Western Bloggers - Page 80 of 88

Inside Mujahidin-e Khalq’s Massive Lobbying Push

Nejat SocietyAugust 10, 2011076 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.

Mojahedin Khalq and Camp Ashraf

Nejat SocietyAugust 8, 2011075 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, 20110124 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.

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

Nejat SocietyAugust 7, 2011086 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 ..

Issue subpoena to MEK advocates

Nejat SocietyAugust 2, 2011051 views

Double standards again—the FBI has not issued any subpoenas to or raided the homes of these powerful politicians for openly and proudly supporting a State Department-designated terrorist organization.[MKO/MEK/PMOI]Money and political connections can be powerful, but the truth is more powerful. If the activists are guilty of anything, they are guilty of exercising their free speech rights to expose the truth about U.S.-sponsored war crimes and human rights violations..

Mujahedin supporters mount U.S. lobbying effort

Nejat SocietyJuly 31, 2011066 views

The Iranian American Community of Northern California has paid Akin Gump $100,000 in the past two months. Former congressmen Vic Fazio and Bill Paxon are among the Akin Gump advisers working on the campaign.Another group, Iranian-American Community of North Texas, hired diGenova & Toensing in February. The lobby shop has been paid $100,000 this year.The State Department describes Mujahedin/MEK/MKO/PMOI as …

Filner’s Road to Paris

Nejat SocietyJuly 30, 20110115 views

Total transportation expenses, including first class commercial airfare, were given as $4203.77. Total lodging expenses were said to be $2385.85. No separate meal or drink costs were listed. In response to a section of the form that reads, “Explain why participation in the trip is connected to your individual official or representational duties,” the disclosure reads, “Advocate Iranian Human Rights.” An accompanying “Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form” was signed by Tim Mehdi Ghaemi of “Colorado’s Iranian American Community.”

Investigate the case of lobbyists for MEK terror group in Washington

Nejat SocietyJuly 27, 20110224 views

MEK has spent millions of dollars on lobbyists, PR agents an communications firms to build up pressure on Secretary Hillary Clinton to take the group off the terrorist list. In Horder, the Department of Justice, under both your direction and that of Attorney General Mukasey, argued that it was felony to file an amicus brief on behalf of a foreign terrorist organization, or to engage in public advocacy on behalf of such an organization, unless that advocacy was totally”independent”of the organization. How do you reconcile those arguments with the total absence of attention paid to lobbying activities in support of the MEK?

Anti-Muslims and Politicians Find Common Cause with Iranian Terrorist MEK

Nejat SocietyJuly 23, 2011083 views

Congressmen (including Democrats) and former government officials have met with the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/MKO/PMOI), an organization that was designated a terrorist group in 1997 when the list was first compiled, and is STILL ON THE LIST–for now….MEK has a very aggressive and organized lobby effort in Washington D.C. According to one House staffer, ..” Their mission is to be delisted as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), push the USA to foment war with Iran..

MEK Militant Group Seeks Removal From Terrorism List, Has Lawmaker Support

Nejat SocietyJuly 21, 2011067 views

..And in 2004 MEK was still actively involved in planning and executing attacks according to FBI investigation documents released in May under the Freedom of Information Act. A joint investigation between Los Angeles-based agents and German police recorded phone calls where MEK/MKO/PMOI members discussed operations. The report tells of a scheme by MEK where the group used children with multiple identities to collect social benefits in Germany, then used the money to purchase large quantities of night vision goggles and GPS systems to improve accuracy of mortar attacks ..