Articles from Kenneth R. Timmerman, fired [?] by Obama from the Iran desk at the State Department …
- For many years a journalist with mainstream outlets like Time magazine and author of well-received books on global affairs, Timmerman appears to have eschewed traditional journalism in favor of ideological-driven activism by the early 1990s. According to his own telling, he was “fired by Time magazine for investigating the Clinton sell-off to Communist China of our national strategic technology, and it became increasingly difficult to get anything in the New York Times or Newsweek or Time or onto ABC, CNN, those types of places. Since then I’ve proudly waved my conservative banner.”
One positive position of Timmerman, he dislikes the terror group MEK – see srticle written in 2011.
State Department Documents Expose Iranian Terror Group
According to the documents the group, known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK, or MKO), supported the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November 1979 – not a position to endear itself to U.S. diplomats – before its “gradual elimination from the ruling coalition” by Ayatollah Khomeini less than two years later.
The new documents describe the MEK terror campaign against the Islamic regime during the 1980s and 1990s, and the group’s alliance with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. According to hundreds of Iranians interviewed by State Department “Iran watchers” in Dubai, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Germany, the ties to Saddam were the most damning.
“Ordinary Iranians were almost uniformly dismissive of the MEK, reacting with either disdain or apathy,” a recent cable from the U.S. Consulate in Dubai states.
“The MEK are detested among the young and old in Iran, although many young Iranians don’t know much about them,” the cable quotes one Iranian as having told U.S. diplomats.
“They are hated among Iranians, since their hands are stained with the blood of their fellow countrymen,” another Iranian is quoted as saying in the just-released cable.
A host of former senior U.S. officials have come out in public in support of the group, including, most recently, President Obama’s former National Security Advisor, Gen. Jim Jones.
Well … under pressure from Washington DC lobby groups (money) the MEK has been reinvented as a non-terror political organization, thanks to Rudy Giuliani et all.
More below the fold …
○ Iranian Terrorist Group M.E.K. Pays Big to Make History Go Away
○ Why We Shouldn’t Worry About Giuliani’s Ties to an Iranian Resistance Group | Backtalk – Nov. 28, 2016 |
More recently, in 2015, Lieberman joined the advisory board of a new AIPAC-backed lobbying organization, Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran (CNFI). Lieberman’s affiliation with the group elicited criticism in part because of his support for the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a controversial Iranian opposition group which until 2012 was on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. CNFI itself has seemingly sought to erase material from its website suggesting it has ties with the MEK. According to a July 2015 LobeLog story: “Two items on the website of Citizens for a Nuclear Iran, one of which was later removed, featured an exiled Iranian opposition group called the Mojahedin-e Khalq.”
In August 2015, Lieberman was appointed the chairman of the Sheldon Adelson-backed United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), replacing Gary Samore after the latter stepped down and announced his support for the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Said Lieberman at the time: “UANI has led the effort to economically isolate the Iranian regime, and its bipartisan and international expertise makes it a highly respected voice on the merits of the Iran agreement. I am honored to assume this new leadership role at this important time.”
Under a new president with right-wing fascist credentials of the GOP party members in US Congress, we are back in placing new sanctions on the people of Iran and its leaders. When an opportunity comes along, we’ll encourage the young people to revolt and overthrow the Mullah Islamic regime of terror in the region. Terror second only to the United States and its military power and covert CIA support for proxy terror groups. In addition, the Saudi tribe of Oil Sheiks will use their wealth to suppress activism in their own territory plus Bahrain, Libya, Lebanon,Syria and under Crown Prince Salman in Yemen. We won’t call this terror …
○ Saudi Blockade of Yemen Threatens to Starve Millions, U.N. Says | NY Times – Nov. 17, 2017 |
○ UN experts decry Saudi Arabia’s use of anti-terror laws against peaceful activists
Both the US and Israel have used the MEK for terror attacks inside of Iran. Similar to GW Bush and the use of the Jundallah terror group to cross the frontier in Balochistan (Pakistan) to infiltrate Iran for attacks.
Appears Trump has a falling out with the leaders of Pakistan who don’t take kindly to his “diplomatic” trash talk of recent. China is more than willing to fill the void, although Saudi King Salman is pushing for its influence in terms of wealth and donations. With Saad Hariri, PM of Lebanon, it didn’t quite work out with Saudi pressure.
○ Trump’s ‘incomprehensible’ accusations contradict facts, negate Pakistani sacrifices
○ Ahsan Iqbal reminds Trump of Soviet-Afghan War, calls it the root cause of modern conflict
○ Trump’s tweet on Pakistan sparks war of words
- A day after Washington confirmed suspending $255 million of military aid to Pakistan, US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said that the actions being taken against Islamabad are a follow-up to Donald Trump’s South Asia policy announced last year.
Back to the start of this diary and the articles by Kenneth Timmerman …
Iran built on stolen property — Trump should take it back | The Hill - January 5, 2017 |
The letter, and spearheaded by the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, which I chair, recalled Congressional action against previous cases of unjust expropriation, most notably the Helms-Burton Act — also known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 — which penalized foreign companies trafficking in property stolen from Cuban nationals.
“Pro-Castro advocates screamed that Helms-Burton would cause irrevocable harm to the United States with friends and allies around the world. Nothing of the sort occurred,” the letter states.
“We believe the time has come to envisage a similar measure for the victims of the Islamic Republic of Iran, many of whom have become United States citizens, whose properties were unjustly expropriated.”
Signatories to the letter include Colin A. Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring; Admiral James “Ace” Lyons, Jr, former Pacific Fleet commander; Frank Gaffney, President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy; Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation; Amy Ridenour, Chairman of the National Center for Public Policy Research; Ellen Sauerbrey, former Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration; and myself.
The letter also won support and was signed by Iranian-American human rights advocates and journalists and by leaders of the American Middle East Coalition for Trump.
On July 7, 1979, the new Islamic state in Iran issued a decree seizing the assets of 51 supporters of the previous regime and their families. A few weeks later, a revolutionary Court issued a separate order confiscating the assets of another 209 individuals and their families.
Revolution in Iran | FrontPage Mag - January 1, 2018|
President Trump has the opportunity to change history by using his bully pulpit, which he began to do late Friday night through twitter.
“Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad,” the President tweeted initially. “Iranian govt should respect people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching!”
And then he added the hashtag that has spread worldwide, #IranProtests.
[Select Urdu as language and the twitter account evolves to a different political scene or reality as you will – #IranProtests.]
The State Department followed with a more mildly-worded tweet on Saturday.
“We are following reports of multiple peaceful reports by Iranian citizens. The United States condemns the arrest of peaceful protests in #Iran.”
States spokesperson Neather Nauert quickly upped the ante, not only condemning the arrest of peaceful protestors but urging “all nations to publicly support Iranian people.”
And Trump himself continued tweeting over the weekend. On New Year’s Eve, adding this:
“Big protests in Iran. The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!
Conclusion: the promising eight years under a bright, young Democratic leader has failed in changing the political, fascist landscape taken hold of US Congress and the Federal institutions in greater Washington DC area. The Deep State rolls on towards another war in the Persian Gulf region.
Iran: Tens of thousands march in pro-regime rallies | DW |
Tens of thousands demonstrators have turned out for pro-government rallies in several cities across Iran, state television reported. The marches follow days of deadly unrest sparked by economic hardship in the country.
State media broadcast live footage showing large crowds waving Iranian flags and holding placards supporting Iran’s government on Wednesday.
The show of strength comes after a week of anti-regime protests that have resulted in at least 21 deaths and over 450 arrests. The unrest was initially triggered by discontent over the republic’s weak economy, but soon transformed into a broader outpouring of anger against the leadership.
State TV said pro-government rallies were underway in at least 10 cities, including Ahvaz, Kermanshah and Gorgan, where supporters held pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and chanted slogans such as “Leader, we are ready,” and “Down with the USA.”
