Scott Horton Interviews Reza Marashi
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Reza Marashi, Research Director for the National Iranian American Council, discusses his article “Money vs. Facts: The Mujahedin-e Khalq Is a Terrorist Organization;” the chorus of voices turning the tables on the MEK’s latest PR campaign; the Treasury Department investigation of Ed Rendell (and other prominent ex-politicians who are paid to speak on MEK’s behalf – a.k.a. providing “material support” to terrorists); and why Israel is the most likely source of MEK funding – meaning the “only democracy in the Middle East” is really a state sponsor of terrorism.
MP3 here. (27:22)
Reza Marashi joined NIAC in 2010 as the organization’s first Research Director. He came to NIAC after four years in the Office of Iranian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to his tenure at the State Department, he was an analyst at the Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) covering China-Middle East issues, and a Tehran-based private strategic consultant on Iranian political and economic risk. Marashi is frequently consulted by Western governments on Iran-related matters. His articles have appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, Tehran Bureau, the Huffington Post, Salon, Asharq Alawsat, the Daily Caller, and the Cairo Review of Global Affairs. He has been a guest contributor to the BBC, NPR, Financial Times, Reuters, Al Jazeera, ABC News, CBC News, Macleans, Fox News, The Daily Star and The National.
eCAHNomics
March 17th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Where does MEK get its money?
@JohnEllis02
March 18th, 2012 at 2:01 am
Empire builders — Work in perfect harmony
But, why confuse things by saying that we have a good “United States government” and a not so good “political system?” That we have government officials doing good by trying to expose the MEK as terrorists, while self-centered politicians are trying to improve the image of MEK.
For we have one political government, with the MEK our partner in crime and an essential part of our government. For surely, Empire USA is pure corruption from top to bottom and every politician and official in it.
dndn
March 18th, 2012 at 3:24 am
great interwiew
Rob
March 18th, 2012 at 6:40 am
I have no inside knowledge – but don't be surprised if we find out that some of the 3billion/year going to Israel, after going through a circuitous route, has wound up in the hands of Mr. Rendell, Giuliani, Michael Mukasey, Andrew Card, Tom Ridge, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean and others.
Saudi Arabia too is a strong possibility, as Mr. Marashi alluded to, their petrodollars, as well as buying American arms, can go a long way in financing operations like this.
Here's the article Scott alluded to : http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content…
@JohnEllis02
March 18th, 2012 at 9:18 am
No Room for the Poor in Conservative VS Liberal Interchange
by Caroline Arnold
“In the present political circus it seems that liberals mostly want to tweak the status quo to get better deals (cheaper, less polluting energy, safer water, air & food, universal medical care & education) for themselves and their immediate neighbors. They also want to stop global warming and raise taxes on the rich.”
“Conservatives seem to want the private sector to manage the economy, control education, health care and prisons; they also want control of women’s bodies, voter registration laws to limit voting by poor people, lower taxes for the rich, cuts to Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act for everyone else. And they expect Ivy League schools for their children, student loans at high interest for the middle classes, and minimal training for poor kids to be obedient workers and consumers or professional killers in the armed forces.”
.
.http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/18
A living wage, not charity, what we the poor did always say.
@JohnEllis02
March 18th, 2012 at 9:37 am
If it is legal to be a millionare,
then it should be illegal to pay the
laboring class a starvation wage.
MoT
March 18th, 2012 at 9:43 am
I have to laugh. Surely, even using your nickname, you're saying this tongue-in-cheek.
Nathan
March 18th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Considering that Al Caeda in Syria is following the US line there, delisting the MEK would provide a further proof that the US works with the terrorists.
@JohnEllis02
March 18th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Conscience killer — Super intelligent
The Supremely intelligent rich nobility, those who have always owned mainstream media in America, they have just come up with a super blame shifter to ease the conscience of our voting majority. For the great debate today at NPR and other major media is how dastardly it is that the protests for the Koran burning were greater then for the 18 civilians just slaughtered. So, the dominant paradigm now is, Afghans are subhuman creatures who think a book is of more value then their own children.
@JohnEllis02
March 18th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
“Afghan slaughter suspect had criminal record”
“This includes a misdemeanor arrest for assaulting a girlfriend in 2002, which cost Bales twenty hours of compulsory anger management; and two instances of reckless driving. He was caught drunk behind the wheel in 2005, but did not face charges. Three years later, Bales paid $1,000 in fines and restitutions for a hit-and-run. The man said he fell asleep driving. The case was dismissed, according to the Associated Press.
“When the soldier returned from his last deployment in Iraq he had difficulty reintegrating, including marital problems, ABC News reports citing its own sources. By that time, Banes is also said to have gone through an advanced treatment for a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).”
.
.http://rt.com/news/afghan-suspect-bales-soldier-865/
W1nst0n
March 19th, 2012 at 10:59 am
Hey John, you still dodging me on this issue?
umop dn
March 19th, 2012 at 2:41 pm
Mao 2012
Class war quant-inous, right hits the left, left hits the right, no wonder the aches, must be brain dead!
Anonymous
March 19th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Mekanics get rich by repairing ford! Fix Or Repair Daily.
what a fundation to build up on
@JohnEllis02
March 19th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
Winston was given an intelligent middle-class mind,
so that he would be too smart to ever do an honest
day’s hard labor, but too dumb to ever be rich.
It being a test, to see if he passes his excessive
wealth down to a laboring-class slum where it
belongs.
@JohnEllis02
March 20th, 2012 at 8:39 am
Root cause of wars a criminal morality — Only solution a moral majority
The dominant paradigm in the U.S. Empire being that we may use terrorism to overcome terrorism, and the fact that our big terrorism forces innocent civilians into being in submission to our more fearful terrorism, this is the stupidity of pursuing the temporary pleasure inherent in a criminal morality.
For only by crime may one pursue greed driven “self-actualization, to Be All You Can Be,” take all you can take, own all you can own and to be a dictator over all who are on land that you own.
For we are all born with different levels of intelligence, and if the U.S. Constitution does not protect the less intelligent poor from the super intelligent High Society, then it is a putrid piece of paper not fit to be used even as toilet paper.
rick
March 20th, 2012 at 11:42 am
the interviewee made a mistake. they did have protective persons status. what he needs to realize is that if the state department said that they did not have PP status, then who gave it to them?
W1nst0n
March 21st, 2012 at 6:14 am
Way to dodge the subject John. I grew up in a coal mining family. I have worked in a corn dog factory, a beer delivery truck, landscaping/lawn care, and a mechanic. The greatest thing my Dad did for me was to tell me "Don't grow up and work in the mines son." So don't give me your pious, "working class" guilt trip. Are you suggesting that the work I do now, supporting and maintaining the technology you use to post on this forum is not "honest work"?
LOL @ excessive wealth. I am working hard to care for my four children and hopefully leave some wealth for them. Why should I give anything to you? You sound like you are sitting back waiting on someone to give you a bunch of money and whining and trying to shame them into doing it. I mean come on, you come on here telling people the "moral" thing to do is give their money to you? Maybe you missed your calling, you should have been a TV preacher. Plus, you have no idea how much money/time I give to charities to help people because you don't know me. So give it up on your guilt tripping.
So anyway, back to the minimum wage. You still never answered how you came up with your $20 figure for the minimum wage or why it should not be $100. You never explained how artificially raising the cost of labor will not affect the cost of goods and services. You haven't been able to refute the fact the minimum wage causes unemployment by pricing the young, the uneducated, minorities, and the unskilled out of jobs. You also never explained how it is MORAL for the government to use force to prevent my teenage son from taking a job he is offered at $5 because it doesn't meet your "minimum wage". Remember John, every one of your laws must be backed up with the threat of LETHAL violence.
I will leave you with a quote from Murray Rothbard, he's that economist guy I suggested you read to understand why Ron Paul would never support a minimum wage of any kind. “It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a ‘dismal science.’ But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.” For a treasure trove of FREE economic learning, go to http://www.mises.org
Louie Remak
April 16th, 2012 at 9:58 am
I got so bored today afternoon, however when I watched this YouTube humorous clip at this website I turn out to be fresh and happy as well.