Sunday, December 11, 2016

Mehdi Khalaji

I was pleasantly surprised when the Iranian publication "Asr Diplomacy" pointed an accusatory finger at a very dangerous criminal: Mehdi Khalaji.

6-7 years ago, when I started publishing articles on The Huffington Post, I wrote an article about Khalaji (2010) called "Father And Son" (published below).  Little did I know how prominent he was amongst neoconservatives and those would want to destroy Iran and Iranians.   After this publication, The Huffington Post stopped publishing all my articles.  I called out the names of those who wanted to stop me from writing in this article:  "Out of the Loop" (published below).  

Seems with Trump and Woosley in tow, Khalaji may have gained new prominence.

THE BLOG

Father And Son

 03/22/2010 05:12 am ET | Updated May 25, 2011
A senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Mr. Khalaji writes a heart wrenching account of his father’s life, his devotion to the Islamic Republic’s founder, Khomeini, and his arrest by the current government for speaking up against the post-election abuse in Iran. One has to wonder why this good man, Mr. Khalaji senior, who according to his son kept ‘Khomeini’s shoulders warm with his mantle’, never spoke up of his son’s perceived betrayal towards his country? 
In 2006, almost four years before the June presidential elections, Mehdi Khalaji established his usefulness in a panel discussion with neoconservative extremists James Woolsey, Ilan Berman, and Patrick Clawson when he appeared on a panel discussion with them entitled “Understanding the Iranian Threat”. He thus earned himself a place at the pro-Israeli think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 
Founded in 1985, the Washington Institute specializes in Arab-Israel relations. It should come as no surprise that AIPAC’s research director for 3 years, Martin Indyk was its founding member for 8 years. Indyk moved on to become special assistant to Bill Clinton and senior director of Near East and South Asian Affairs at the United States National Security Council (NSC). 
While at the NSC, he served as principal adviser to Clinton and the National Security Advisor on Arab-Israeli issues, Iraq, Iran, and South Asia. This afforded him the opportunity to be the principal architect behind the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), underwritten by AIPAC. Clearly the sanctions were not weighing on the old man’s mind. Nor was it troubling to this devout revolutionary with a ‘conscience’ that his son was working with an organization that promotes terrorism. 
Michael Eisenstadt, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute in his book titled: “The Challenges of U.S. Preventive Military Action”, suggested the following covert actions  against Iran’s nuclear facilities: : 
“harassment or murder of key Iranian scientists or technicians;” 
“introduction of fatal design flaws into critical reactor, centrifuge, or weapons components during their production, to ensure catastrophic during use;” 
“introduction of destructive viruses into Iranian computer systems controlling the production of components or the operation of facilities;” 
“damage or destruction of critical facilities through sabotage...” 
Likewise, Patrick Clawson, recommended sabotaging the Iranian nuclear plants indicating that this would ‘kill’ less people than an all out war (C-Span, Woodrow Wilson Center 2005). Patrick Clawson’s quest to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program stems from his desire to drive out Islam and an Islamic regime. On March 2, 2006, he delivered a statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that as long as Iran has an Islamic Republic, it will have a nuclear weapons program. The intolerance felt for Islam and Iran is what made Khalaji junior a prime candidate. 
Perhaps Mr. Khalaji and his father were not aware that sanctions were not ‘color-coded’. Or perhaps he was blind to the fact that by joining neoconservatives and preventing Iran from having a civilian nuclear program, he would undermine all Iranians, but as long as he could fool some of the people, some of the time....
It is not unusual to be repelled by an ideology that has been forcefully indoctrinated. Mr. Kahlaji junior’s rejection of Islam is not surprising. His hairless face is more refreshing, but it does little to mask the real man. It is offensive that he should solicit sympathy from Iranians and Americans while betraying both nations. It is possible that his father was ignorant of his activities or was silent in the face of his treachery. Confucius says: ““The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them”.
And:
December 20, 2010
Out of the Loop
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
Proposal by former officials to delist MEK terrorists to change regime in Iran.
::::::::
Out of the Loop
Thomas Moore believed glory to be fleeting and obscurity endless.   Former officials Tom Ridge, John Bolton, Frances Townsend and Michael Mukasey, buried in obscurity,   are foolishly attempting to revive their 'glory' by proposing that the Obama administration delist the MEK -- a terrorist group , in order to replace the regime in Tehran.   These officials argue that delisting terrorists would   "show the world the United States is committed to its own values of freedom."
At least, the values and the freedom to commit murder and terrorism.       
The recommendation of the obscure four comes on the   heels of a Jundallah suicide attack which took the lives of 38 civilians on December 15, 2010.    The Jundallah, another   U.S. supported terrorist group   with   a long history of attacks on civilians inside Iran, seems to be competing with the MEK to promote the 'values and freedom' the U.S. is committed to.   
It appears the foursome's anonymity has kept them out of the loop.   Busy and eager to promote their pet terrorists, they have lost sight of the fact that the MEK, the Jundullah, the Shah's son,   and all other wannabe puppets are no longer favored by the neoconservatives - the American policy makers.    The golden goose that the whole town is talking about is non other than Mehdi Khalaji - a mullah's son.
I came to this realization the hard way. An   article I posted on Huffington Post (the backlash caused Huffington to reject future articles) in response to Mehdi Khalaji, a native Iranian at the pro-Israel think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP),   drew unprecedented fire from neocons of all stripes.   Given that this was not the first time I had gone after the neocons and their lackeys , I was left wondering what was so special about the mullah's son?     
The most prominent of the neocons who attacked me had been strong supporters of Chalabi, the man who was instrumental in helping America engage in an illegal war against Iraq - a war which took hundreds of thousand of innocent lives and bankrupted America morally and fiscally.    Oddly, these same neocons were feigning compassion for a single Iranian - Mr. Khalaji senior -- the mullah.    
How quickly they rushed to Khalaji's defense -- John Hannah, while Dick Cheney's   national security advisor,   showed little sign of compassion for 70 million Iranians as he 'conducted high-level, strategic meetings with Israeli officials regarding the Iranian government's refusal to capitulate (State Department, November 29, 2005).    
Danielle Pletka, the other well-known defender of Khalaji,   insisted that she had   sympathy for his father, Khalaji senior.   One has to wonder why the rest of the Iranians did not deserve her 'compassion'.   Pletka has   made it clear that she would support military action against Iran to prevent a nuclear-capable Iran (AEI, September 7, 2006).   "We have seen that engagement with the current leadership of Iran would not achieve policy change; all it would do is buy an evil regime the time it needs to perfect its nuclear weapons and to build a network of terrorists to deliver them" (Los Angeles Times, July 23, 2004).   Her reeling empathy towards the Iranian people has been ongoing.     In October 2009,   she was a moderator at a policy meeting at the American Enterprise Institute discussing Should Israel Attack Iran?     
Other noteworthy neocons such as Michael Ladeen and Ali Alfoneh joined the chorus of Khalaji. defenders.    Surely then, Khalaji is someone to reckon with? 
What the obscure four, and all the other wannabes neglect to understand is that Khalaji has left them all in the dust.     Khalaji works with the outfit that is set on destroying Iran's nuclear program, killing the scientists, undermining the people, and overthrowing the regime.   
Needless to be reminded that there has been some success, but the plan will not succeed.  It would be wise for Tom Ridge, John Bolton, Frances Townsend and Michael Mukasey to retire in obscurity, if not with dignity.     It would be wiser still to invite Pahlavi, the MEK, and the rest of the wannabes   to join them.    It seems that the new game in town is Mehdi Khalaji - a mullah's son.     


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