For background on this issue, see my past blog postings concerning Mujahedeen E Khalq (MEK), the Peoples Mujahedeen Of Iran:
http://janbtucker.com/blog/2010/05/12/elena-kagan-nomination-is-scary/
As if I didn’t need any more incentive to blog about the State Department’s recent decision to take the MEK off its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), I got an email a little while ago from Ralph Fertig, one of the really tremendous activists for many, many, many years in civil rights/human rights activism. He had his ribs broken in Selma Alabama in 1961 while jailed for opposing white supremacy and has served most recently as President of the Humanitarian Law Project (HLP). The HLP which challenged the extremist position asserted by the Departments of State and Justice on applying the Patriot Act against attorneys who want to assist so-called FTO members to assert their legal rights (by filing legal briefs) when engaging in completely peaceful endeavors. One of these lawsuits was Humanitarian Law Project vs. Holder, 130 S. Ct. 2705 (2010) regarding alleged Kurdish and Tamil terrorists (of course one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter).
As I pointed out in my blog about Elena Kagan’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court:
In order to be listed as an FTO, the group has to have committed at least one of a whole list of violations of federal law, with some nexus to having harmed America or Americans. I did Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests to the Justice Department, Department of Defense, FBI, CIA, and State Department to try to elicit any evidence they had that MEK had EVER violated one of those laws. Their response: NADA, NOTHING, ZIP.
So, the U.S. Department of State finally woke up and smelled the coffee. There never was any evidence to have classified MEK as an FTO in the first place (either that or the government lied in response to my FOIA and PA requests). Now the State Department has made official that it’s not a terrorist organization as defined in law. Very convenient that this was done just before the election, perhaps to get the Iranian-American vote, but if the government wants to really do the right thing, President Obama should now commute the sentences of every person convicted of having given material aide to MEK that was based solely on their purported affiliation with MEK as an FTO. He should then pardon all those released from sentence and everybody who has already served their sentence.
What’s really crazy and hypocritical about this whole episode in U.S. diplomatic, military and security policy is that from 2005-2009, the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command in Nevada was training MEK operatives in intelligence skills so that they could assist the United States in spying on Iranian nuclear developments and other sleuthing tasks. All of course while MEK was supposedly an FTO that was a threat to America and Americans…..
People may wonder and speculate and debate whether the development of nuclear weaponry is real or not; whether it is another case of non-existent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. But one thing that is real is Iranian espionage in the United States targeting America’s missile defense program. I know that from personal experience because I came across such a case in an otherwise unrelated private investigation, turned the information over to FBI Counter Intelligence, and assisted CI in its follow up investigation. Enough said for the sake of propriety……maybe in a decade or so I’ll give details when its safe.
MEK is part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran and it’s leader, Maryam Rajavi, is the President-elect of NCRI. This is the NCRI’s “Ten Point Program for the Future of Iran” as announced by Ms. Rajavai:
1. From our point of view, the ballot box is the only criterion for legitimacy. Accordingly, we seek a republic based on popular vote.
2. We want a pluralist system, freedom of parties and assembly. In Iran of tomorrow, we will respect all individual freedoms. Expression of opinion, speech and the media are completely free and any censorship or inquisition is banned.
3. In the free Iran of tomorrow, we support and are committed to the abolition of death penalty.
4. The Iranian Resistance will establish the separation of the church and the State. Any form of discrimination against the followers of all religions and denominations will be prohibited.
5. We believe in complete gender equality in political and social rights. We also committed to equal participation of women in political leadership. Any form of discrimination against women will be abolished. They will enjoy the right to freely choose their clothing.
6. We want to set up a modern legal system based on the principles of presumption of innocence, the right to defense, and the right to be tried in a public court. We also seek the total independence of judges. Cruel and degrading punishments will have no place in the future Iran.
7. We are committed to the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights, and international covenants and conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of discrimination Against Women.
8. We recognize private property, private investment and the market economy.
9. Our foreign policy will be based on peaceful coexistence, international and regional peace and cooperation, as well as respect for the United Nations Charter. We will establish relations will all countries.
10. We want the free Iran of tomorrow to be devoid of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.
I received your link to this posting and I read it. I have been noticing how when we (our country, the U.S.) is about to embark on some form of intervention, invasion, assassination, etc. etc. we prelude by badmouthing the intended “target” so as to make a case for why it was so inevitable and necessary for the sake of humanity that we do these transgressions. It was clear as day in the invasion of Iraq. Then after it was proven that there were NO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, all sorts of back peddling and double speak was being spouted by the then President Bush and his entire cabinet excusing themselves for being “fooled” by false intelligent. My, my, how so casual of them, no? Not one of them has been hounded or persecuted for what amounts to murder of our young men and women who have spilled their blood there over a LIE, LIE, LIE!!!
Funny when Iran had a butcher of a dictator (imposed by us I might add) that was OK. Or when Hussein used chemical weapons on his own people that was OK too (he was our ally then don’t you know). Does anyone else see this pattern or is it just me?
Israel has been armed to the teeth with cutting edge nuclear weapons (which are mass destruction weapons I might add) and cutting edge conventional, devastating weaponry. Yet no one seems to sound a peep about them? Hmmm….. Why might that be?
Anyone????