The Third View on Mujahedin Khalq - Page 162 of 231

Inside Mujahidin-e Khalq’s Massive Lobbying Push

Nejat SocietyAugust 10, 2011087 views

Nothing about the MEK has changed in the last seventeen years, except that it has become more adept at getting Americans opposed to the Iranian government to work on its behalf. As Trita Parsi explains, the only thing that has made the decision to keep the MEK on the list remotely controversial is that the group’s lobbying is much greater this time around..Put another way, not even the Bush administration was willing to accept the MEK’s reinvention, and they were hardly interested in fostering good relations with Tehran.

MKO’s big-money push to get off US terrorist list

Nejat SocietyAugust 9, 20110122 views

A roster of influential former US officials is speaking at rallies in support of removing the MEK, an Iranian opposition group with a violent anti-American history, from the US terrorist list. A decision is expected within weeks.A high-powered array of former top American officials is advocating removal from the US terrorist list of a controversial Iranian opposition group with a long anti-American history.

MEK: Former U.S. Officials Make Millions Advocating For Terrorist Organization

Nejat SocietyAugust 9, 2011080 views

..Mujahideen-e Khalq was responsible for the killing of six Americans in Iran in the 1970s, along with staging a handful of bombings. But for a terrorist organization with deep pockets, it appears there’s always hope. ..the MEK supported Saddam Hussein in his war against their former countrymen, a conflict which resulted in massive casualties on both sides — further fueled by U.S. financial support for Iraq. As a result of their actions in the war, the group is reviled today within Iran..

Mojahedin Khalq and Camp Ashraf

Nejat SocietyAugust 8, 2011080 views

… Bahari, speaking at a conference in Washington on Thursday sponsored by the National Iranian American Council, a non-partisan group that advocates for Iranian Americans and opposes the MEK, expressed sympathy for MEK members but said it would be a mistake to take the group off the State Department list at this time. Jasmin Ramsey wrote a long article on the push to de-list the MEK, and she explains why it is wrong to link the issues of de-listing …

Michele Bachmann in Support of MKO Terrorists

Nejat SocietyAugust 8, 20110155 views

But in January, law professor David Cole wrote that Mukasey, Giuliani, Ridge and Frances Fragos Townsend could have committed a crime simply by vocally supporting the MEK’s cause in Paris. While proving liability is again the issue, the Patriot Act’s material support law makes it a felony to support an FTO by engaging”in public advocacy to challenge a group’s ‘terrorist’ designation ..,”wrote Cole.Reporters need to ask Bachmann why she supports the MEK.

How The Mojahedin Khalq Buys Its Support in the U.S.

Nejat SocietyAugust 7, 2011069 views

… The response from some of the people tied to these MEK payments is a curious one. Some of them seem to think that it is all right to be paid to speak on behalf of the MEK because they genuinely support the group, as it that made everything all right. Here is one example: None would disclose how much they had been paid but Ed Rendell, the former Pennsylvania governor, said he received $20,000 for an 11-minute speech. ..

From U.S. Silent on Raids against PJAK to aggressive lobbying for MKO

Nejat SocietyAugust 7, 2011097 views

.. MEK supporters have engaged in an aggressive lobbying campaign in Washington that has included a number of events at which former senior U.S. officials have received hefty sums to speak. Among them: ex-FBI chief Louis Freeh, former attorney general Michael Mukasey and former Central Command head Anthony Zinni. The MEK has scant support within Iran because it sided with Iraq during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Former members say the organisation is a cult ..

The Repercussions of Delisting the Mujahedin-e Khalq

Nejat SocietyAugust 6, 2011064 views

Center for American Progress national security expert Brian Katulis agreed that support for MEK would contradict the Obama Administration’s support of Iranian human rights…Bahari and the rest of the panels stressed the humanitarian concern for individuals based in Camp Ashraf, the MEK compound in Iraq, where a RAND study indicates up to 70 percent of the inhabitants are kept against their will…High ranking former-U.S. officials have acknowledged receiving cash to advocate in support of the MEK. The panelists at Thursday’s event noted that they did not receive any compensation for their participation.

Silencing the Moderate Middle

Nejat SocietyAugust 6, 2011075 views

… One of the leading experts on the organization is a former member of the MEK by the name of Massoud Khodabandeh. Regarding Daioleslam he wrote: I can say without doubt that Hassan Daioleslam is a member of what I call for accuracy ‘the Rajavi cult’ [referring to MEK leaders Massoud and Maryam Rajavi]. In this respect he is obedient to the Rajavi leadership and would not act in a way inconsistent with their requirements and certainly not without their knowledge or consent ..

Iranian terrorist group, MKO has close US allies

Nejat SocietyAugust 6, 20110110 views

… Something strange is happening in Washington. In August, the Obama administration is expected to announce whether it will keep the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an exiled Iranian group that killed American civilians and officials in the 1970s, on its foreign terrorist organisations (FTO) list. Known for its cult-like behavior, the MEK (also known as the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, PMOI or MKO) fought alongside Saddam Hussein’s regime .. This is one reason why it has almost no Iranian support, even if it refers to itself as …