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Obama Administration Officials Take The 'Malign' Line On Iran

By David Welna
Published July 29, 2015 at 5:10 PM EDT

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

At today's hearing, and more than a hundred other times since the nuclear deal was signed two weeks ago, American officials have used an unusual word to describe Iran's activities or influence. That word is malign. NPR's David Welna has been following Washington's latest buzzword.

DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: In his opening statement today, Defense Secretary Ash Carter argued the nuclear deal with Iran was good because it served...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ASH CARTER: To check Iran's malign influence.

WELNA: What's more, Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey said the deal was good...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARTIN DEMPSEY: To counter the Iranian regime's malign activities.

WELNA: These officials clearly align on malign. As he flew to Israel last week, Secretary Carter spoke to reporters about...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CARTER: The potential for Iranian malign activity.

WELNA: In Tel Aviv, he called the nuclear deal necessary to...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CARTER: Check Iranian malign influence.

WELNA: And at an air base in Jordan, Carter again spoke of...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CARTER: Countering Iranian malign influence.

WELNA: And in Baghdad, he pointed to...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CARTER: Iranian malign activity in the region.

WELNA: So why this repeated use of malign? Karim Sadjadpour is an Iran specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Malign, he says, is decidedly more benign than some other terms.

KARIM SADJADPOUR: If you're the administration, malign is a safer word than, you know, radical, terrorist, extremist because you are making the argument for a deal more difficult if you refer to Iran in those terms.

WELNA: Which is why, Sadjadpour says, administration officials are taking the malign line.

SADJADPOUR: They go on these word binges. They discover a word and they'll say it for many, many months on end. And then next month, they may discover another word, which is, you know, could be slightly stronger than malign. It could be slightly weaker than malign, and they will use it.

WELNA: But at least for now, malign's the word. David Welna, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
David Welna
David Welna is NPR's national security correspondent.
See stories by David Welna
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