Can New York Keep Iran’s President from Visiting Ground Zero?

For those of you not blessed (or cursed) to live in the New York area, you may not have noticed the chorus of local outrage over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s request to visit “Ground Zero”, the site of the former World Trade Center in New York during his attendance at the U.N. General Assembly opening session next month.

I actually don’t have anything more to contribute on the raging debate over whether he should be allowed to visit Ground Zero. Actually, there is no debate. Every politician, pundit, and activist who can reach a microphone, including Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, have argued against allowing such a visit. The only debate appears to be whether the U.S. should have issued him a visa in the first place (for a great brief description of the legal issues related to such a denial, see Fred Kirgis’ ASIL Insight here).

What is interesting to me is that everyone acknowledges that the decision on whether Ahmadinejad can visit Ground Zero is held solely and completely by the Mayor of the City of New York, Michael Bloomberg, and his police chief, Raymond Kelly. The White House has acknowledged this, issuing a statement against his visit to Ground Zero, but noting that this is a decision for New York City. Of course, the State Department did issue him a visa in the first place, thus throwing this into the hands of New York City.

But this is plainly an issue of potentially serious foreign policy dimensions. Why should such a decision be left to Mike Bloomberg?

Because that’s the way the U.S. is organized, and how the U.S. has long dealt with these problems. Local decisions are left to local officials, even when they impact foreign policy, as long as they don’t run into conflict with pre-existing U.S. statutes, laws, or treaties. Sure, the President of the United States is the most powerful man in the world. But he doesn’t seem to have the power to order a single NYPD officer to do anything.

Of course, there is the argument that none of the U.S. authorities, local, state or federal, can prevent Ahmadinejad visit to Ground Zero. The U.N. Headquarters Agreement seems to prohibit any “impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district.” Further, “[t]he appropriate American authorities shall afford any necessary protection to such persons while in transit to or from the headquarters district.”

Apparently, the U.S. has interpreted this to give members of the U.N. missions freedom to roam a 25 mile radius from Columbus Circle. I don’t know where the 25 mile rule comes from (not the Headquarters Agreement) but everyone seems to think that is the rule and I’m not a Headquarters Agreement expert. Ground Zero is plainly within this radius and I don’t see how NY City can prevent him from driving by (although they can clearly prevent him from entering the restricted areas of the site).

The latest word is that Ahmadinejad is going to Ground Zero, with permission or not. This should set up an interesting legal problem, if he tries it. Certainly, every TV and radio station in New York will be there to record whatever happens.