Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council, discusses the Mujahideen-e Khalq’s tendency to accuse their critics of working for the Iranian government; how constant US belligerence and the MEK’s violent radicalism serve as useful foils for the Iranian regime – discrediting dissidents and keeping the people in fear; how violent coups beget radical authoritarian governments, while nonviolent methods often deliver democratic results; the many former US officials now employed as well-paid lobbyists, working toward the MEK’s de-listing from the State Department’s terrorist group list; the implausibility of a Hamas, al-Qaeda or Hezbollah fundraising and lobbying event on Capitol Hill (though they share the same terrorist designation as the Congress-friendly MEK); and MEK’s loyal service to Saddam Hussein, helping put down the 1991 uprisings and acting as his shock troops throughout the 1990s.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
