Barrett<\/a> was part of a team that represented the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The council was seeking a review of its then designation as a \u2018foreign terrorist organization\u2019 by the US government.\u201d In 2012, the \u2018terrorist\u2019 designation was removed, and since then the MEK has received the support of prominent Republicans, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton and the erratic former New York City mayor, and now Trump attorney, Rudi Giuliani, who refers to the MEK as a \u2018government in exile\u2019. This statement is ludicrous; every reputable poll of Iranians, both those living in Iran and those in other nations, indicates that they oppose both the goals and tactics of the MEK. But as Trump\u2019s attorney, one must not look too closely at facts.<\/p>\nMasquerading as a pro-democracy organization, the secretive group is responsible for the deaths of at least 12,000 Iranians. On June 28, 1981, the group bombed the Islamic Republic Party headquarters in Tehran, killing seventy-three people. The group has been accused of working with Israel to assassinate Iranian scientists.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s treatment of its own members is not much better. For example, Reza Sadeghi had been a member of MEK for twenty-six years and hds not left the MEK compound for more than ten years. \u201cDuring that time, he\u2019d had no contact with his family or news of them. The MEK leadership had forced him and most of the other cadres living at Camp Ashraf to abandon even their closest relationships. Most painful for Sadeghi were thoughts of his son, Paul, his only child, now 16 years old. Sadeghi hadn\u2019t seen or spoken to Paul since he\u2019d arrived in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2020, Sadeghi told the organization\u2019s leaders that he was leaving to find his son. He was detained and forced into a truck. \u201c\u2019You\u2019re dead,\u2019 one of Sadeghi\u2019s captors told him. \u2018We are going to put you in the ground, and no one will ever know what happened to you.\u2019 Forced disappearances and solitary confinement were not uncommon at Camp Ashraf, and Sadeghi was sure he would be executed.\u201d He was able to escape and was, ironically, rescued by two U.S. terrorists (soldiers) who were out patrolling.<\/p>\n
The MEK was started by Massoud Rajavi and his wife, Maryam, who fancied themselves the next rulers of Iran, once they and their 2,000 \u2013 3,000 followers were able to convince the 80,000,000 Iranians to reject the Islamic Revolution they fought so hard for, and follow them. Like Giuliani, realistic thinking is not their strong suit. As of this writing, Massoud Rajavi is believed to be dead, and his wife is seldom, if ever, seen in public.<\/p>\n
This is the organization that the United States\u2019 newest Supreme Court justice has defended. These are the people \u2013 who have killed thousands of Iranians and who support the overthrow of the sovereign, people\u2019s government of Iran \u2013 that Barrett says are not terrorists. The Intercept reported that many female members over the years were force to have sex with Rajavi; many were forced to be sterilized, so they would not be distracted by children, and could fully devote their time to Rajavi and his unholy cause. Based on her association with the \u2018People of Praise\u2019 cult, this is probably just fine with her.<\/p>\n
As of this writing, the U.S. election has not been decided. It is disheartening to imagine that so much of the citizenry has bought into Trump\u2019s lies, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and misogyny. A Biden victory will not bring substantial change, but would not necessarily spell the end of any semblance of democracy. Should Trump be re-elected, it is likely that the MEK will continue to receive praise and financial assistance from the U.S. government. Other organizations, perhaps Black Lives Matter, may be designated terrorist organizations. In the Orwellian world of Donald Trump, this is only too possible. And the gradual erosion of human rights and respect for international law, neither of which the U.S. ever cared much about anyway, will become a fast-moving landslide.<\/p>\n
Robert Fantina\u2019s latest book is Empire, Racism and Genocide: a History of US Foreign Policy (Red Pill Press).<\/p>\n
by Robert Fantina – Counter Punch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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