administration take that particular country off a list that is asking the United Nations to focus on them?

That's what the Biden administration did. They took them off the list of countries of particular concern, and we are making the case that that was a mistake. Jordan, just higher level, let me tell you two very important things that I think these reports that we put together do. Number one, they connect the dots, like the case that you're talking about here, between a foreign policy decision by the United States and ramifications around the world. And Jordan, here's the other thing, maybe the even more important thing, it helps set the agenda for this Human Rights Council. I mean, there's going to be more than a month here, basically the month of March, where they're going to focus on human rights issues around the world. If nobody steps up and says anything, and right now the United States is not doing so, the focus is all going to be about Israel. Like Jay said, when we bring specific cases to them, Jordan, and can show them documented evidence of things that are happening on the ground, they really have no choice but to take those issues up as part of the agenda.

So, yeah, it takes a team in, you know, D.C. and Virginia Beach and Tennessee and Strasburg and Geneva and New York to pull that off. But Jordan, if we don't do it, so many times these issues will actually, they'll be completely ignored during the session. Because we do it at a little bit different level.

Let's be realistic here, and this is not to knock any other group. Okay, I want to be very clear on that. We do it at a very different level. We engage it both in writing, because we have offices on the ground in some of these countries, but also in oral interventions.

You've done them, I've done them, fans done them, our team in Strasburg has done them. It's important to be front and center on that, because what that does is enable us to report firsthand. And what we're doing is getting actual action from this. We've had people released from prison because of our advocacy at these levels.

That's right. And, you know, Secretary Pompeo is going to be joining us next. Putting people like that on our team. Former Secretary of State for the United States of America. He also headed up the CIA for America, so you've got this intel plus diplomatic background. Rick Rinnell, who's got the diplomatic background first as ambassador, spent 10 years at the UN before that, then went into intel as acting director of national intelligence. Putting that team together, while we've been building on this decades-long work at the United Nations, and speaking out on these issues, not allowing these countries to go and act like everything in their country is fine.

We call them out. Part of this is when you go to the UN and the Human Rights Council, these countries rotate on and off the council. The U.S. thought it was so corrupt they left under the Trump administration.

Because they weren't doing anything about these specific countries. What it allows you to do, you get to name and shame publicly world powers. No other place you can really do that. You can do it on your radio broadcast.

That's not our audience, though. These are international actors. You get to go into their home at the UN, where that's their safe space for a lot of these bad actors, and call them out. We're doing that, and we're going to make some announcements coming up in the next several weeks and months. This year, we're going to make some major moves on that international front that are going to be very significant.

I mean, I'm talking about, we had our Now More Than Ever campaign. This is the next phase of it. We're taking specific, concrete action to protect those that cannot speak out for themselves. We have Mike Pompeo joining us coming up.

I want you to share this feed again with your friends. But also, I'm going to ask you to support the work of the American Center for Law and Justice, the European Center for Law and Justice, our media outreach, our advocacy, our government affairs work, all of that because of your support of the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. You've got an email coming today on this very issue on persecution. We encourage you to support the work of the ACLJ so we can deploy more people to defend those who cannot speak for themselves. ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, the play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today.

ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Sekulow. Folks, I encourage you to share the broadcast right now if you're watching with us. But we are joined by our Senior Counsel for Global Affairs, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Secretary Pompeo, I want to jump right to it, because this is probably surprising news to a lot of people in the midst of the Olympics and all the stories around that.

It's gotten blurbs, but it has not gotten the attention it deserves. So on Friday, surprise, surprise, the Biden administration announces they're granting some sanctions relief. That alone is pretty shocking to the Iranians. But here's what's more shocking, the kind of sanctions relief in the form of waivers related to civilian nuclear activity. Why is the Biden administration now removing any sanctions from Iran? Because they won't go to the negotiating table, really. But the second is nuclear sanctions, really?

I mean, that's what we're going to start lifting, Secretary Pompeo? Jordan, you've asked me to explain, frankly, the unexplainable. I can't wrap my head around it. I try to be generous and think through why someone might have done it. And anyone who's negotiated anything, whether you're trying to purchase a used car or just simply get your children to do what you want them to do, you don't give them a gift with nothing in expectation of return. Right.

This just doesn't doesn't work. That's what they did here. This this reeks of desperation. American diplomats are headed back to Vienna this week. They're going to try and cut this deal to protect what President Obama had done during his time, this nuclear deal, which guaranteed a pathway for a nuclear weapon. The ramifications are really deep for the Israelis. They'll now confront an Iran that not only has a nuclear weapons program, but money and wealth. They'll likely release some twenty nine billion dollars in funds that the Trump administration has frozen, giving the Iranians the ability to do lots more work, lots more terror. And we should never forget, this is the same regime that held Americans hostage for 444 days before President Reagan came into office. You know, Mike, one of the things that I'm deeply concerned about and Harry Hutchinson, our director of policy, and I were just talking about this during the break to our online audiences.

And that is why in the world they would do this while, you know, this is all going on. I mean, you've got the Middle East situation is has improved so drastically when you were in office because of the Abraham Accords. And then I look back at negotiators are coming back into Vienna, the United States saying this is a make or break session to get a deal with Iran.

And then you get the sanction waivers going at the same time. So what I'm trying to figure out is do they want a deal so badly to get back into what President Obama had done previously that they will do anything at this point? How, in other words, what else could that you're releasing twenty nine billion dollars. You are giving them civilian nuclear activity.

What else could you possibly do? Jay, there's still more sanctions they could give up, but their leverage, the leverage that was provided to them when they came into office, they've basically described throwing it away. This this has this has deep ramifications to more broadly. It's bad for Iran. It's bad for the Middle East. Your point about the Abraham Accords is exactly spot on. If you're the next country thinking about making friends with Israel and the American administration is playing footsie with the Iranians, you're less likely to recognize Israel's rightful Jewish homeland. This is also being watched by Putin and Xi and Chairman Kim. They can see that if you negotiate with your Americans and just hang on for a bit, they'll give you what you want. It's incomprehensible to me to think that they that the administration, the Biden administration couldn't believe this would further America's interests vis Iran or anyplace else in the world. It seems like it would have further the interest, though, of China and Russia and other European companies who were willing to look, turn a blind eye. And we've seen German companies who were sometimes responsible for building some of these early nuclear facilities into the mountains and helping build those. But did it, you know, at a time when we were talking about Chinese genocide and the Olympics, that kind of focus, there's even the focus about where did that Uighur athlete go?

Who was in the opening ceremonies? Hasn't been, you know, has not been, the press hasn't had an opportunity to speak to her. But at the same time, we're talking about more sanctions on Russia. We have, because of Ukraine specifically, we're going to be sanctioning Russia by the same time opening up an entire new financial incentive for them in Iran.

These are all deeply connected. The world saw Xi and Putin stand together at the opening of the genocide Olympic. We saw them cozying up to each other, essentially posing a challenge to the West, to the United States, to Europe and India and to Japan and South Korea, saying, all right, here's our team. This is what we look like. This is what authoritarianism looks like. This is what the denial of basic human rights. This is what the denial of any religious freedom.

This is what it looks like. What are you prepared to do about it? And when the answer to that is allow them to shut down a pipeline here in the United States where gasoline flowed, do nothing to let them build Nord Stream 2 and put Europe more at risk.

And now to hand the Iranians a gift. I think these, I think these dictators, these bad guys think they can run the house. And I pray, I pray that that's not the case for these next three years.

You have a piece up at the ACLJ.org. The Biden administration's weakness is on full display in Ukraine. There are conflicting signals coming out of the administration on all of this. I am perplexed to say the least of whether it's something we really think is imminent. This morning it was imminent. Over the weekend they said maybe not so imminent. But then Jake Sullivan said, oh, imminent. Could be any day now. But that's not imminent. That's what Jen Psaki's answer to that is. Well, that doesn't necessarily mean imminent. What do you think we're actually looking at here? Is Putin going to make a move and is there going to be any response at that point or should the responses be now?

Let me check. I'm in reverse order. We should have established deterrence before.

It's awful late in the game to try and get back on our front foot. To catch up is really, really hard when it comes to deterring someone like Vladimir Putin. Second, I haven't seen the latest intelligence.

I don't have access to that anymore. But for all the world it looks like Vladimir Putin is going to be enormously coercive. The number of soldiers, their preparedness, the amount of equipment that's moved not only into Western Russia but into Belarus, what's happening in the Black Sea with the Russian Navy. That looks like Vladimir Putin is going to extract something from the West, whether that's some piece of Ukraine or a deal in Syria or a bunch of money that has been frozen or somebody's sanctions lifted.

I don't know what his ask will be in the end, but boy, this is something I don't think Vladimir Putin would have done had he known that he had an administration of America that was prepared to lead. Are Europeans here for law and justice? Secretary Pompeo, kind of final question for you. We just did some reports on specific countries that we believe the Human Rights Council needs to pay attention to. We're one of those, of course, top of the list, Afghanistan. But the reason why we focus on Afghanistan is the significant change, how it's going backwards so quickly.

And we focused in on an Open Doors report. For 10 years, North Korea has been the number one abuser of, specifically, of Christians' human rights. They've been number one, the worst for a decade. Putin came close, and in less than a year, Afghanistan has taken that unfortunate place as the number one worst place in the world to live as a Christian. And I think it underscores the way the withdrawal occurred by the Biden administration and empowering the Taliban has led to this disaster now for Christians living in Afghanistan. Jordan, I don't think for one moment President Biden and his team considered the human rights ramifications of the departure.

I think they were simply determined to get out willy-nilly, no conditions, just we're going to go and whatever happens after that, not my problem. I think President Biden hasn't mentioned Afghanistan in months in a formal setting to a group to talk about the things that they're working on. We know there's still Americans and those who supported America who were there. I'm working with a group of folks to try and help get them out. And you're right, Christian persecution in Afghanistan today rivals North Korea and what's happening in Nigeria to Christians. This is one of the most dangerous places in the world for Christians, and the United States has not done its basic duty to do all that it could to protect them. And Secretary Pompeo, we filed also at the UN on Nigeria as well as the situation in Afghanistan. We have an office in Pakistan and report on those cases.

Thank you for your insight as always. Again, folks, this is why you support the work of the ACLJ. We're not just talking about it, we're taking action. ACLJ.org. Back with more in a moment. Become a member today.

ACLJ.org. Keeping you informed and engaged. Now more than ever, this is Sekulow. And now your host, Jordan Sekulow.

Welcome back to Sekulow. We are taking your phone calls now to 1-800-684-3110. I know that was a packed in first half hour, weren't a lot of time to take your calls, but we're going to open up the lines now.

1-800-684-3110. One of the issues I wanted to kind of expand on a little bit too, because we brought it up with Secretary Pompeo. We didn't really talk much about it before he came on.

So I want you to understand kind of the setup. The US is right now talking about massive sanctions on Russia if they invade Ukraine. I'm not saying that's bad, by the way. I think the sanctions should go into place before, because that's how you would prevent it. You can't just threaten, especially when you come from an administration that's drawn red lines, that's drawn lines in the sand before, which Biden comes from the Obama administration and a lot of his advisors who did that in Syria. So are they really feeling the threat unless you do the sanctions preemptively? But all that being said, at the same time we're talking about these massive sanctions on Russia and everything is blamed on Russia. We just relief, we gave sanctions relief to Iran, and not for like their medical needs, not for like some food that they need for their own people or something like that.

No, no. These are relief from nuclear activity. They are now allowed to go to the world, sell and purchase, without threat of US sanctions, quote unquote civilian nuclear uses. So they can export their nuclear technology, but what does it also mean? They can buy Russia, China, and other countries nuclear technology so long as it's quote unquote civilian. And most of the time, the only difference between civilian and non-civilian is how much uranium, the level you're enriching the uranium. Exactly.

That's all. But we're talking about a massive number. 29 billion dollars to go to Iran, the world's largest sponsor of terrorism. And they do this, the thing is that's so amazing to me, Harry, is they do this, the Biden administration, thinking somehow the Iranians are going to say, oh now we'll come back to the table. I don't think you should have ever given them 29 billion dollars. I don't think you should have given them relief, period. But you certainly wouldn't do it before you even have them at the table.

They will not even sit down with us. Absolutely. And if I were advising the Iranians, I would give them that advice. If you got 29 billion from the United States government, why not shoot for 50 billion or something?

Right. The other thing is Iran can continue its nuclear enrichment program and it receives 29 billion dollars. So if you think about all of the rhetoric that the Biden administration has offered with respect to the Ukraine, it's important to keep in mind that virtually every policy move the administration has made has strengthened the hand of the Russians. So by helping Iran, you help the Russians.

The Biden administration removed sanctions on the Nord Stream pipeline. They basically have done virtually everything possible to help the Russians. I think leaving Afghanistan helps the Russians. And so at the end of the day, one of the things that I would say about the Biden administration is that they are inflicted with the disease of incoherence. They don't really know what they are doing. And I think the capper here is 29 billion to Iran. To maybe get them back to the table.

To maybe. Right. I mean, you know, what is the reality?

And we're quick on a break here. What is the reaction in Washington? All this because it is absurd. This is literally.

Yeah. Jay, the reaction is that there's literally only one reason that you would do this at a time when you know what Iran is doing. The only reason, Jay, that you would release the waivers, you would relieve that pressure is because you've chosen the narrative over the facts on the ground.

Jay, there's no other explanation for it. You know, I think what we have to understand, folks, remember the ACLJ, we're involved in all of this and the European work. We were talking all about the UN work.

We'll talk about some of that when we come back from the break. It's work we actually do. So we don't just report news here.

I think, you know, you all who know us know that. But if you're new to the ACLJ, you have to understand we are working these issues, whether it's in DC, whether it's in Europe, whether anywhere around the world or at the UN, wherever they're meeting. Support our work at ACLJ.org. The challenges facing Americans are substantial at a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack. It's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress and in the public arena. And we have an exceptional track record of success.

But here's the bottom line. We could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life changing work.

Become a member today. ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases. How we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists. The ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later. Play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry. And what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. If you want to talk to us in the air 1-800-684-3110. Do you believe the U.S. at a time we're talking about sanctioning Russia over Ukraine. Sanctions which again will impact all of us because we rely so much because we're no longer energy independent. We rely so much on Russian oil and gas. So if we start sanctioning Russian oil and gas, guess what? It's already expensive at the pump. It could get more expensive at the pump.

I'm not saying you don't do that to bad actors by the way because of some of the financial impact. It would be nice if the Biden administration explained more of that to the American people. Spend a little bit more time for those of us who would be interested in knowing. A lot of Americans would be interested in knowing if their gas goes up another dollar a gallon.

We're already very high and it's because of a move. But I want to get your thoughts on this folks. Can you believe what we've just been discussing? Can you believe that the Biden administration just gave sanctions relief to the Islamic Republic of Iran who chose one of their most radical presence in history to send a signal to the world. Who so far has said no to every US demand. And now we've given sanctions relief to their nuclear program. The US has provided unilateral sanctions relief to the Islamic Republic of Iran's nuclear program.

I want to get your thoughts on that 1-800-684-3110. When they're asked questions about this. I mean this is to the inspecting agencies about the nuclear situation in Iran.

Take a listen to this. This was on Al Jazeera. You've been quoted saying you've been denied indispensable access in Iran.

What access is it that you've been denied? The capacity to reinstall our cameras so that the monitoring activity will be more comprehensive. Do you think maybe before you give them $29 billion worth of relief, you might say let the IAEA inspectors back in and let the cameras back in as was the previous agreement before you give them $30 billion for terrorism, which is what they use as money for that and building their nuclear arsenal. And as Jordan said, the difference between, by the way, civilian utilization of nuclear material is a matter of degree. It's not a matter of can that civilian use be converted to military use? Of course it can.

Yeah, and there's also questions about, I think you have to understand the same. This is the IAEA director again on Al Jazeera. Could Iran make a nuclear weapon in less than a month? Less than a month. Which would point to the fact that the nuclear deal should be, that they want to recreate, should be dead anyways because if you can get a weapon in less than a month, there's no deal to be had.

But take a listen by two. Do you think Iran could make a nuclear weapon in less than a month? We don't have any information in this direction, so I wouldn't like to get into language that may be construed as something like that.

What we say is that the amounts of material are growing, that this is material at very high level, and of course, this is something that has to be looked at with a lot of care. Okay. So here's my question, and this is why the American Center for Law and Justice and our affiliates around the globe exist now, and that is this.

Where is Washington? Other than stroking checks for $29 billion, which is basically what you did when you give them sanction relief, $29 billion to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the IAEA inspector says, well, we really, could it be in a month? I don't know.

We don't know because we don't have the data. But the idea that this is going on right, not under the nose of the Biden administration, they are promoting this. It's their idea, Jay.

I mean, they gave the game away before they even sat down at the table. The whole idea was to return to the JCPOA regardless of what the facts were. I mean, Jay, the idea that the burden of proof to show that Iran is not on the cusp of nuclear weapons resides with anyone other than the Iranian people. I mean, the idea that the IAEA would say, well, we don't know, and that would be good enough for the Biden administration to reengage is just appalling.

But Jay, here's the other thing. I think there is a thread here, and Secretary Pompeo touched on this, but it's not just Iran where the Biden administration gave the game away before they even sat down. The point to engage Russia where you had leverage was before they got the solace of the Chinese. I mean, look, an economic sanction there now, Jay, does so much less two months later now, now that President Xi has already stepped in that gap. But this is the way that the Biden administration has engaged with foreign affairs. They choose a narrative.

It's one of appeasement. And they take any deal that's on the table, even if the deal is we don't really know what's going to happen in a month. But there is no deal on the table.

I mean, this is what's so absurd. They're giving him $29 billion. There is no deal.

This hopefully gets him back to the table. Yeah, I mean, I think that this, again, back to what table, for what purpose, if even if the IAEA inspector, the director general, who again is diplomatic there, but he's being honest. They have no cameras there.

They have no access. But he said based on what they've got, I mean, it's growing at a very high level. So he didn't want to say, yeah, they can have a bomb in a month. But that is the world's feeling.

So what are you going to do with this deal? Do you really believe you can delay that? Of course not. And have any impact on it whatsoever? And by the way, who are the other good actors that are really going to get involved there? Russia and China? I mean, they're part of that process. Who now can do business with Iran when it comes to nuclear activity. Well, that's exactly who's going to benefit on this.

I was just thinking about this, Harry. This $29 billion is not just a boon to the Islamic Republic of Iran, but it's also a boon to Vladimir Putin and President Xi. I think that's absolutely correct. So I think Thanh is also correct that the United States continues to give up leverage in favor of a narrative, a narrative of openness, inclusion, tolerance, so that the United States government today has proven its willingness to tolerate terrorist threats to the United States. Keep in mind, we gave up leverage to the Taliban in Afghanistan. And so I would say that with Wendy Sherman and Jake Sherman and others in the administration, what we are dealing with are toddlers who are willing to appease Iran, China, Afghanistan, the Taliban, you name it.

Basically, then they want to return to the American people and say, we enjoy the smug moral superiority of globalist elites who are willing to praise our willingness to be spineless at the end of the day. But here's what I think that's important for people to understand, and that is what we do here at the American Center for Law and Justice. We don't just talk about these issues.

I'll start with Thanh and then go to Jordan. Thanh, the fact of the matter is on all these, whether it's Iran, whether it's Pakistan or abuse in Afghanistan on Christians, we are front and center on this, not just talking about it, taking direct action at the highest level of international tribunals. Yeah, Jake, Secretary Pompeo said that the Biden administration didn't even consider human rights when they were withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Well, guess who did? We did at the ACLJ, and we didn't just consider it. We prepared to file a report at the United Nations. Jake, this would have been ignored at the Human Rights Council. I really do believe it unless those of us who laid the groundwork to have consultative status put evidence in front of them and force them to look at what has happened, and now that Afghanistan is the worst place in the world for Christians to live, can you imagine a Human Rights Council going by without it being addressed?

I really do think that would have happened, Jay, except for this. We've put the evidence in front of them. We've compiled the team to make it necessary. We've put it on the agenda, and now they're going to have to consider it. And this is all while on the front page of the New York Times website is, Macron making basically last-ditch effort with Putin because Europe is at a critical crossroads. Anytime you hear critical crossroads, Europe, Russia, this is not a good thing.

No, it's, again, a potential, and again, is it potential? Is it imminent? Is it a part of Ukraine? Is it all of Ukraine?

You know what the reports are, you know, the 50,000 people dead. Five million Ukrainian refugees, mostly to Poland, which is a country that would have to have significant preparation. That's why we've moved troops there, maybe. Maybe, but a few thousand troops is not going to do it for five million people.

And that will be, again, to allow that kind of action to occur in Europe in 2022. Five million displaced Europeans, 50,000 dead because of conflict. That includes Russian troops, too, as well. But again, I mean, that kind of conflict does not happen in Afghanistan. It's not happening in Iraq.

It's not over, you know, it's not somewhere where you sin. I mean, this is in Europe, and you've got all these last-ditch efforts. But at the end of the day, these last-ditch efforts are occurring only because the U.S. was unwilling to get these countries like France and Germany all on board together.

Right. The lack of being able to put together a unified presentation, a unified front on this has been, frankly, devastating. It's been a total, total diplomatic mistake. And remember, I quote that often.

The Israelis said, diplomacy can be war, just without bullets, but you can get results. But you have to have power behind it, and we don't. Now, here's what we're doing. We're taking direct action on all of these things. We're getting to the bottom of it, and we're getting action.

We're taking it to the highest level of the tribunals. That's what the American Center for Law and Justice does. And your support of the work of the ACLJ allows us to do that. And we're about to expand that effort in a very dramatic way in the coming weeks and months.

I mean, very dramatic way. Your support of the ACLJ is really important. We encourage you to do that at ACLJ.org.

That's ACLJ.org. And the last segment of the broadcast, we take your calls. Questions on any of this? Comments are already coming in on our social media platforms. We'll get to those as well. 1-800-684-3110 if you want to talk to us on air.

800-684-3110. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases. How we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, Planned Parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life.

Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. The challenges facing Americans are substantial. At a time when our values, our freedoms, our constitutional rights are under attack, it's more important than ever to stand with the American Center for Law and Justice. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines protecting your freedoms, defending your rights in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena.

And we have an exceptional track record of success. But here's the bottom line, we could not do our work without your support. We remain committed to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.

That remains our top priority, especially now during these challenging times. The American Center for Law and Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well, this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today, ACLJ.org. Welcome back to Secular. We are going to take your calls 1-800-684-3110.

They're not ready yet, but we'll get to them 1-800-684-3110. I thought Mike on Facebook wrote an interesting point, and it's a reminder to people. I think this was said at the time, but now we're starting to see what does it mean that Afghanistan wasn't a withdrawal. The American people supported that. It was a surrender. It was a surrender to the Taliban. And we knew that that was going to be the case because the Taliban, before they even had taken Kabul mid-July, they had already taken the rest of the country. So it wasn't like, oh, surprise, surprise, the Taliban is back. They were back, and the question was just how long it would take to take Kabul. U.S. intel thought 90 days, but not like, never.

They didn't think that was, and they were wrong. It took a day and a half. But what does that lead to the day before, to try to figure this out? The day before Kabul fell, the 14th of August, or July, they were meeting, and then the next day the capital fell. Yeah.

I mean, so this, again, it all kind of underscores together. I want to get to the phones. Lynette in New York on Line 1. Hey, Lynette, welcome to Sekulow. You're on the air.

Thank you so much for taking my call, and God bless you, and thank you for all of the hard work that you're doing. My concern about the lifting of the sanctions is that if we're acknowledging that Iran is the world's largest supporter of terrorism, and yet we're lifting sanctions on Iran, doesn't that also mean that we are supporting terrorism? Well, we're certainly releasing money, allowing them to spend money, how they choose, and we don't get a say in that, and they are the number one world leader in paying for terrorist activities, the number one exporter of terrorism. So they support a vast range of terror groups, which, by the way, attack and kill U.S. troops throughout to destabilize not just threats here in the United States, but to destabilize the entire Middle East. One of their major destabilization efforts right now is happening in Yemen, where even in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia, they're thinking about installing and talking to Israel about similar systems as the Iron Dome, because they are being shot at by Iranian rebel groups. Yeah, and the Iranians are indiscriminate in who they will support.

They will support groups that do not share their theological version of Islam, so they'll support Sunni, Shia, they don't care, as long as it's a common enemy. The common enemy is right now not just Israel, but the countries now in relation to Israel, so you've got that going on. At the same time, the United States has deployed troops over to Eastern Europe.

And Harry, you brought up a good point during the break. We've got all this with Iran. We're sending 8,500 troops, which is not a significant number of troops, over to Eastern Europe. Macron's going for this emergency meeting with Vladimir Putin as if we're sending him as like Chamberlain to meet with, you know, I'm not saying Putin is Hitler, but he is an autocrat, that's for sure, and as if the last moment here to try to avert peace in our time.

Absolutely. So what we've done is we've put together a history that the world can read very easily. We've surrendered in Afghanistan, we've surrendered to the Taliban, we've surrendered to Russia with respect to the Nord Stream pipeline. We've also surrendered to Iran. Meanwhile, the United States has given up its energy independence. What does that mean? It means that we are now more than ever, if you will, dependent on Russia, and indirectly we are dependent on Iranian oil, because oil is a fungible commodity.

And so to the extent that we give up our own energy independence, that means we are more dependent on terroristic regimes, autocratic regimes, and at the end of the day the American people are paying a price each and every day at the pump with higher gasoline and energy prices. Let's go back to the phones. 1-800-684-3110, a good question from Alex in North Carolina.

Hey Alex. Thank you very much for what you do. The $2930 billion, where does that come from, and does America pay any of that through our taxes? It's a release of assets. The assets that have been frozen by the United States government, which could have gone to the taxpayers if continued to be frozen, are now released. So it comes off your balance sheet.

If you were putting it on your balance sheet, it would have come off your balance sheet. My question, and I think yours is a good one, Alex, is, my question is, what is the reaction in Washington to all of this? That's the immediate relief, is $29 billion, Alex. I think that the actual, when you talk about the fact that they are allowed to, they are allowed to, without threat of US sanction, engage the world in nuclear programs, whether it's deals that they're making, paying for, or deals that other countries are paying them for.

So I mean, the cost is, it's $29 billion, that's a ton, but then it's endless amounts of money they are able then to utilize, turn that money right back around to increase their nuclear capabilities by working with Russia and China. Yeah. So then you ask yourself, so what is, Congress has got a role in some of this thing, you would think, there should be some conservatives concerned about this, there should be some liberals concerned about this.

What is the sense? You're right there. There are some conservatives concerned, Jay, but it's not risen to the level it needs to. And look, just for a very, very brief history lesson, if you go back, these are sanctions that actually predated the Iran deal. The Iran deal put the waivers of those sanctions into place. And really, Jay, I mean, that's when the Congress should have engaged and said, no, we are not going to ratify that. There was actually a bipartisan majority that helped that Iran deal get through. It's time for them to right that wrong, Jay, and come back over the top and assert their authority.

I haven't seen enough movement to do that. And the last thing I would say, Jay, on this, I mean, to Lynette's question, does it directly fund terrorism? Well, maybe not, but Jay, it certainly emboldens Iran and gives them a sort of tacit permission to continue their track of terror. I'd like to give them 29 billions of assets here so they can release 29 billions of assets someplace else.

So, I mean, that's just what they do. Our friend, former ambassador to the United Nations for Israel, Danny Danone, was interviewed about this, and we'll get him on the broadcast this week. He's now the President of World Likud. Take a listen to what he had to say.

16. The desire to go back to the negotiation in Vienna, we don't understand why they are running to the hands of the Iranians. We know that they are lying. We know that they are threatening the state of Israel. And we know that against the US as well. So you should not give them more funds or more support. On the contrary, you should apply more pressure against them. And we are very worried because if the US will decide to re-enter the JCPOA, it means that we will have to take care of the threat of nuclear Iran by ourselves.

There's always stories about that too. Israel's been very upfront and unified as a government, regardless of who the leader is currently, and say we will not allow them to have the nuclear weapon. So if they are a month away, you know, I mean, you could be also talking about not just action by Russia, Ukraine, but unfortunately the need to take potential military action by Israel. Not invading Iran, obviously, but significant military action, which could then have a significant Iranian response. They've got missiles that could hit Israel. And it's all because of how poorly the US has botched this. Rewind back to the Trump administration. Iran was weak.

It was like on their knees, begging the world for food. You can't feed your people. Your nuclear program is not going anywhere. Israel was able to hack, well we think it's Israel, was able to hack into their program and the centrifuges started blowing up on their own. So, I mean, that's what it was when they were under severe sanctions.

Now, we're lifting sanctions on their nuclear program. This is why you have to have an American Center for Homeland Justice. We give you the analysis, we give you action items. Go to ACLJ.org, support our work, sign up for our social media platforms wherever you can. ACLJ.org, that's ACLJ.org, you become part of the team. For decades now, the ACLJ has been on the front lines, protecting your freedoms, defending your rights, in courts, in Congress, and in the public arena. The American Center for Homeland Justice is on your side. If you're already a member, thank you. And if you're not, well this is the perfect time to stand with us at ACLJ.org, where you can learn more about our life-changing work. Become a member today. ACLJ.org.