Greenwaldsets the stage:
Imagine if a group of leading American liberals met on foreign soil with -- and expressed vocal support for -- supporters of a terrorist group that had (a) a long history of hateful anti-American rhetoric, (b) an active role in both the takeover of a U.S. embassy and Saddam Hussein's brutal 1991 repression of Iraqi Shiites, (c) extensive financial and military support from Saddam, (d) multiple acts of violence aimed at civilians, and (e) years of being designated a "Terrorist organization" by the U.S. under Presidents of both parties, a designation which is ongoing? The ensuing uproar and orgies of denunciation would be deafening.
And you can be sure the orgies would be bipartisan...
...with many a Democrat practically itching to jump at the chance to denounce the "terrorist-appeasing liberals!" just to show how patriotic and American they really are.
"See, we love America just like Republicans and conservatives!"
Except, Republicans and conservatives don't.
And here are a few names of Republican and conservative "terrorists" who not only do not love America... but also hate America enough to decide on not being "with us, but against us" instead...
Including, but not limited to:
- Rudy Giuliani (R-NY)
- Michael Mukasey (R-Bush,Torture)
- Tom Ridge (R-Bush,PA)
- Fran Townsend (R-Bush,CNN)
But on December 23, a group of leading conservatives -- including Rudy Giuliani and former Bush officials Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge, and Fran Townsend -- did exactly that.
Solidarity with terrorists?
In Paris, of all places, they appeared at a forum organized by supporters of the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) -- a group declared by the U.S. since 1997 to be "terrorist organization" -- and expressed wholesale support for that group.
In France?!
Why do they hate freedom fries?
So much so that they didn't stop with expressions of support... but went even further in violating the conservatives' own sacred rule of not criticizing US policy on foreign soil:
Worse -- on foreign soil -- they vehemently criticized their own country's opposition to these Terrorists and specifically "demanded that Obama instead take the group off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations and incorporate it into efforts to overturn the mullah-led government in Tehran." In other words, they are calling on the U.S. to embrace this Saddam-supported, U.S.-hating Terrorist group and recruit them to help overthrow the government of Iran. To a foreign audience, Mukasey denounced his own country's opposition to these Terrorists as "nothing less than an embarrassment."
Paging the former Republican Outrage Department.
Former Republican Outrage Department, call on line 666:
Al Gore traveled to Saudi Arabia last week, and in a speech there on Sunday he criticized "abuses" committed by the U.S. government against Arabs after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A burst of flabbergasted conservative blogging followed the Associated Press dispatch about the speech, with the most clever remark coming from Mark Steyn, who called the former vice president "Sheikh al-Gore." The editorial page of Investor’s Business Daily accused Gore of "supreme disloyalty to his country."
[...]
There is simply no defense for what Gore has done here, for he is deliberately undermining the United States during a time of war, in a part of the world crucial to our success in that war, in front of an audience that does not vote in American elections. Gore’s speech is both destructive and disloyal, not because of its content — which is as silly as it is subversive — but because of its location and its intended audience.
Where have all those conservatives gone?
To Paris?
The hypocrisy! It burns!
A little background on MEK.
The MEK was allied with the Iraqi regime and received most of its support from it. The MEK assisted the Hussein regime in suppressing opposition within Iraq, and performed internal security for the Iraqi regime. The National Liberation Army was the military wing of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
More:
Upon entry into the group, new members are indoctrinated in MEK ideology and revisionist Iranian history. Members are also required to undertake a vow of "eternal divorce" and participate in weekly "ideological cleansings." Additionally, children are reportedly separated from parents at a young age.
Ideological cleansings? Check.
Child-Parent separation? Check.
Oh, and that whole killing Americans thing?
During the 1970s, the MEK assassinated several U.S. military personnel and U.S. civilians working on defense projects in Tehran and supported the violent takeover in 1979 of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Despite U.S. efforts, MEK members have never been brought to justice for the group's role in these illegal acts.
Check.
Last, and most importantly, from State Department:
Country Reports on Terrorism
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism
April 30, 2007
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) aliases cited are consistent with and drawn from the Specially Designated Nationals list maintained by the Department of Treasury. The full list can be found at the following website: http://www.treasury.gov/...
Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Ansar al-Sunna (AS)
Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
Asbat al-Ansar
Aum Shinrikyo (Aum)
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Communist Party of Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA)
Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA)
Gama'a al-Islamiyya (IG)
HAMAS
Harakat ul-Mujahedin (HUM)
Hizballah
Islamic Jihad Union (IJU)
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM)
Jemaah Islamiya Organization (JI)
Al-Jihad (AJ)
Kahane Chai (Kach)
Kongra-Gel (KGK/PKK)
Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LT)
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LJ)
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM)
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
[...]
Quite the company MEK keeps.
Friends of Republican/Conservatives Giuliani, Ridge, Mukasey, & Townsend.
And "terrorists" all the same.
That State Department listing should not be taken lightly. True, a Washington federal appeals court did order a review of MEK's listing by the State Department (they were listed during President Clinton in 1997, and that decision backed by Bush in 2007). However, while State may have reviewed the status, they have not removed MEK from the list of FTOs.
As it stands, they are still considered an FTO by this government, which raises some serious questions as it relates to the "terrorist-sympathizing" acts of these conservative Republicans terrorists.
Not just sympathies either, but, according to even our own Justice Department, the outright CRIME of "aiding and abetting Terrorism" as declared in SCOTUS' decision in Holder V. Humanitarian Law.
The problem is that the United States government has labeled the Mujahedeen Khalq a "foreign terrorist organization," making it a crime to provide it, directly or indirectly, with any material support. And, according to the Justice Department under Mr. Mukasey himself, as well as under the current attorney general, Eric Holder, material support includes not only cash and other tangible aid, but also speech coordinated with a "foreign terrorist organization" for its benefit. It is therefore a felony, the government has argued, to file an amicus brief on behalf of a "terrorist" group, to engage in public advocacy to challenge a group’s "terrorist" designation or even to encourage peaceful avenues for redress of grievances.
And just because it bears repeating:
material support includes not only cash and other tangible aid, but also speech coordinated with a "foreign terrorist organization" for its benefit
...
It is therefore a felony, the government has argued, ...to engage in public advocacy to challenge a group’s "terrorist" designation
In review:
Worse -- on foreign soil -- they vehemently criticized their own country's opposition to these Terrorists and specifically "demanded that Obama instead take the group off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations and incorporate it into efforts to overturn the mullah-led government in Tehran."
Felons. Terrorists. Traitors, all.
So, as the Justice Department and the US Government bend over backwards to try and capture the "terrorist" Julian Assange for releasing classified information passed along to him (an act that in no way violates any laws as it relates to support for "terrorism")... what actions will they take under President Obama to see to it that those terrorists who are making speeches "coordinated with a foreign terrorist organization" are held accountable for their actual crimes?
I'll guess they'll be too busy looking backward at non-existent crimes of Assange and whistleblowers for us to look forward to them looking backward at true crimes of American Terrorists.
After all, we wouldn't want to upset the apple cart.
The reason there isn't more uproar over these Bush officials' overt foreign-soil advocacy on behalf of a Terrorist group is because they want to use that group's Terrorism to advance U.S. aims. Using Terrorism on behalf of American interests is always permissible, because the actual definition of a Terrorist -- the one that our political and media class universally embrace -- is nothing more than this: "someone who impedes or defies U.S. will with any degree of efficacy." Even though the actions of these Bush officials violate every alleged piety about bashing one's own country on foreign soil and may very well constitute a felony under U.S. law, they will be shielded from criticisms because they want to use the Terrorist group to overthrow a government that refuses to bow to American dictates. Embracing Terrorist groups is perfectly acceptable when used for that end. That's why Fran Townsend will never suffer the fate of Octavia Nasr, and why her fellow Bush officials will never be deemed Terrorist supporters by the DOJ or establishment media outlets, even though what they've done makes them, by definition, exactly that.
Because one man's Terrorist is another Republican Conservative's Freedom Fighter...