++ For two weeks the MEK has carefully ignored the major news concerning the situation of Gaza. Finally, from two days ago, the MEK has given in and written something; though it falls far short of what even Israelis write to condemn the tragedy that has been inflicted on Gaza by Israel. Following this, several articles have suggested that the MEK sought permission from Tel Aviv before writing anything. Even that was limited to a general ex
++ Iraj Mesdagh has written another booklet (he previously wrote ‘Report 92′), called ‘Report 93′, which was very revealing considering it has been written by an internal critic, who is sympathetic toward the MEK. The main issue picked up by the report concerns the suspicious death of Massoud Dalili in the September 2013 attack on Camp Ashraf. Mesdaghi’s criticisms endorse previously expressed doubts about what really happened to this ex-member – why he was there and how he died. Mesdaghi calls on the UN to investigate this death because nothing about it adds up.
In English:
++ Brett Wilkins, writing in Digital Journal, reports that MEK supporter Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Florida Rep. Congresswoman), has drafted a resolution condemning the Palestinian militant resistance group Hamas for allegedly using human shields in its asymmetrical warfare against Israel. According to Wilkins “Ros-Lehtinen’s condemnation of Hamas for allegedly placing civilians in harm’s way has raised eyebrows among some human rights advocates”. He goes on to say that “Contrary to Israeli claims, the international human rights group Amnesty International found “no evidence Palestinian fighters directed civilians to shield military objectives from attack, forced them to stay in buildings used by militants or prevented them from leaving commandeered buildings”. Amnesty and other human rights groups did, however, determine that Israeli forces used Palestinian human shields, including children, during Cast Lead. Israel’s use of human shields had been so widespread and controversial among Israeli troops that the nation’s highest court banned it in 2005.”
++ In a lengthy analytical article for Global Research titled ‘Foundation of the American Empire: Strategic Alliances and “Axes of Evil”’, Prof. James Petras, writes: “The US Empire today is in the midst of a long-term decline, during which it has suffered a series of costly defeats. In addition, Washington has assumed long-term burdensome commitments to allies who have imposed their own ambitions of seeking ‘mini empires’ (Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia).
The US White House has increasingly adopted a military definition of ‘imperial leadership’ at the expense of reconfiguring imperial relations to accommodate potential new political and economic partners.
As the empire slides, the political elite, operating with a highly militarized mind set, has expanded its intrusive global intelligence networks to spy on allies, adversaries and its own citizens. Washington has risked deepening hostilities among key allies (Germany and Brazil), and exacerbating conflicts with conciliatory competitors (Russia), by refusing to curtail its massive espionage. Spying is a clear hostile act and part of the policy of military-driven empire building.” Petras identifies the role of the MEK in this scenario: “More recently the US-Israeli power axis has been expanded to include the client regime in Kurdistan (northern Iraq). In addition, the US-Israeli axis has been deeply involved in financing and promoting collaborator opposition forces in Lebanon (currently the Hariri political formation), sectors of the armed mercenaries in Syria, Kurdish Peshmerga militias in Iraq and the so-called ‘Mujahedeen al Khalq’ terrorists in Iran. The US CIA and Israel’s Mossad engage in clandestine violent operations directly intervening to destabilize secular and Islamic nationalist regimes like Iran, to disrupt their communications and to assassinate Iranian scientists and leaders.”
25 July 2014