“Slimy with MEK blood money”, this is the logic Kurt Nimmo presents to explain why some of former American officials, politicians, and retired military officers have been cheerleading for the MEK over the past decade. [1]
Ali Harb of the Middle East Eye also wonders about the contradictions over the sponsorship of certain American figures for the formerly terror designated group, MEK.
“Beyond Giuliani and Bolton, lawmakers from both major American political parties have lauded the MEK as a pro-democracy movement despite its checkered past,” he writes. [2]
However, he gets the answer in the comments of Barbara Slavin the director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, on the MEK.
“It’s just ridiculous that they’ve been able to get the influence that they have had in the US,” Slavin told Harb, “I think that’s primarily due to the money … that they pay lobbyists to press their case. They’ve had some very influential people like John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani who have taken their side.” [3]
When a few weeks ago, Ilan Berman of the National Interest published a piece titled “Making sense of the MEK”, Daniel Larison of the American Conservative responded with an investigated report on the true nature of the MEK criticizing Berman for “whitewashing” the MEK. An example of whitewashing the MEK’s bloddy history is accurately denounced by Larison.
“For instance, he talks about the MEK’s efforts to cultivate U.S. politicians and former officials, including John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani, but he leaves out the part where they have paid their newfound supporters for their endorsement to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars per speech,” he states. [4]
In November 2016, the New York Times, “In one year — 2006 — Mr. Giuliani reported in a financial disclosure report that he had made 124 speeches, for as much as $200,000 each, and had earned a total of $11.4 million. He often made extravagant demands in return for agreeing to make a speech, including that the private plane that flew him to the engagement be a certain size.” [5]
The sums that Bolton has received from the MEK is as hefty as Rudy Guilliani’s.
“Bolton has always been the star of the show,” according to the Open Secrets News website. “Records show that the M.E.K has paid Bolton at least $180,000 in speaker fees to attend the group’s annual Paris conference for more than a decade.” [6]
The US warmongers, Saudi Arabia, the Israeli Mossad are all interlinked with the MEK—no matter the MEK was formerly considered a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department. Some magic formula, is now considered to be made up to turn former terrorists into Iranian pro-democracy patriots. MEK agents which are being brought in from Albania are organized in troll farms and may be used to carry out some false flag and blame it on Iran. Money seems to be the catalyst of these interactions. But where does the MEK’s money come from?
To be continued
By Mazda Parsi
References:
[1] Nimmo, Kurt, Pockets stuffed with terrorist cash to be MEK’s Guys, kurtnimmo.blog, July 13th, 2019.
[2] Harb, Ali, How Iranian MEK went from US terror list to halls of Congress
MiddleEastEye.net, July 17th, 2019.
[3] ibid
[4] Larison, Daniel, Whitewashing the MEK Makes No Sense, The American Conservative, July 7th, 2019.
[5] Landler, Mark & Lipton, Eric & Becker, Jo, Rudolph Giuliani’s Business Ties Viewed as Red Flag for Secretary of State Job, The New York Times, November 15th, 2016.
[6]Champlin, Reid, As tensions rise, moneyed interests pushing for hard line against Iran, Open Secrets News, May 22nd, 2019.