blogs%WP_TITLE_SEP%New York Times

Why Rudy Giuliani Shouldn’t Be Secretary of State

Mr. Giuliani for instance, he was paid to deliver speeches in 2011 and 2012 defending a cultlike Iranian exile group/MKO/MEK/PMOI that was on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. In the long list of ridiculous things Mr. Giuliani has said, his remarks about President Obama in February 2015, when the presidential campaign was gearing up, were particularly disgraceful …

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Six Killed in Shelling of Iranian Refugee Camp in Iraq

Ali al-Moussawi, an Iraqi government spokesman, denied that Baghdad was involved, saying the accusation from the M.E.K. “is not the first time when they blame us for everything.”The United Nations demanded that the Iraqi government open an investigation, saying in a statement that Martin Kobler, the United Nations special representative for Iraq, “called on the Iraqi authorities to immediately ensure medical care…

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MEK May Remain on U.S. Terror List

The two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter involves litigation, said Mrs. Clinton had not made a decision yet. But they said the group’s refusal to complete a move from Camp Ashraf to the former site of Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad airport, may doom its bid. ..

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Clinton urges MKO to complete move

Mrs. Clinton told the committee that “M.E.K. cooperation in the successful and peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf” will be “a key factor in any decision” on its longstanding request that the State Department lift its terrorist designation. She did not elaborate, but an administration official said her remarks were meant to be a strong signal to the group[MKO/MEK/PMOI] that it must improve cooperation.

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A U.N. Call to Aid Iraq’s Iranian Refugees MEK

The plan now agreed to by the Iraqi government should be given a chance to work. As a first step, it calls for the camp residents to voluntarily relocate to a transit site at the Baghdad airport. In contrast to Camp Ashraf, this site would be monitored around the clock by observers from the United Nations. There, the residents would be interviewed by the U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, to determine their eligibility for refugee status..

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Strange Bedfellows in the Conflict with Iran

Camp Ashraf was a heavily armed encampment under Saddam Hussein from which Mujahedeen[MKO/MEK/PMOI] fighters attempted to invade Iran at the end of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. They were driven off. Today they enjoy little support in their home country, in spite of Mrs. Rajavi’s claims to lead the main resistance to the Islamic Republic, apparently because their efforts were seen as treacherous by many Iranians. ..

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For Obscure Iranian Exile Group, Broad Support in U.S.

The American advocates have been well paid, hired through their speaking agencies and collecting fees of $10,000 to $50,000 for speeches on behalf of the Iranian group. Some have been flown to Paris, Berlin and Brussels for appearances…the officials expressed frustration at what they described as the American supporters’ credulous acceptance of the M.E.K.’s aka MKO/PMOI claims of representing the Iranian opposition and of embracing democratic values.

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