August 20, 2012
Still, movement conservatives love ‘em. Rudy Giuliani has been spotted flirting with Maryam Rajavi, the loony bird who faces for the outfit. Neocon mustache-boy John Bolton says they are most excellent allies. Tom Ridge depicts them as misunderstood bunny rabbits. Newt Gingrich has been caught on camera accepting flowers from Mrs. Rajavi. Bush Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend says they fight for our freedom.
To be fair, the MEK has also bribed plenty of politicians on the other side of the aisle. Notables include Louis Freeh, Bill Richardson, and Wesley Clark. Liberal hero Howard Dean was quoted as saying, “I have actually had dinner with Mrs. Rajavi on numerous occasions. I do not find her very terrorist-like.”
The MEK’s website has additional quotes from famous Americans betraying their country. Also of interest are the 99 signatories to a congressional resolution supporting MEK. With their flair for understatement, the RAND Institute describes the MEK as “Skilled Manipulators of Public Opinion.”
How do they do it? What makes all these “great Americans” say such nice things about a pack of dangerous loonies? Well, there is the money. Many of these politicians have been given generous “speaking fees.” Apparently the going rate is $20,000 to $40,000 to yammer on for ten minutes about what they had for breakfast.
There are other extenuating circumstances of a sort. At the very least, the MEK are providing intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program. There is also speculation that they carried out the recent assassinations of Iranian nuclear workers. Seymour Hersh informs us that they’re receiving special forces training in Nevada.
Espionage in the service of empire is dirty work, and reasonable people can disagree as to whether or not it is necessary to do business with evil creeps such as the MEK. No reasonable person can think it is OK for American politicians to accept money from a terrorist organization in return for lobbying services, whether or not they are intelligence assets. It should be illegal for any foreigners to bribe our politicians. That’s why we have laws such as FARA.
The MEK are a particularly ham-fisted lot who are easy to spot, despite their not registering as foreign agents with the Justice Department. The MEK is merely the scum at the surface of the black lagoon. This is how the sausage gets made in the twilight of empire. These are our leaders.
