Overwhelmed with the Mujahedin Khalq’s money, Capitol Hill is on the verge of delisting the group. Who is next to getting delisted? Al-Qaida? Definitely by delisting the MKO, hypocrisy will be raised to a higher level in the “land of double standards”. Naturally we should wait for the removal of other Foreign Terrorist Organizations from the list at the proper time!
And soon the so-called former terrorists would be mercenaries fighting against America’s enemies.
Regarding the powerful campaign of deception and propagandas of the MKO, Chris McGreal of Guardian writes about the group’s lobby in the US Congress:”A banned terrorist group is conducting what members of the congress describe as the most effective lobbying campaigns seen on Capitol Hill, winning support from politicians even in the face of a government investigation of its legality" .[1]He points out the subpoenas issued by the Treasury Department to investigate whether campaign amounts to material support for terrorism. The reason for such an investigation, according to McGreal is “the openness of the campaign and the large amounts of money backing it, with donations to congressional campaign funds and large payments for speeches in support of the MEK”.[2]
While the MKO says the funds for the group campaign come from Iranian Americans, ”there are some US officials who suspect that because of the amounts involved , money is also coming from other sources, mostly like Saudi Arabia or Israel".[3]
Referring to the famous report by Semour Hersh [3]on secret military training offered to MKO operative by US joint Command of Special Operation Forces– another level of US hypocrisy–Justin Raimondo of editor of Antiwar website concludes that “the MEK were turned over to the Mossad, who utilized them to carry out the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists in Iran.”[4]
As a cult of personality, the MKO’s leadership has not changed. They – Maryam and Massoud Rajavi – are the same people as when they cooperated with Saddam Hussein to suppress Kurds’ and Shiites’ uprising in Iraq. and, the world never forgets previous experiences of duplicity in US policy when George W. Bush said,” I’ve set a clear doctrine :America makes no distinction between the terrorists and the countries that harbor them. If you harbor a terrorist, you’re just as guilty as the terrorists, and you are an enemy of the United States of America.”[5]
George Bush even named “MEK” as a pretext to invade Iraq, in September 2002.[6]
Today a terrorist designated organization is freely moving around the Capital Hill to run their cause “There is an awful lot of MEK cash slashing around the halls of congress, and the cultists haven’t been shy about handing it out,” Raimondo states.[7]
The Mojahedin Khalq Organization is the same FTO listed group that the US States Department has gathered the following information about to verify its status as a terrorist entity:
“the MEK trained females at Camp Ashraf in Iraq to perform suicide attacks in Karbala”;”The MEK solicits money under the false pretext of humanitarian aid to the Iranian people”;”an August 2008 US Intelligence Community Terrorist Threat Assessment clearly states that the MEK retains a limited capability to engage in Terrorist activity or terrorism”;”the MEK “publicly renounced violence in 2001,but limited intelligence reporting indicates that the group has not ended military operations, repudiated violence, or completely or voluntarily disarmed;”the intelligence community “assesses that although there has not been a confirmed terrorist attack by the MEK since the organization surrendered to coalition Forces in 2003,the MEK retains a limited capability and intent to use violence to achieve its political goals;”and “UN inspectors say that much of the information provided to the UN by the MEK about Iran’s nuclear program has a political purpose and has been wrong.”[8]
By Mazda Parsi
References:
[1]McGreal,Chris,Banned Iranian terror group lobbies for legitimacy on Capital Hill,Guardian,May22,2012
[2]ibid
[3]Hersh,Seymour,Our Men in Iran, the New Yorker,april6,2012
[4]Raimondo,Justin,Hillary’s Terrorists,Antiwar.com,May16,2012
[5]Greatmessage.com
[6] CNN,President Bush’s address to the United Nations, September 12, 2002
[7]Raimondo,Justin,Hillary’s Terrorists,Antiwar.com.May 16,2012
[8] Habilian reporting from declassified Court documents, August 12, 2010,U.S. Intelligence Community: MEK trained females for suicide attacks