MOJAHEDIN

please try to get the facts right

I could write an article about all the wrong statements that commentators are making on this thread. I am not even reading all comments but sometimes, when I do, I find mistakes. I was just reading someone's comment addrssed to VPK. this commentator boasted that they were in Iran right after revolution. As evidence of it, he noted that IRI started with Todeh and communists and then moved to Mojahedin. In truth, first IRI was against Mujahedin and then Tudeh. Guys and gals, if you don't know much, please don't comment.

....

As Iranian Americans,

We don't want to be represented by Mojahedeen. We have our own issues to tend, we are facing an almost bankrupt economy, our schools are being closed left and right, our social services being cut or are non existant, etc.

We don't need another WAR, this time with Iran. As Iranian Americans we hate to see Iran to be attacked or destroyed.

If there is a war between Iran and the United States we the Iranian Americans will be looked upon as 'Enemy'

We don't want that for ourselves or our children.

We don't want to see mosques or public buildings to be blown up and that's what Mojahedeens are good for. And that's why Israeli lobby loves them so much.

Mojahedeen are being pushed down our throat by the Israeli lobby in the United States and they are no friends of Iranians inside or outside of Iran.

My Dearest VPK

I am afraid you are beginning to sound more and more like an old broken record. The only difference is that each statement you make contradicts the previous one.

This is now for the 100th time. I neither sympathize nor make excuses for MKO or any other organization’s misdemeanour. But I see it as my duty to uphold the principals of democracy and universal human right. Which states

“All political parties have the right to express their opinions and ideology in a civil peaceful manner”,

And more importantly

 “Every one is innocent until their guilt is proven in a fair transparent court of law beyond reasonable doubts”.

Furthermore even when they are proven guilty it is up to a fair and qualified judiciary system to pass sentence. The last thing that we need here is mob justice and gossip mongering, as if we did not have enough of that for the past 33 years.

Now! You might think that I am saying this because I have some links with MKO or I sympathize with them or even like them in any shape or form. But the truth could not be any further than that.

The fact of the matter is that by defending the rights of MKO(the most unpopular opposition group) I am in principal defending my own rights.

It only takes one exception in applying the universal human rights, freedom of expression and fairness for all, before the whole system collapses and then it would only be the matter of time before we will all be victims and be prosecuted for our beliefs.

.

I do not know how old you are, but I was there in the early years after the success of revolution and I know how the IRI killing and suppression machine works.

They tent to single out their victims and assure the rest of us that they only have problem with that particular individual or party. After they have finished with annihilating that particular party and its supporter they then move to the next one.

This was what happened in 1980. first they started with eliminating the communists and then Todeh party , then they moved to MKO, the next it was the turn of the very architects of the revolution. People like Sadegh Ghotb Zadeh , Mehdi Bazargan, Abolhasan Banisadr and so on.

This trend continued until couple of years ago when it was the turn of Mosavi and Karoobi and even today it is the turn of AN.and his group. 

If we as a nation and the rest of political elite have stood up to the first waive of annihilation and supported the rights of those communists we would not have been in the dire situation we are today.

This kind of reminds me of the words of a German activist named Pastor Martin Niemoller who lived in Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945, whose comments on the political events and suppressions of that era says.

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out. Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”

You see my friend! The difference between the two of us is that I believe in what I am advocating and I am convinced that I can win  over opinions by triumphing in any fair transparent argument and by putting my point across. Furthermore because I have educated myself without any prejudice, I know that my points are strong enough to win any argument. So I can confidently put the final judgment and selection in the hand of our people as I trust them totally.

Hence I do NOT believe that we are immature children who need a supervisor (Valy e Faghih, Sensory organisations or smart ass individuals who thing they know better i terms of what is actually good for us) to dictate who is in and who is out

And finally if you want an example of an old terrorist group that have been brought back into political process though peaceful negotiations then you need to look no further than Northern Ireland and IRA, Sien Fein and DUP.

Even today in Afghanistan the allied forces are trying to open negotiations with Taleban and bring them back into political process.

Such attitude not only does NOT indicate weakness on the part of negotiator but it shows their strength, confidence and sound mindedness of their ideology

statira

As a member of NIAC, I'm begining to dout Mr. Parsi as the true representative of Iranians will.

Welcome to reality. No one is a "true representative" of Iranians. Of course Parsi is not a representative of our will. For one thing none of us agree with the other one. So if he represented my will then he would surely not represent Molla or MK or Soosan Khanoom or for that matter anyone else's will. Besides he is not an elected official. All NIAC does is to lobby for some things that we may *generally* agree on. Like simplifying the visa requirement.

The rest is up to each of us to decide. Do you think Obama or Bush are/were "true representatives" of American will. No! Half the people hated each of them. The other were mostly lukewarm at best. So let us not kid ourselves. The only real representative of your will is you. Most of us do not even know what we want. Evident by the number of people who keep changing their minds. Just look at the divorce rate! 

Shazdeh

All it took was a search at the NIAC site to come up with the direct quotes below, linking IRI and terror, from conference proceedings.  And, here is a conference at the Senate (IN A PUBLIC FORUM), partly on terrorism and many were invited to speak at the joint NIAC /  the New America Foundation conference

A National Policy Forum on

“U.S.-Iran Relations: Collision, Stand-Off, or Convergence?”

9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

United States Senate

Well, that is it for me.  No more searches!  And, please don't tell me that NIAC's invited speakers said the below quotes, and not NIAC!!!!!!!!!!!! All this stuff was extracted from the NIAC site.

-----------------------

REP. HARMAN: "[Thanks the New America Foundation and the National Iranian American Council for inviting her to speak.] .......  Iran is the sponsor of an A-list international terror organization named Hezbollah, which has worldwide reach, and most recently provoked a war with Israel. Hezbollah soldiers in that war were trained and equipped by Iran and were pretty darn effective. Iran has recently meddled in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is helping todestabilize the Siniora government; and in Iraq, where Iranian-made EFPs – I’m sure you talked about this morning – have been used for several years; not just recently, but for several years. And at least there are claimsthat al-Quds fighters are also in Iraq."

------------------------

Another Speaker:

"Trita just talked about crazy Iran. Well, of course there is a similar notion in Israel. One of the things that sometimes you will do is you’ll say crazy Israel and you’ll get people worried about what crazy Israel will do because you want someone else to do the heavy lifting, and I think one has to build that into one’s analysis."

-------------------------

Another Speaker:

"In the Arab-Israeli arena, Iran recognizes as part of a grand bargain with the United States, should such a grand bargain ever be forthcoming, that it will have to terminate its support for the terrorist activities of Hezbollah in Lebanon. It will have to revise its relationship with Palestinian groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. But in the absence of any kind of grand bargain, or the absence of any prospect of a grand bargain with the United States, Iran is going to keep those options alive, it is going to keep them on the table and it is going to push on those buttons from time to time as a way of reminding the United States and others in the region that there are costs associated with not meeting Iran’s security needs and recognizing some of its security interests in the region."

--------------------------

Another Speaker:

"The U.S. government I think has tried to make clear, for example, that when they shut off the U-turn transaction ability for Bank Saderat it was doing that because this Iranian bank was engaged in the financing of terrorism, including at one point $50 million going to a Hezbollah-controlled front organization. That’s not a small amount of change. Or when the U.S. government designated Bank Sepah for its procurement activities and financing for the regime’s proliferation activities with regimes like North Korea."

------------------------

Another Jewish speaker in Q/A session:

"The message couldn’t have been clearer. I need to be able to show political deliverables to my street if you want them to follow my non-violent, diplomatic, negotiated path rather than the path that’s written in the slogans of Hamas on every wall in Gaza; namely, Kassam rockets and terror and violence are going to drive Israel out of Gaza while you guys in Fatah spent ten years negotiating and getting nothing of the sort."

Faramarz

Here is what NIAC was doing in DC, Re: HR, on feedback to 2 house bills regarding sanctions on Iran.  I just copied one of them.  I believe the President (Obama) implemented all 3 recommendations in the very bottom (MY COMMENTS IN CAP).

Do the conclusions sound like coming from a regime agent?

----------------------

NIAC - Proposed Amendments to S.2799

Summary: NIAC has identified several problems in Titles I and IV of S.2799 that seriously undermine US Iran policy. ......................

......................

......................

Solution:

1) Impose precision sanctions on Iran’s ruling leaders and human rights violators (IMPLEMENTED, 1st 8 PEOPLE, MORE LATER)

2) Penalize companies that aid the Iranian government’s repressive activities  (IMPLEMENTED, BUT IRAN AIR GOT CAUGHT HERE TOO)

3) Ease restrictions on humanitarian assistance, people-to-people exchanges, civilian aircraft parts, and vital Internet software  (PARTLY IMPLEMENTED)

As I have said before

the one and only reason that I need for disliking, disapproving and generally ignoring Trita Parsi and his suspect gang is this:

Mola Shotor--the shadiest character on this site--is their number 1 supporter.  He crawls out of his hole and "jerrs" humself everytime the words "Trita Parsi" and "NIAC" are mentioned.  

Something must be up!!!! 

The absence of good is worse than evil

{"The Regime is evil and that’s it."}

Evil is such a convenient term, what if I were to tell you it's worse than evil, it's so evil that it believes it's good? A realist would say evil doesn't actually exist, so nothing can ever "be" evil, however existentially it could "be" not good, that is to say, the potential for good exists everywhere, it is only when that potential is (sometimes intentionally) not actualized that we call something "evil".

In fact we shouldn't let our rational minds be misled by false dichotomies, what we're dealing with is good and the absence of good.

....

Trita Parsi and NIAC are popular among Iranian Americans

because they have taken concrete steps to help them to learn about and participate in the political process in this country.

If you live in Canada or Europe don't worry about NIAC.

Tell us what organization is representing you and what are its accomplishment to better your lives there. 

But all that I hear from you all is: 

Whine, whine, whine...

Aryo barzan: I just read

Aryo barzan: I just read your comment and I like your characterizaion of our political opponents as opposed to those who are our real enemies: IRI leadership, MKO's leadership.

Not all MKO sympathizers are even IRI sympathizers are enemies of Iran.

The real enemy is hatred, greed, and fear. MKO, some Basiji or some Hezbollah who are not criminals and don't have blood on their hands  are still Iranian. and if we have to spend our entire lives in endless war with our fellow Iranians, we cannot win, by definition.

Let's redefine "enemies".  Those who are  openly devoted to the destruction and squandering of the Iranian culture, resources (both human and material), language, Iranian heritage and territory,  moral fiber of the society, etc. These people (thieving IRI mafia leadership) are the real enemies of Iran. They prove this day in and day out by abusing their power. The only way these criminals can be called "reformed' is by putting them in jail first and foremost. That's why murderes and criminals are persecuted by the law. They don't automatically and mirculously "reform" their behavior and attitude. Mousavi, Khameni, Karoubi et al should first go to jail for their crimes before being engaged or regarded as Opposition whom we can negotiate with.

Anyone who yearns for equality, democracy, human rights, justice and a prosperous Iran regardless of their ideology should be engaged.

Parsi is not Naive!

Naive to me is someone who does not understand the issues completely.  Anyone who wants to improve US/IRI relations, which would prolong the existence of this non reformable terroristic entity must be a Political sneak oil merchant/charlatan.

Parsi to me is a political charlatan! 

Also, the character of the majority of NIAC supporters here speak volumes. Most are part of the blame everything on AIPAC/Israel crowd. I find it most interesting that no one here mentioned the revised/new treatment of MKO in Europe but kept on blaming AIPAC for MKO's new treatment. 

"Thank you NIAC". Who says so? Iranian Students say so

شورای ملی ایرانی های آمریکای تبار (نیاک) تصمیم دولت اوباما را برای لغو قانون ویزای دانشجویی آمریکا که به ایرانیان دانشجو تنها اجازه یک بار ورود به آمریکا را می‌دهد تحسین می کند. در زمانی که تعداد زیادی از جوانان ایرانی به دنبال خروج از کشور بدلیل سرکوب در ایران هستند، این تصمیم فرصت های ایرانی ها را برای تحصیل در امریکا گسترش می دهد.

تریتا پارسی رييس نیاک در این رابطه می گوید: "فرصت های بهتراز این برای برقراری ارتباط با جوانان ایران برای ایالات متحده کم بوجود می آید". با وجود سرکوب در خانه، قانون ویزای دانشجویی آمریکا یکی از بزرگترین موانع پیشرو دانشجویان ایرانی برای ادامه تحصیل در دانشگاه های امریکا بوده است زیرا آنها را مجبور به انتخاب میان آموزش و خانواده خود می کرد.

تحت قانون روادید یک-بار ورود، دانشجویان ایرانی نمی توانند بدون از دست دادن ویزای خود ایالات متحده را طی دوران تحصیل ترک کنند.

نیاک رهبری تلاش برای حل مسئله ویزای یک-بار ورود را از طریق آموزش مقامات کاخ سفید، وزارت امور خارجه ، و کنگره در این موضوع بر عهده داشت. نیاک با همکاری کنگره امریکا از کاخ سفید خواست که به بررسی چگونگی افزایش تعداد و انواع ویزاهای موجود برای دانشجویان ایرانی بپردازد - مصوبه ای که توسط کمیته مجلس سنا در سال گذشته تصویب شد اما هنوز به قانون تبدیل نشده است.

نیاک همچنین جلساتی در این رابطه بین ایرانی های آمریکایی تبار و نمایندگان خود در کنگره تشکیل داد، و اعضای نیاک با ارسال هزاران نامه به اوباما، رييس جمهوری آمريکا، و کلینتون، وزیر امور خارجه امریکا، خواستار تغيير این قانون شدند.

دانشجویان ایرانی در مدارس آمریکا غالبا متوجه شدند که محدودیت های قوانین ویزای یک-بار ورود به قیمت از دست دادن فرصت های تحصیلی و قطع کردن روابط آنها با خانواده های خود تمام شده و حتی مانع شده که بعضی از دانشجوها که کشور را ترک کردند تحصیلات خود را تمام کنند. دانشجویان با نیاک از عدم توانایی به شرکت در کنفرانس های مهم علمی، جدا ماندن از اعضای خانواده در شرایط اضطراری، از دست دادن فرصت برای شرکت در مراسم ازدواج خواهر و برادر خود، و عدم توانایی برای دیدن عزیزان بیمارخود برای بار آخر و یا شرکت در تشییع جنازه آنها صحبت کردند.

وقتی که در سال ۲۰۰۲ فرایند چک امنیتی برای گرفتن ویزا توسط ایرانی ها دشوارتر شد مشکلات ناشی از این قانون تشدید گردید. با طولانی تر شدن زمان پردازش ویزا و عدم تضمین نتیجه ای مثبت، دانشجویان ایرانی در مدارس امریکا به طور فزاینده ای ترک امریکا و خطر ماه ها تاخیر و حتی عدم توانایی به بازگشت به امریکا را توجیه ناپذیر یافتند.

نیاک از دولت امریکا خواستار تغییر قانون یک-بار ورود شد به خصوص که تعداد متقاضیان ایرانی برای ورود به دانشگاه های آمریکایی در اثر افزایش سرکوب در ایران زیاد شده است. شمار دانشجویان ایرانی قرار گرفته در لیست سیاه به اتهام شرکت در تظاهرات هواداران دموکراسی به طور پیوسته افزایش یافته و اقدامات سرکوب گرانه دیگر با حمایت دولت بر علیه دانشجویان انجام شده است. این در حالی است که مقام های ایرانی برای کنترل دانشگاه های ایران تلاش کرده اند که با حذف "اندیشه غربی" از برنامه های درسی دانشگاه از بروز مخالفت جلوگیری کند.

سال گذشته اوباما، رييس ‌جمهور امریکا، در سال نو ایرانی اعلام کرد که امریکا "پایبند تعهد خود به آینده ای بهتر برای مردم ایران است ...  از طریق افزایش فرصت برای تبادل های آموزشی و تحصیل فرایند ورود دانشجویان ایرانی به کالج ها و دانشگاه های ما ..."

در حال حاضر رييس‌جمهور یک قدم بزرگ در راه عمل کردن به وعده اش برداشته است.

نیاک از تمام اعضای خود و همه کسانی که برای دستیابی به این موفقیت کمک کردند تشکر می کند.

Dear Vildemose

Vildemose jaan,

Thank YOU so very much.

Best regards,

Masoud

Although the mission of the

Although the mission of the proposed lobby should be to improve relations between the US and Iran and open up opportunities for trade, the initial targets should be less controversial issues such as visas and racial profiling/discrimination. Since the lobby will be spared from creating a grassroots network of its own, the initial focus on non-controversial issues will only serve to establish credibility within the community, and not massive support (which would necessitate the complete avoidance of issues such as US-Iran relations).

Furthermore, it would bea wise strategy to mainly target Iranian-American businessmen for financial support. This group has both a higher propensity to support the lobby’s mission and it is also in a better position to underwrite the expenses of the lobby. Nonetheless, despite its predominantly business oriented constituency, it isessential that the lobby creates a "human face" for its aims and goals.

There you have it. Please stop painting NIAC as anything else but what TP describes himself in his own words.

Thank you agin MK jan.

MM

That's what I meant. Thank You!

Here is a little distraction.

//www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd...

Dear Faramarz

I think that Trita Parsi still hedges his bets, maybe because he has some professional rivalry with AIPAC or probably ...

That is it. You have psyched him out pretty well. I concur wholeheartedly that there are no nuisance with the IRI mafia. They must relinquish power or they will be dragged down by the people, sooner or later.

Faramarz - These people (IRI) have to go, one way or another

I added IRI to your conclusion.  I hope that is what you meant.

Thank YOU Dear Areyo Barzan, Statira, Shazdeh, and Faramarz

Dear Areyo Barzan,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. My regards for you has dramatically increased. You are right that we have serious differences and that democracy in Iran can only be built by accepting the democratic rights of others.

Best,

Masoud

========================　

Dear Statira,

Thank you for your comments. I agree with Faramarz that you are very open-mined and fair.

Best,

Masoud

=================================　

Shazde jaan,

Thank you so very much for your excellent comments. I agree with much of them.

Best,

Masoud

================================　

Faramarz jaan,

Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooo very much for your comments.

Best,

Masoud

MM

MM Jaan,

When it comes to the IR Regime, I believe that we need to be clear, crystal clear, and either black or white, no nuisances!

The Regime is evil and that’s it.

I think that Trita Parsi still hedges his bets, maybe because he has some professional rivalry with AIPAC or probably because his relatives were put in prison by the late Shah, well so were a few of mine. We need to move forward and he can play a significant role, but not by trying to accommodate the Regime.

These people have to go, one way or another.

Statira

Thank you for your comments and I admire your open-mindedness and willingness to challenge the status quo.

As
a member of NIAC, you should, I believe, ask all the tough questions
that Massoud Khan has put forward and ask them about their internal processes and procedures; Transparency is the key to democracy.

Faramarz, dear

It is more like "One Toe in Shiite"!

Self-Defeating Opposition: How MEK helps the regime keep power

The strongest supporter of the Islamic regime has inadvertently been the MEK, by pigeonholing any opposition group with the MEK, those who have a clearly articulated and rational approach are drowned out by stultified talk which glorifies suicidal martyrs and praises their leader for irrigating the killing fields in fighting for freedom through blood. Those who sympathize with the front put on by this group are unwitting supporters of the enemy they believe to be fighting.

Take for instance the slogan: 

No to War, No to Appeasement, Yes to the Democracy Movement. 

"The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. It has been described as "...the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and compromise, thereby avoiding the resort to an armed conflict which would be expensive, bloody, and possibly dangerous."

What qualifies as appeasement? If I don't like the MEK and think they should be dissolved due to the way it undermines the modern-day democracy movement in Iran, does that "appease" the regime? Does it make them satisfied with my preference? Or does supporting the MEK satisfy the preference of the regime by eliminating all the internal competition and providing a convenient outside element which Iranians from all backgrounds do not believe in, Which helps keep their power? Does killing members of the regime weaken them or strengthen their resolve and radicalize them more? Supporting the MEK appeases the regime, it makes them happy, they celebrate whenever a young opposition movement member becomes associated with the MEK, because they can weigh him/her down with all the baggage the MEK is has carrying around. All it takes to make the regime happier is to see American/Israeli who are not averse to waging a proxy war with Iran supporting the MEK, that's just the icing on the cake for them, it doesn't get any better than that. 

Through inappropriate (albeit emotionally appropriate, just not strategically for an opposition movement.) use of violence and changing their positions according to the most fashionable trends and allies they are providing ammunition for the regime to murder its true "headless" opposition which keeps the regime from falling apart, as the MEK interferes and delegitimize the natural progression of homegrown grassroots democracy movements through inflated threats and gratuitous acts of (self-)destruction, there would be more reason to hope for freedom for all the direct and indirect victims terrorized by the regime and its unwitting proxies who are buying them time and postponing the day the Islamic regime will be brought to justice. By using violence to instigate political change they throw the baby out with the bathwater, what needs to be respected is collective decision making and compatible incentives, in which there is means-ends congruence in which people are similarly invested, rather than means-ends paradox of the MEK in which the investment of countless lives for this one approach has led to a form of denial in which they eliminate the possibility of mutually exclusive means to the same end.

I'd like to think the MEK was once had a strategy (albeit a poor one), it was a means to the end of regime change, but now it has become a pathology. It exists to perpetuate itself and revenge through destruction. This is not an example of model behavior for the opposition movement, we all know how the regime is lacking in human rights, but if we do not represent our own abstract ideals in terms of concrete actions, one undermines their original cause through "extension transference", the subdivision of goals has become fragmented from the original purpose, which leads to relying on something outside ourselves to accomplish something we once had within us when we started. 

When something becomes teleologically inconsistent globally, it doesn't matter what local justifications one provides, those actions will not be forgotten...six days after the cease fire when operation eternal light was launched and the Iranian town of Islamabad-e Gharb was razed, that was a clear example of defeating their own purpose.

Autopsy of an Ideological Drift://www.scribd.com/mobile/documents/17368290/download?commit=Download+Now&secret_password=

"Extension transference is a phenomenon that occurs when we create systems to help us do things more efficiently and effectively an in ways that we can measure and control. Often these are processes that we once did quite naturally on our own." (Hanson, p. 43).

The term was coined by the American anthropologist, Edward T. Hall in his book Beyond Culture (1976).

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extension_transference 

"The problem with bureaucracies is that they have to work hard and long to keep from substituting self-serving survival and growth for their original primary objective. Few succeed. Bureaucracies have no soul, no memory, and no conscience. If there is a single stumbling block on the road to the future, it is the bureaucracy as we know it."

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Culture

"Two people can engage in an action that seems identical on the surface and in the short run but for each person has wildly different consequences and implications depending on whether that person views the action as a means to an end or an end itself, with no higher goal in sight.Conflicts arise when people think they’re dealing with one type of motivation for the action when they’re actually dealing with the other. These misunderstandings lead to much frustration....Sometimes this incongruity of motives comes from mistaken assumptions. Other times it arises from unintentional or intentional double messagescultivated by one or both of the parties.Treating actions that successful, well-adjusted, mentally healthy people would consider means to an end as desirable end goals is a type of pathology. Properly differentiating between and prioritizing means and ends on the other hand is the definition of strategy. Most self-defeating behavior and vicious cycles come from people mistaking pathology for strategy and never correcting that mistake throughout their lives."//therawness.com/raw-concepts-means/

‌ام ‌ام جان: با ما به از این باش که با اهل جهانی‌!

Don't take me for a kid and my pen for some candy ... show me the proof. Email Keh Vaseh Fati Tomboon Nemisheh! Show me something on their website or anything public from 2002 to now. Hey in 10 years of writing, there should be at least one instance ... LOL

Any hoooo: in this article, the author is saying that he is shocked that the people who are asking for the Mojahedin's de-listing are not being prosecuted by the police ... you see: he wants police action against people who are asking for the de-listing ... let alone any Mojahedin members or sympaths, which in his view are associated with a terror organization and should be prosecuted for sure. Here I quote:

"... have never seen lobbyists for al-Qaeda parade through the halls of Congress ... But the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) ... freely does all of these things, despite being a designated foreign terrorist organization ...

If al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organization were holding fundraisers in DC, lobbying Congress, or holding press conferences at the National Press Club, the FBI, Homeland Security, and local law enforcement would be all over it.

Not so with the MEK. There, law enforcement seems nowhere to be found. In fact, a prominent spokesperson for the MEK terrorist group was hired by Fox News in the mid-2000s to serve as their on-air terrorist analyst. Go figure."

Go Figure Indeed!

Faramarz

I agree that NIAC is nowhere near AIPAC in organization, money and influence peddling.  But AIPAC has had a much longer start and yet NIAC went toe to toe with them in "the war with Iran act" and won.  I will quote my old boss who told his group " you need to say what you want to do, otherwise, others will tell you what to do".  We cannot lay down and ask for another one just because we are weaker than either IRI or AIPAC.   

As far as focus of human rights in Iran, I agree with you but I can tell you that NIAC has been active on that front as well.  Now, we can ask Trita to jump up and down and say a few curses while the HR issues are at hand, but I am not sure that he is that kind of a person.

Here are some selected examples on the HR focus.  Please please tell me which other Iranian-American organization has done more (among other things) to influence Human Rights in Iran through actions taken in DC:

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NIAC has taken a stance with regards to the following bills and influenced them with voter awareness followed by electronic writing campaigns that were hand-delivered to the Congressional offices as well as talks with the Capitol staffers/Representatives:

Stand With the Iranian People: support The Stand With the Iranian People Act (H.R.4303), support Iranian Digital Empowerment Act (H.R.4301), oppose Iranian Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (H.R. 2194), oppose Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Divestment, and Accountability Act (S.2799), support Reduce Iranian Cyber-Suppression Act (H.R.3284 / S.1475), oppose Accountability for Business Choices in Iran Act (H.R.3922), support Iran Human Rights Sanctions Act (H.R.4647 / S.3022), support Travel Ban (H.CON.RES.256)

Defend Human Rights: support Religious Freedom Resolution (H.RES.33), support Granger Resolution (H.RES.888), support Baha'i Resolution (S.RES.71 / H.Res. 175), support U.S. Hikers Resolution (S.CON.RES.40 / H.Con.Res. 189), support Robert Levinson Resolution (H.Con.Res. 36 / S.CON.RES.4) .

* 2007-2010: Twice a year, NIAC holds a major policy conference on Capitol Hill to examine the most significant and timely issues facing the US and Iran & NIAC and Amnesty International held a joint conference on Capitol Hill titled "Human Rights in Iran and U.S. Policy Options.

* 2007:  Even the real rats got envious: Why has Amnesty International invited a stooge of the Iranian regime to a Congressional hearing on Iranian human rights abuses?  By a jealous Kenneth Timmerman.  

* 2008: Defeated a Congressional resolution that would have paved the way for a US-Iran war.

* 2009: Ensured human rights were on the agenda when the U.S. began talks with Iran.  This has, hopefully, led to the recent 2010 boycott of the 8 Iranian officials with the worst human rights record.

* 2009: Helped remove sanctions on vital online communication tools like MSN Messenger, FaceBook, and YouTube to ensure the free flow of information in Iran (Stand with the people of Iran Congressional Act).

* 2010: NIAC Conference Highlights Demand for Human Rights of Iranian People.

* 2010: Congressional Testimony of Trita Parsi on Human Rights in Iran.

Mola and Trita Parsi

Mola: NIAC's mission

for Iranian Americans is to help us to have a voice in the political process here.

=================================

The following is a quote from a letter written by Trita Parsi to Roy Coffee.

===================

Trita Parsi's letter:

POSITIONING

Although the mission of the proposed lobby should be to improve relations between the US and Iran and open up opportunities for trade, the initial targets should be less controversial issues such as visas and racial profiling/discrimination. Since the lobby will be spared from creating a grassroots network of its own, the initial focus on non-controversial issues will only serve to establish credibility within the community, and not massive support (which would necessitate the complete avoidance of issues such as US-Iran relations).

Furthermore, it would bea wise strategy to mainly target Iranian-American businessmen for financial support. This group has both a higher propensity to support the lobby’s mission and it is also in a better position to underwrite the expenses of the lobby. Nonetheless, despite its predominantly business oriented constituency, it isessential that the lobby creates a "human face" for its aims and goals.

Mola's Confession

Mola: We don't want to be represented here by Jebehe Melli ....

MK: Thank YOU sooooooo very much for saying who represents you.

;-)

....

Again,

We don't want to be represented here by Jebhe Melli or Mojahedeen. 

As Trita Parsi indicates:

"As one former State Department official put it, the "paradox is that we may take them off the terror list in order for them to do more terror."

Much like Ahmad Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress, the permanent leader of the MEK, Maryam Rajavi, seeks to return from decades of exile as the anointed President of Iran. And freed of the terrorist designation, there is little reason to believe the MEK won't turn its lobbying apparatus -- which puts Chalabi's to shame -- to obtain U.S. funding and to promote war with Iran. In fact, some members of Congress already refer to the MEK as the "real Green movement." Even more shocking is that top former U.S. officials have called on the U.S. to recognize Rajavi as the rightful President of Iran."

There are those who are itching to see a war between Iran and United States although they're afraid to say it here. They are sitting in their comfortable homes in the West receiving their 'Grants' and pushing for a war.

We are sick and tired of WARS under any pretext. You want to fight the Iranian government go to Baluchestan join the Jondolah and blow up a few mosque and public buildings but it's not our choice.

Our choice is peace through diplomacy.

Bavafa on AIPAC, PMOI, RP, and NIAC

B: My conclusion,

You may profess to be a JM member but the fact is that every single position you have taken is of AIPAC group.

Will you tell us, are you a member, affiliated, supported or work for AIPAC?

MK: I have served as elected high-level official of INF-Abroad (U.S. Branch) including Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, and Central Committee. In my undergrad student days (1981-1983), I was the founder and elected President of the INF Student Group. As a precocious high school kid from the time I was 15 years old to when I finished high school, I was a supporter of JM in Iran and clandestinely distributed JM literature and did stuff against the Shah’s regime (writing slogans on the walls, blackboards, and the like).

If you actually READ my works and actually UNDERSTAND them, you would NOT make the mistake of confusing my positions with those of AIPAC.

//iranian.com/main/news/2011/03/14/what-happened-tunisia-did-not-stay-tunisia

I will be happy to tell you. I am not now, nor I have ever been a member, affiliated, supported, or worked for AIPAC.

==============================　

On the War

The analogy with a woman dress is a false analogy. A woman has the right to dress as she wishes. No one has the right to rape her because of how she dresses. It is a right of a woman to dress as she wants and all have to respect her rights.

It is a FACT that the moron war-monger Khomeini provoked the war. Khomeini called for the uprising in Iraq and is believed to have provided assistance to Al Dawah, which carried out (an unsuccessful) assassination attempt on the no. 2 person in Iraq. One has to look to what highly respected scholars would say. I gave you the example of the late Professor Fred Halliday who stated that Khomeini irresponsibly provoked the war. YOU are so brain-washed by Khomeini’s propaganda that you cannot comprehend this. If one does not understand these basics, then one is going to repeat these mistakes. As the saying goes one has to learn from history so that one would not repeat the mistakes. If you fail to understand history then you will repeat the same war-mongering of Khomeini and get another hundreds of thousands of Iranians killed in another war.

Saddam has to be condemned not only for the invasion of Iran but also for the invasion of Kuwait (and whole bunch of other things). Fortunately, the moron war-monger Khomeini died in 1989, otherwise this war-monger might have stared ANOTHER war with who knows who (the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait).

There are several reasons for war. One is the existence of war-mongers like Ayatollah Khomeini (whose ideology is a war ideology as stated in the VF Constitution), Saddam, Hitler.

If the no. 1 leader of country x repeatedly and publically said that he wants to overthrow the government of another country and then engaged in actions to assassinate top leaders of the said country, then this might be used as causes belli. If the leader of country x said to "death to America" and then sent a person who detonated a bomb to kill VP of the U.S., then the U.S. government would call that a causes belli. For example, Osama bin Laden called jihad against the United States and then carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks. President Bush demanded the Taliban regime to hand over bin Laden. Taliban did not do so. Therefore, President Bush invaded Afghanistan. It is accurate to say that bin Laden PROVOKED the U.S. to invade Afghanistan.

YOU keep supporting the war-mongering of Khomeini and repeat his propaganda. I keep providing actual documents and cite one of the most respected scholars of the Middle Est. My position is objective and supported by documents and scholars.

My objective analysis could help us avoid another war that Khomeini’s ideology can provoke. The ideology of Khomeini’s export of VIOLENT fundamentalist terrorist groups to overthrow various government can provoke ANOTHER war with the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, etc. There are many war-mongers who are top officials of the terrorist regime who have in the past few years criticized Rafsanjani for having convinced war-monger Khomeini to stop the war in 1988. The fundamentalist ubber-war-mongers wanted to continue the war. These ubber war mongers are part of the top echelons of power in Iran today.

==========================

On sanctions

B: Regarding sanction: You support full (air-tight) sanction while there is no objection or effort against their (US and allies) full dealing in buy the oil form Iran. Again, in my opinion this is hypocrisy at best. If sanction is promoted against Iran, the West MUST first stop purchasing OIL from Iran. Only then full sanction can be viewed as justified

MK: You are badly confused. In ALL my writing I keep repeating that the sanctions should be on stopping the sale of oil by the terrorist regime. Helooooooooo. The whole goal is to STOP the whole world to STOP buying oil from the terrorist regime.

===============================

Regarding RP and PMOI

Again, you are badly confused. My position on RP and the PMOI is similar and based on consistent principle. I support neither the PMOI nor RP. But I will support their human rights and political rights. So when someone from the terrorist regime or NIAC attacks the monarchists, I have defended the monarchist.

If monarchists attack Dr. Mossadegh or JM, I will attack them back. If Mojahedin attack Dr. Mossadegh and JM, I will attack them back. The principle is exactly the same.

==================================　

On NIAC

In my opinion, the VF regime and NIAC are enemies. And I believe it is fair to say that NIAC is a dictatorial group if the members of NIAC do not have the right to vote for NIAC president or for the Board. If the members of NIAC (all the dues paying members of NIAC) do not have the right to vote for who the President of NIAC should be, or they do not have the right to vote and decided who the members of the Board are, then one can NOT say that NIAC is a democratic group. No one has been able to provide any evidence that the members of NIAC have the right to vote for the President of NIAC. No one has placed a link to any document that shows the members of NIAC have the right to vote for the members of BOARD. As long as no one is able to provide basic factual information about this, one could think that NIAC is a dictatorial group. It appears that neither PMOI nor NIAC allows the members to vote for the leadership.

In actual practice, I think AIPAC has a President every two years. In other words, AIPAC is NOT the dictatorship of one President-for-LIFE. NIAC for 9 years has had only 1 president. Perhaps NIAC should change its name to NTPC = National Trita Parsi Council.

It appears that AIPAC has a different President every two years, but PMOI and NIAC have had presidents-for-life.

I condemn all those companies that place their profits and trade above the human rights and democracy for the Iranian people. In my opinon, is NIAC is part of the problem. Here are the words of Trita Parsi:

The following is a quote from a letter written by Trita Parsi to Roy Coffee.

===================

Trita Parsi's letter:

POSITIONING

Although the mission of the proposed lobby should be to improve relations between the US and Iran and open up opportunities for trade, the initial targets should be less controversial issues such as visas and racial profiling/discrimination. Since the lobby will be spared from creating a grassroots network of its own, the initial focus on non-controversial issues will only serve to establish credibility within the community, and not massive support (which would necessitate the complete avoidance of issues such as US-Iran relations).

Furthermore, it would bea wise strategy to mainly target Iranian-American businessmen for financial support. This group has both a higher propensity to support the lobby’s mission and it is also in a better position to underwrite the expenses of the lobby. Nonetheless, despite its predominantly business oriented constituency, it isessential that the lobby creates a "human face" for its aims and goals. AIPAC successfully painted the opponents of the Iran Libya Sanctions Act as "greedy businessmen who had no scruples when it came to doing business with terroristregimes." The oil companies failed to characterize their campaign with "human concern for the well-being of innocent Iranians stuck with a dictatorial regime" or "support for the poor mid-Western family father who lost his job due the sanctions." The human element is essential both when it comes to attracting support among Iranian-Americans and when it comes to winning the debate and the votes on the Hill. "

===================================　

....

NIAC's mission

for Iranian Americans is to help us to have a voice in the political process here. We don't want Mojahedeen with the support of Israeli lobby and neocons to represent us, hell no.

Is it really that hard to understand? 

Neither Trita Parsi nor NIAC claim to be a 'revolutionary' organization.

And all you who criticise NIAC are no 'revolutionaries' either.

Who says so? Yor own writing after visiting Iran shows this fact.

Your writing after your visits to Iran is mostly about chelokabab, prostitutes, opium smoking and site seeing.  Go back and read your own writings in case you've forgotten.

If there's war between Iran and United State, we the Iranian Americans are going to be the big losers not the ones who live in Canada, England or in their own heads for that matter.

We are going to be labled as 'ENEMY'.

Mojahedeen don't give a damn what would happen to Iranian Americans as long as they get their military and political support from US government.

This is what Trita Parsi and the majority of Iranian Americans are saying.

Faramarz

Very well said. As a member of NIAC, I'm begining to dout Mr. Parsi as the true representative of Iranians will.