Sleazy Mullah lobbyists try to block opposition, unsuccessfully
Nov 19th, 2008Nov. 19, 2008
Dear friends,
Yesterday, a group called the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) held a forum in a U.S. Senate conference room, to urge the incoming Obama administration to launch negotiations without preconditions with Iran.
Groups of different persuasions have been debating U.S. policy toward Iran for years. But until NIAC, none have sought to quash their critics or to silence opposing points of view.
NIAC has attempted to prevent Iranian-Americans from attending public conferences they have gotten members of Congress to sponsor in the past, perhaps fearful of a public demonstration against them.
Yesterday, they also attempted to bar entry to me as a reporter accredited with the U.S. Senate periodicals gallery to an event that was sponsored by Sen. Thomas Carper (D, DE).
To the great credit of Sen. Carper’s staff, they intervened with NIAC and ultimately, after a lengthy argument, got NIAC to back down. “In my fourteen years of working up here on the Hill, I have never seen credentialed media be denied entry to an event that was open to the media,” a Carper staff member said.
After I was admitted to the conference room in the Senate Hart building, NIAC staff members bent down the gooseneck microphones that had been set up for questions and turned them off.
Instead of having questioners line up at the microphones, NIAC screened unmiked questions from the floor, which were inaudible to most of the participants in the room, then paraphrased them to their own satisfaction.
NIAC understands how unpopular they are with the Iranian-American community, most of whom came to this country seeking freedom and fleeing Islamic tyranny.
But their behavior in this and other public conferences is no more than a defanged version of the thuggery we are accustomed to seeing from the Islamic Republic itself.
NIAC’s agenda is transparent: they seek to end U.S. sanctions on Iran, open direct and unconditional negotiations between the U.S. and the Iranian regime, and to offer Tehran a “place at the table” in determining the future of Iraq, Afghanistan, and even Israel.
They oppose sanctions on Iran aimed at getting Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment program, and are urging the incoming administration to provide “security guarantees” to the regime and end all assistance to pro-democracy groups inside Iran.
The advisability of opening an unconditional dialogue with the Tehran regime is a serious issue, worthy of debate.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who favored such a dialogue before coming to the Pentagon, recently came out resolutely against it.
So have European Union leaders who have complained publicly about Iran’s recalcitrance during five years of negotiations aimed at enticing, bribing or otherwise convincing Iran of the wisdom of halting uranium enrichment.
“We came to the conclusion that they are not interested at all in negotiating, but in buying time for their military (nuclear) program,” said French nuclear affairs advisor, Therese Delpech.
I have reported on these issues at Newsmax.com and commented on them extensively in opinion columns, scholarly articles and Congressional testimony, which is undoubtedly why NIAC was so eager to prevent me from asking questions at Tuesday’s event.
My latest Newsmax article on this subject is here:
http://newsmax.com/insidecover/Obama_Iran_pressure/2008/11/17/152197.html <http://newsmax.com/insidecover/Obama_Iran_pressure/2008/11/17/152197.html>
An archive of my articles and columns is here:
www.kentimmerman.com/articles.htm <http://www.kentimmerman.com/articles.htm>
“It is deeply concerning that a discredited group within the Iranian-American community, with blatantly obvious connections with the Islamic Republic, should be allowed to freely influence Washington’s political circles to the detriment of the American peoples’ and ultimately, the world community’s interests,” the Progressive American-Iranian Committee said in an editorial published on Saturday. <http://iranian-americans.com/2008/11/366.html>
“It is also shocking and difficult to explain that a group labeled by the Iranian regime as the ‘Iranian lobby’ could so easily penetrate the U.S. Congress,” they added, referring to NIAC.
I strongly urge you to contact your Members of Congress and U.S. Senators, to warn them about NIAC and its pro-Tehran agenda.
Whatever decision the Obama adminstration makes regarding Iran, it should be based on an appreciation of U.S. national security interests, not upon the advice of groups who are spouting the prescriptions of our adversaries.
Sincerely,
—
Kenneth R. Timmerman
Www.kentimmerman.com
Tel: 301-946-2918
Reply to: timmerman.road@verizon.net
Mr. Timmerman,
As millions of Iranians are justifiably in fear of reprisal by the tyrant mullahs in Iran, nevertheless, they are quietly thanking you for all that you have done by putting light on the sleazebags and lobbyists of the mullahs in U.S. I assure you sir, that your name like those such as Hassan Dai will be remembered as selfless heros in the history of Iranian struggle against the fascist regime of Iran. There is no doubt in my mind that American people will also remember you as a true patriatic and proud American in the future. A man of principle who has sincerely and continually fought for the interest of America with high regards for humanity and the rights of all mankind.
It is no surprise to many Iranians how NIAC was trying to silent your voice sir. These shoddy characters along with their cohorts are so audacious that they coordinate and sponsor conferences by anti-Iranians such as Shirin Ebadi under the name of human rights or peace in towns around U.S. and while Ms. Ebadi presents her mullah-prepared speeches, the same coordinators will screen and sensor the questions using the same methods. All under the name of freedom, democracy, human rights, etc. and in blatant violation of the most basic human right, freedom of speech. They sure have much audacity to implement the same techniques that the ruling mullahs use in Iran, here in the heart of America!
This is exactly why millions of Iranians have fled Iran to free themselve from the claws of the dictators such as NIAC.
The question is, if Trita Parsi in his biased organization’s website argues that Mr. Dai has falsely accused him of things without substantial evidence, then why is it that Mr. Parsi goes on by accusing or labeling Mr. Dai as an MKO or Mojahed Khalgh without any supporting facts. Where the hell is Mr. Parsi’s evidence for his false accusation? Although, I oppose several things about MKO, nevertheless, I take my hat for them for exposing the mullahs clandestine nuclear activities. This effort of the MKO has perhaps saved millions of Iranians by preventing a nuclear disaster in our homeland.
Using Mr. Parsi’s reasoning, one can call him a child-abuser, simply because his brother may be so! The hipocracy in Mr. Parsi is surely evident. I believe, however, that what Mr. Dai has presented about Mr. Parsi are facts as Mr. Dai has provided ample supporting evidence for every claim that he has made.
The question is, if Mr. Dai and his organization claim to be representatives of Iranians, then why are they so coward and fearful to appear on the most watched Iranian TV station in America and open the microphones and witness the overwhelming resentment from the Iranians. Why are they hiding from the Iranian community? This is also true for Amirahmadi, Goli Ameri, etc.
It is also pathetic, for example, how another sleezebag such as Hooshang Amirahmadi who simlarly argues that Mr. Dai is an MKO member, while claiming that MKO is a terrorist group. I believe Mr. Dai has done good job in exposing Mr. Amirahmadi as well. Having said that, Mr. Amirahmadi then goes on, puts on the hipocracy hat of Mr. Parsi, and while in Iran, he claims that Hamas and Hezbollah are not terrorist groups.
Mr. Amirahmadi should also appear on the Iranian TV programs in Los Angeles and tell us what is his definition of terrorism. Aren’t Hamas and Hezbollah killing inocents for their own political and idiological interests?!
May the power save us from these so-called sleazebag-scholars 🙂
Mr. Timmerman, THANK YOU and please continue.
Dear Moderator, please correct the statement:
“The question is, if Mr. Dai and his organization claim to be representatives of Iranians”
with
“The question is, if Mr. Trita Parsi and his organization claim to be representatives of Iranians”
before posting.
Thank you.