Western Bloggers - Page 78 of 88

Lloyd James: Lobbying for Backers of MKO Terrorists

Nejat SocietyOctober 5, 2011069 views

“Whether the MEK should or should not be listed is one thing, but the law is very clear that third parties and intermediaries don’t insulate you,”says David Cole, a professor of law at Georgetown University.”Think about how the United States would respond if [American] citizens were actively working with a PR organization to support the legitimacy of Hamas in Gaza? Here, the only thing protecting the people involved is that they include the former homeland security secretary..

MEK in Iraqi Camp to Seek Refugee Status

Nejat SocietySeptember 29, 2011059 views

In the past, the MEK leadership has refused to allow most residents of Camp Ashraf to apply for refugee status or to speak with UNHCR representatives without MEK officials present.Former members of the group, who contend that the MEK is a cult that fosters blind obedience to its leaders, say that many Ashraf inhabitants have been held against their will and would eagerly leave the camp if they could. ..

MEK: Facing a new era?

Nejat SocietySeptember 20, 2011056 views

Since 1997, the MEK has been through many ups and downs and now, on the eve of its 50th anniversary, has mobilized all its efforts to be removed from the United State’s list of terrorist organizations. The MEK/MKO/PMOI says it renounced violence in 2001, after claiming responsibility for 350 attacks in 2000 and 2001, according to a RAND Corporation tabulation. However, a 2004 FBI report found that the group was “currently actively involved in planning and executing acts of terrorism.”

The criminalization of speech since 9/11

Nejat SocietySeptember 18, 2011061 views

The material-support law is the statute prosecutors most use in suspected terrorism cases, including not just in our federal courts but also in military commissions. It is now the most far-reaching statute prosecutors use in suspected terrorism cases. That certainly appears to be happening now, and that’s part of the danger of criminalizing speech and advocacy in this way. It allows the government to pick and choose whose speech and whose advocacy it favors.

Speakers bureau works for Iranian terror group MEK

Nejat SocietySeptember 8, 2011075 views

“This is clearly an invitation to provide a service to a designated group[MKO/MEK/PMOI/NCR]. This would be a clear violation of the law,”says Cole, who last year argued a major material support case before the Supreme Court. The material support law bars providing not only money and weapons to a foreign terrorist organization, but also”service,”defined by the government as anything of benefit to the group performed in coordination with or at the direction of the group.Cole adds ..

Buying Your Way Off The US Terrorist List

Nejat SocietySeptember 3, 2011058 views

The MEK/MKO/PMOI is spending the big bucks to influence that decision.Private jets to speaking engagements and fees that range from $25,000 to $100,000 have gone to a wide political spectra of speakers..That these people would sell their names and reputations is shameful. The speaking fees are paid by local Iranian-American groups and contracts specifically state that “We are not a front organization for the MEK,” in a crude effort to skirt US laws regarding the support of terrorist organizations.

The seduction of Howard Dean

Nejat SocietySeptember 3, 2011066 views

Dean has invoked the same argument when it comes to his work in support of the MEK, the Iranian militant group. Dean and other luminaries from across the political spectrum have been paid vast sums of money by the group — as much as $20,000 for a 10-minute speech — to appear at events pushing the Obama administration to remove the MEK from the official list of terrorist organizations.

The Mujahedeen e-Khalq’s Controversial Existence

Nejat SocietyAugust 29, 2011062 views

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “should ignore their [MEK] P.R. campaign. Mujahedeen Khalq is not only irrelevant to the cause of Iran’s democratic activists, but a totalitarian cult that will come back to haunt us.” Rubin argues that what is “most disturbing” about the MEK/MKO/PMOI is the way the leaders, Massoud and Maryam Rajavi treats its members that reside in Iraq’s Camp Ashraf.

The Lobbying that Shouldn’t be Happening

Nejat SocietyAugust 28, 2011075 views

Those who have sold their advocacy for big bucks deserve shame; those who have done so for a meal or two maybe deserve our pity. Those who have gotten mixed up in the campaign through a crude belief that Iran is an enemy and the enemy of my enemy is my friend need to realize that being an enemy’s enemy does not make one a friend..Secretary of State should keep the windows closed and just pay attention to the terms of the law..

MEK rally planned for Friday at State Department

Nejat SocietyAugust 27, 2011054 views

So what is the MEK? Well, that depends on who you ask… The MEK/MKO/PMOI says it renounced violence in 2001 and professes to be leading the resistance to the Iranian regime. That claim, in addition to lucrative payments to former officials in both parties, has bought it a lot of attention and friends in Washington. But how can senior officials take money from a terrorist group?