Professor Kaveh Afrasiabi arrested as a unregistered agent for Iran

This is who is teaching our children. This is who is writing op eds for the New York Times. This who is lobbying Congress.

Dr. Kaveh Afrasiabi taught political science at Boston University, and Bentley College. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard University, UC Berkeley, Binghamton University, Center For Strategic Research.

But Dr. Kaveh Afrasiabi had some secrets. 

He was working for the Iranian government.

This week, a criminal complaint was filed charging Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, also known as Lotfolah Kaveh Afrasiabi, with acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

“Afrasiabi allegedly sought to influence the American public and American policymakers for the benefit of his employer, the Iranian government, by disguising propaganda as objective policy analysis and expertise,” said Acting U.S. Attorney DuCharme.

“For over a decade, Kaveh Afrasiabi pitched himself to Congress, journalists, and the American public as a neutral and objective expert on Iran,” said John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “However, all the while, Afrasiabi was actually a secret employee of the Government of Iran and the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations (IMUN) who was being paid to spread their propaganda. In doing so, he intentionally avoided registering with the Department of Justice as the Foreign Agents Registration Act required. He likewise evaded his obligation to disclose who was sponsoring his views. We now begin to hold him responsible for those deeds.”

Read More here: 

Defendant Lobbied U.S. Officials, Published Books and Articles Advancing Iranian Viewpoints While Secretly Employed by the Iranian Mission to the United Nations

IDF's message to Iran- Now going Viral on Twitter

The IDF's tongue in cheek message to Iran is going viral on Twitter, with nearly 11,000 likes and thousands of retweets.

Israel and Iran. Contrast and Compare

As seen on Twitter

Tweeted out from the account of Benyamin Netanyahu

Tweeted out from the account of the Supreme Leader of Iran

Contrast and compare.

Iranian Drone penerates Israeli airspace

Early this morning, an Iranian drone crossed into  Israeli airspace, and was immediately shot down by a combat helicopter.

In response, Israel  then launched airstrikes on Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria, including the command and control center that launched the drone,  at an air base near Palmyra.

A  Israeli F-16 was shot down, reportedly by Russian made S200 missiles.

Reports indicate that the plane had 25 missiles launched against it, and took a hit, and lost its tail.  The heroic Israeli pilot was still able to fly the plane back into Israeli airspace, where he and the navigator ejected

In true New York Times fashion, the headline paints Israel as the aggressor.

From IDF Spokesperson Peter Lerner, via Twitter:
3 observations
1. First direct Iranian operation against Israel.
2. Iran and its proxies are preparing the battlefield of a future war.
3. Iranians in Syria means there are plenty targets for the IDF, the counter strike shows that Israel has operable intelligence.

🔴 3 observations
1. First direct Iranian operation against Israel. 2 Iran and its proxies are preparing the battlefield of a future war. 3 Iranians in Syria means there are plenty targets for the IDF, the counter strike shows that Israel has operable intelligence.

— LTC (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) February 10, 2018

The Palestinians reacted to the news of the downed aircraft by passing out sweets.

Israel has the right and the responsibility to protect its civilians. Israeli leaders have made it abundantly clear that they will respond as needed to any attack or provocation.

The mission was a resounding success, according to the IDF, who declared:

In total, the IDF targeted 12 military objectives, including 3 aerial defense batteries and 4 Iranian targets that are part of Iran's military establishment in Syria. “We carried out a wide-scale attack on the aerial defense system - radars, rockets, batteries, posts, and we performed a substantial strike, which as can be seen - they are trying to hide” says Brig. Gen. Amnon Ein Dar, Head of the Air Group in the IAF. According to Brig. Gen. Ein Dar, it is “the biggest and most significant attack the air force has carried out against Syrian air defenses since 1982.”

Iran. Anti-Semitic or Anti-Zionist?

Photos from the streets of Tehran, Iran taken on Quds Day. Got a good feeling about that Iran deal, yet?

Military Drills in Gaza via Media Town

Its not about kids throwing rocks.  Thats a myth.

The reality is quite different.  The Gaza military forces are armed and trained by Iran.

The following is footage of a military graduation ceremony  in the Gaza Strip

The United States and Israel: An Unbroken bond

The United States Senate has overwhelmingly passed Resolution 65 

(1) prevention of an Iranian nuclear weapon remains American policy; 

(2) it is essential to step up enforcement of sanctions against Iran; and

3) the United States will stand by Israel should the Jewish state feel compelled to take military action in its own defense against Iran

  113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 65 Strongly supporting the full implementation of United States and international sanctions on Iran and urging the President to continue to strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 28, 2013

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. CORNYN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CASEY, Mr. HOEVEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. KIRK, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BROWN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. HELLER, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BAUCUS, Ms. STABENOW, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. TESTER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. BURR, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BENNET, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mrs. HAGAN, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. COONS, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WARNER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. FLAKE, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. KAINE, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. COBURN, Mr. LEE, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. VITTER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. NELSON, Mr. HATCH, Mr. MCCONNELL, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. RISCH, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. COATS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. THUNE, Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin, Mr. ENZI, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. COWAN, Mr. KING, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. CORKER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. REED, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. CARPER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

April 17, 2013

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment

May 22, 2013

Considered, amended, and agreed to

---

RESOLUTION Strongly supporting the full implementation of United States and international sanctions on Iran and urging the President to continue to strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation.
Whereas, on May 14, 1948, the people of Israel proclaimed the establishment of the sovereign and independent State of Israel;
Whereas, on March 28, 1949, the United States Government recognized the establishment of the new State of Israel and established full diplomatic relations;
Whereas, since its establishment nearly 65 years ago, the modern State of Israel has rebuilt a nation, forged a new and dynamic democratic society, and created a thriving economic, political, cultural, and intellectual life despite the heavy costs of war, terrorism, and unjustified diplomatic and economic boycotts against the people of Israel;
Whereas the people of Israel have established a vibrant, pluralistic, democratic political system, including freedom of speech, association, and religion; a vigorously free press; free, fair, and open elections; the rule of law; a fully independent judiciary; and other democratic principles and practices;
Whereas, since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran have repeatedly made threats against the existence of the State of Israel and sponsored acts of terrorism and violence against its citizens;
Whereas, on October 27, 2005, President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for a world without America and Zionism;
Whereas, in February 2012, Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei said of Israel, `The Zionist regime is a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off. And it definitely will be cut off.';
Whereas, in August 2012, Supreme Leader Khamenei said of Israel, `This bogus and fake Zionist outgrowth will disappear off the landscape of geography.';
Whereas, in August 2012, President Ahmadinejad said that `in the new Middle East . . . there will be no trace of the American presence and the Zionists';
Whereas the Department of State has designated the Islamic Republic of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984 and has characterized the Islamic Republic of Iran as the `most active state sponsor of terrorism' in the world;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has provided weapons, training, funding, and direction to terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hizballah, and Shiite militias in Iraq that are responsible for the murder of hundreds of United States service members and innocent civilians;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has provided weapons, training, and funding to the regime of Bashar al Assad that has been used to suppress and murder its own people;
Whereas, since at least the late 1980s, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has engaged in a sustained and well-documented pattern of illicit and deceptive activities to acquire a nuclear weapons capability;
Whereas, since September 2005, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found the Islamic Republic of Iran to be in non-compliance with its safeguards agreement with the IAEA, which Iran is obligated to undertake as a non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968, and entered into force March 5, 1970 (NPT);
Whereas the United Nations Security Council has adopted multiple resolutions since 2006 demanding of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran its full and sustained suspension of all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and its full cooperation with the IAEA on all outstanding issues related to its nuclear activities, particularly those concerning the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program;
Whereas the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has refused to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions or to fully cooperate with the IAEA;
Whereas, in November 2011, the IAEA Director General issued a report that documented `serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme,' and affirmed that information available to the IAEA indicates that `Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device' and that some activities may be ongoing;
Whereas the Government of Iran stands in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for denying its citizens basic freedoms, including the freedoms of expression, religion, peaceful assembly and movement, and for flagrantly abusing the rights of minorities and women;
Whereas in his State of the Union Address on January 24, 2012, President Barack Obama stated, `Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal.';
Whereas Congress has passed and the President has signed into law legislation imposing significant economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran to encourage the Government of Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and end its support for terrorism;
Whereas these sanctions, while having significant effect, have yet to persuade Iran to abandon its illicit pursuits and comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions;
Whereas more stringent enforcement of sanctions legislation, including elements targeting oil exports and access to foreign exchange, could still lead the Government of Iran to change course;
Whereas, in his State of the Union Address on February 12, 2013, President Obama reiterated, `The leaders of Iran must recognize that now is the time for a diplomatic solution, because a coalition stands united in demanding that they meet their obligations. And we will do what is necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon.';
Whereas, on March 4, 2012, President Obama stated, `Iran's leaders should understand that I do not have a policy of containment; I have a policy to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.';
Whereas, on October 22, 2012, President Obama said of Iran, `The clock is ticking . . . And we're going to make sure that if they do not meet the demands of the international community, then we are going to take all options necessary to make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon.';
Whereas, on May 19, 2011, President Obama stated, `Every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.';
Whereas, on September 21, 2011, President Obama stated, `America's commitment to Israel's security is unshakeable. Our friendship with Israel is deep and enduring.';
Whereas, on March 4, 2012, President Obama stated, `And whenever an effort is made to delegitimize the state of Israel, my administration has opposed them. So there should not be a shred of doubt by now: when the chips are down, I have Israel's back.';
Whereas, on October 22, 2012, President Obama stated, `Israel is a true friend. And if Israel is attacked, America will stand with Israel. I've made that clear throughout my presidency . . . I will stand with Israel if they are attacked.';
Whereas, in December 2012, 74 United States Senators wrote to President Obama `As you begin your second term as President, we ask you to reiterate your readiness to take military action against Iran if it continues its efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon. In addition, we urge you to work with our European and Middle Eastern allies to demonstrate to the Iranians that a credible and capable multilateral coalition exists that would support a military strike if, in the end, this is unfortunately necessary.'; and
Whereas the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-150) stated that it is United States policy to support Israel's inherent right to self-defense: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

Congress--

(1) reaffirms the special bonds of friendship and cooperation that have existed between the United States and the State of Israel for more than sixty years and that enjoy overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress and among the people of the United States;

(2) strongly supports the close military, intelligence, and security cooperation that President Obama has pursued with Israel and urges this cooperation to continue and deepen;

(3) deplores and condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the reprehensible statements and policies of the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran threatening the security and existence of Israel;

(4) recognizes the tremendous threat posed to the United States, the West, and Israel by the Government of Iran's continuing pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability;

(5) reiterates that the policy of the United States is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon capability and to take such action as may be necessary to implement this policy;

(6) reaffirms its strong support for the full implementation of United States and international sanctions on Iran and urges the President to continue and strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation;

(7) declares that the United States has a vital national interest in, and unbreakable commitment to, ensuring the existence, survival, and security of the State of Israel, and reaffirms United States support for Israel's right to self-defense; and

(8) urges that, if the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran's nuclear weapons program, the United States Government should stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with United States law and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence.

SEC. 2. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war.

***********

Take a minute and thank your Senator.

 

Israel targets Iranian Weapons Bound for Hezbollah

Israel launched an airstrike in Syria today,  with Syria's state media reporting that Israeli missiles struck the Jamraya military research center near the Syrian capital Damascus, setting off  massive explosions.



This was the second Israeli strike against Syria in three days

Overnight Thursday, an attack targeted a shipment of extremely accurate guided Iranian-made missiles, stored in a warehouse near the Damascus airport.  The Fatah 110 surface to surface missiles have a precise guidance systems and were reportedly bound for Hezbollah.  These mobile, solid-fueled missiles can reach Tel Aviv and much of Israel from southern Lebanon,  representing a considerable improvement over the liquid-fueled Scud missile

According to Israeli and U.S. officials  previous Israeli airstrikes in January also targeted weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah.

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama  told the Spanish-language TV station Telemundo, "The Israelis, justifiably, have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah". Obama also said it was up to Israel to confirm or deny any strikes, but that the US coordinates very closely with Israel.

Visions of Orwell: North Korea and Iran attack Canada for human rights abuses

In which United Nations Human Rights Council becomes indistinguishable from the “Onion”

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.   And Iran, North Korea and China and other bastions of individual freedoms have joined forces to attack Canada for its ‘human rights abuses”.

From the National Post:

Canada was the focus of critical attacks on its human rights record at a prominent United Nations forum by a cluster of countries with dubious human rights records, including North Korea, Iran and China.

The delegation from North Korea lamented: “We have serious concerns about continued violations of the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, torture and other ill-treatment, racism and xenophobia...”

Iran railed against “violations of human rights by Canadian government” including “child sexual exploitation and trafficking, the right to food, discriminatory law and regulation against indigenous people and minority groups including Muslim, Arab and African communities.”

China’s delegate complained of “widespread racial discrimination in Canada.”

Pakistan was dismayed by Canada’s “increased poverty and unemployment rate among immigrant communities”; Egypt by Canada’s “racial profiling in law-enforcement action”; and Cuba with the “racism and xenophobia” in Canada.

Russia expressed alarm over Canada’s “police actions of torture and cruelty against peaceful demonstrators.”....

From Hillel Neuer, a Canadian-born lawyer,  human rights advocate, and director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO

“The continued subversion of the UN human rights system — whereby thugs, murderers and rapists purport to judge the human rights record of a liberal democracy — undermines the founding principles and credibility of the United Nations.” 

6.1 Earthquake hits Iran

Why has Iran built its nuclear facilities on an active faultline?

From the newswire:

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed 32 and injured hundreds more in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials said. Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region.


The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.

"No damage was done to Bushehr power plant," Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV. He said 32 people died and 850 were injured, including 100 who were hospitalized.

Water and electricity were cut to many residents, said Ebrahim Darvishi, governor of the worst-hit district Shonbeh.

The UN's nuclear watchdog agency said on its website that it had been informed by Iran that there was no damage to the plant and no radioactive release and, based on its analysis of the earthquake, was not seeking additional information. The International Atomic Energy Agency statement indicated that it was satisfied there was little danger.

  Of course, this is the same administration that has claimed that the Holocaust did not happen, and that the country has no gays.  

To Ahmadinejad with Love:Meet the Massive Ordnance Penetrator

Its got your name on it, Mahmoud. We picked it out just for you.

According to the Pentagons' director of operational testing, Michael Gilmore,  tests conducted on the Massive Ordnance Penetrator  GBU-57, a 20-foot long, 30,000 pound GPS-guided bomb , have demonstrated that the bomb is able to destroy deeply buried, reinforced targets. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator is six times bigger than the 5,000 pound bunker- buster that the U.S. Air Force and the Israeli Air Force currently have in their war chests.


From the Business Insider:

The MOP is the bomb experts believe Israel needs if it wants to de-rail Iran's nuclear program for any length of time. While our Mid-East ally has a fresh supply of GBU-28 bunker busters, they are one-sixth the size and far less capable.

 The MOP might actually be the only conventional bomb to best Iran's concrete technology, which is perhaps the most advanced in the world. The country lies on a very active seismic fault, making earthquakes a part of Iranian life. In response, Tehran's concrete industry has developed Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) doped with quartz and poured under the country's own high-demand blend of international codes.

The B-2 stealth bomber is the only aircraft capable of carrying this massive weapon,  which carries over 5,300 pounds of explosives

Mahmoud-  who says size doesn't matter?

Iranian Support for palestinian terror organizations

From the Meir Amit Intelligence and Information Center

1.The military capabilities of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were revealed in Operation Pillar of Defense. Those capabilities were the product of massive Iranian support constructed around an arsenal of many thousands of rockets, both standard and manufactured by the terrorist organizations themselves (using Iranian technical knowhow). They included medium-range Fajr-5 rockets (made in Iran) and M75s (manufactured in the Gaza Strip). The massive rocket fire targeting Israeli civilian population centers, including a number of rockets fired at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was made possible by Iran's support for the terrorist organizations

2. Aid from Iran to Hamas and the PIJ in the years before operative arrived in the Gaza Strip overland, by air and by sea, facilitated by border-crossing networks of smugglers and merchants. The main route for smuggling arms was from Iran to Sudan and from Sudan to Egypt and into the Gaza Strip through the smuggling tunnels controlled by Hamas. The sea route was also used, as revealed on March 15, 2011 when the freighter Victoria was seized by the IDF. The ship was carrying arms bound for the Gaza Strip by way of Egypt, whose arrival would upgrade military capabilities of the terrorist organizations. Among the weapons on board the Victoria were C704 anti-ship missiles, which could be used to attack not only military and civilian vessels but also strategic targets in the southern Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashqelon.

3. Until Operation Pillar of Defense, Iran and the terrorist organizations supported by it were careful, for security and political considerations, to keep secret Iran's military aid and the network smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. A recent indication of the network and Iran's military support was the exposure of weapons stores in Sudan, which were attacked in October 2012. The media reported that the weapons were Iranian and were intended for terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip [Hamas and the PIJ].

4. Towards the end of Operation Pillar of Defense Iran decided to reveal that it had been giving military aid to the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. In our assessment, that was because of Iran's deep frustration with the way Egypt and other Muslim countries, such as Turkey and Qatar, had made political and propaganda capital from their support for Hamas during Operation Pillar of Defense. On the other hand, the role of Iran before Operation Pillar of Defense, that of providing the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip with most of their military hardware and support, was being overshadowed.

5. By exposing its military aid Iran hoped, in our assessment, to make political capital at the expense of countries like Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. In addition, the central role of Egypt in the understanding which led to the end of Operation Pillar of Defense caused Iran to fear that existing cracks in the so-called "resistance camp" might widen and the Muslim axis led by Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood might become stronger.

6. However, as a result Iran, the PIJ and Hezbollah initiated a media campaign showering praise on Iran's military, financial and technical support for the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip (See Appendix A). The campaign was joined by Hamas spokesmen, who alongside praise for Iran were careful to reiterate Hamas' independence and lack of dependence on Iran.

Please read the entire report here 

Anti-Semitism and extremist rhetoric from Iran

Anti-Semitism and extremist rhetoric from Iran, via the Israeli MFA

Destroying Israel:
"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told them there was no place for the Jewish state in a future Middle East…. 'You want a new Middle East? We do too, but in the new Middle East ... there will be no trace of the American presence and the Zionists,'….
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Quds Day Address, 17 August 2012;
Reuters, Published: 17 August 2012

"The Israeli regime is a tool in the hands of Zionists to control the Middle-East and the entire world, Ahmadinejad stated. The Iranian president further stated that the International Quds Day is the day of unity among all human beings to remove the Zionist black stain from the human society."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Quds Day Address, 17 August 2012;
Fars News Agency, Iran; Published: 17 August 2012

"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ... said the very existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to the humankind and an affront to all world nations….The Iranian President further described the World Quds Day as an occasion for the unity of all human communities to wipe out this scarlet letter, meaning the Zionist regime, from the forehead of humanity."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Quds Day Address, 17 August 2012;
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency; Published: 17 August 2012

"Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei…. noted that liberating Palestine from the grip of Israel and its allies is a religious duty for all Muslims across the world."
Ayatollah Sayyid Khamenei - Statement made during a meeting with hundreds of veterans from the Iraq-Iran war, 15 August;
Fars News Agency, Iran; Published: 16 August 2012

"General Amir Ali Hajizadeh ….said if the Zionist hooligans embark on practicing their verbal threats, they will provide the best opportunity for the destruction of Israel because then the forged regime will be wiped out of the map and thrown into the trash bin of history for ever."
Commander of the Aero-Space Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Bridadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh - Interview with IRNA;
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency; Published 18 August 2012

"He [Ahmadinejad] added: 'Anyone who loves freedom and justice must strive for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the way for world justice and freedom.'"
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Speech to ambassadors from Islamic countries ahead of Quds Day, published on Ahmadinejad's website on 2 August 2012;
Jerusalem Post; Published: 2 August 2012

"Zionists understand only the language of force, Ayatollah Khatami reiterated. He further noted that the Zionist regime will meet destruction through unity in the Islamic world."
Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami - Address to a large congregation of worshippers on Tehran University campus, 17 August 2012;
Fars News Agency, Iran; Published: 17 August 2012

"Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami underlined the importance of this year's International Quds Day (August 17, last Friday of the Ramadan) rallies, and said that 'The nations of the region, which have toppled dictators, also have the power to annihilate the Zionist regime (Israel).'"
Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami;
Iran Daily Brief; Published: 14 August 2012

"Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Khamenei, said on Wednesday that the liberation of Palestine was top on the Islamic world agenda and predicted that 'the fake Zionist regime would soon fade away from geography and every inch of the occupied territories be returned to Palestinians.'
Ayatollah Sayyid Khamenei -15 August;
DPA and the Associated Press, Haaretz; Published: 17 August 2012

Delegitimization of Israel's existence:
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an annual anti-Israel protest in Tehran on Friday that the Jewish state was a "cancerous tumour" that will soon be excised….'The Zionist regime and the Zionists are a cancerous tumour,' he said. 'The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land.... A new Middle East will definitely be formed. With the grace of God and help of the nations, in the new Middle East there will be no trace of the Americans and Zionists,' he said."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Quds Day Address, 17 August 2012;
AFP; Published: 17 August 2012

"Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, said on Sunday that noble Quds and Palestine are the main issues of the world of Islam….Elsewhere in his address, the Ayatollah referred to ignorance of Muslim nations and governments for years and rule of the hegemonic powers over their fate as well as creation of the cancerous tumor of Zionism in heart of Muslim world….Zionism is a danger for entire humanity…."
Ayatollah Sayyid Khamenei - Address to officials and others, including ambassadors of Muslim states in Tehran, 19 August 2012;
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency; Published: 19 August 2012

"'The very existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to humankind and an affront to all world nations," the news agency's English-language report on the speech quoted him as saying. "Confronting Zionists will also pave the way for saving the whole humankind from exploitation, depravity and misery.'"
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Quds Day Address; 17 August 2012;
New York Times, Published: 17 August 2012

Antisemitism:
"Ahmadinejad said that a "horrible Zionist current" had been managing world affairs for "about 400 years." Repeating traditional anti-Semitic slurs, the Iranian president accused "Zionists" of controlling the world's media and financial systems…. 'Quds Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problems,' he said.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Speech to Ambassadors from Islamic countries ahead of Quds Day, published on Ahmadinejad's website on 2 August 2012;
Jerusalem Post; Published: 2 August 2012

He [Ahmadinejad] said Zionists, who think solely of power, wealth and dominance over others, have been inflicting very heavy damage and suffering on the whole humanity for over two thousand years especially during the past four centuries. Saying that the two world wars were designed by Zionists and carried out by the US to retain dominance on other countries, the president further noted that Zionists have been administrating affairs in the US since the very beginning of its establishment."
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Quds Day Address, 17 August 2012;
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency; Published: 17 August 2012


Israel and Iran: Relative sizes

Why Do American Feminists Support the Misogynistic Iranian Regime?

Manda Zand Ervin is the founder and the president of the Alliance of Iranian women. She was the U.S. delegate to the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2008.

From an article in Pajama's media

Manda Zand Ervin describes meeting Code pink's founder, Susan “Medea” Benjamin:

"I first met Benjamin in front of the U.S. Congress when she tried vehemently to stop me from entering into the Capitol building. I gave her one of my cards and tried to discuss with her the fact that women in Iran lack the most basic human rights. I told her if she truly cared she could help us Iranian women in the U.S. assist women inside Iran. And instead of being open to listening she gave me nothing more than the self-interested Code Pink prescription for Iranians.

A month later I heard Ms. Benjamin was attending a conference on Iran set up by the most ill-reputed Iranian regime lobby, National Iranian American Council, NIAC."

She continues:

"... Ms. Benjamin and Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evens received personal invitations by the Iranian president to travel to Iran as his guests. A few months later, while the members of Code Pink were merrily having meetings with the members of the ruling clergies and Revolutionary Guards Corps and sightseeing by private planes and special motorcades in Iran, Fatemeh Haghighatpajou was hanged to death for defending her daughter from a rapist.

In her reports, Ms. Benjamin had nothing but praise for her hosts. Not a single word about the treatment of women or the misogynistic laws by her host government. When she came back, she proudly announced that her travel agency would conduct historical sightseeing tours to Iran.

How disingenuous to pretend they are for the people of Iran while it is just a ploy by the Iranian dictators and the so-called American “progressives” to help extend the dictatorship of one of the most misogynistic regimes in the world!

Why is it that these ideologically motivated people in the West have acquiesced to the Iranian regime’s ploys to disregard all human rights? By coalescing with the Khomeinist dictators, these so-called feminists deny to the people of Iran the very same rights they claim to demand for themselves."

Western and Jewish interests targetted in Turkey

'Unit 400', a top-secret ‘special ops’ unit within the elite overseas wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Al-Quds Brigade is planning on carrying out attacks against Jewish, Israeli and Western targets in Turkey. Sadly, we realize that "Jewish interests" includes young children going to school. That is the nature of terror.

From Arutz Sheva:

"Intelligence agencies have reportedly discovered an underground Iranian terrorist group sending members to Turkey to attack Jews, Israelis and Western targets. The organization, known as ‘Unit 400,’ is said to be part of the Al Quds Brigade.

Sky News reported an intelligence source who said that the unit "has been developing in the last few months a standing operating procedure for carrying out an attack in Turkey against western targets as well as Israeli and Jewish. It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon."

The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei is said to control the Quds Force through his close ally Qassem Suleiman.

"He runs the whole thing - directly. [Mahmoud] Ahmedinajad [the Iranian president] makes all the noise and gets the attention but it's the Supreme Leader who is in charge of what is going on especially when it comes to international operations," said a senior intelligence official.

“It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon,” the source added.

A secret study conducted by a foreign intelligence agency explained, "Unit 400 is a top-secret ‘special ops’ unit within the elite overseas wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF). It plans and carries out terror attacks on external targets, and provides material support to foreign militia groups, at the direct behest of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This is in accordance with the regime's core strategic considerations about how best to challenge perceived enemies in Israel and the west - through asymmetric warfare - and to cope with mounting international pressure over its nuclear programme."

According to the report, the sources cited evidence showing that Unit 400 was given instructions to carry out more frequent and more daring attacks around the world as a demonstration of ‘Iran's asymmetric power,’ Zee News reported."

Iran Behind 'Global March to Jerusalem'

Feroze Mithiborwala and Global March to Jerusalem participants with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), Iran is the organizing force behind the latest high profile publicity stunt aimed at the delegitimization of Israel. The Global March to Jerusalem, planned for March 30, is an initiative that aims at getting over one million Arabs and their supporters to attempt to infiltrate Israel’s borders.

From an article by Elad Benari

"ITIC is presenting evidence in its possession which indicates that Iran openly and with its own propaganda supports the March 30 events and is also involved in organizational preparations for the marches. To that end, ITIC said in a report posted Wednesday, Iran employs proxies, including organizations and individuals.
The center quoted an item dated February 26, 2012 in the Fars News Agency, in which Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as supporting the march to Jerusalem.
In the report, Khamenei said Iran should openly support movements and groups operating against Israel. Support for the marches to Jerusalem was presented as part of a new strategy designed to increase regional unity against Israel, based on the so-called “resistance axis” (i.e., Syria and the terrorist organizations) and opposition to the so-called "occupation" of Jerusalem.
In the same vein, a report in the Iranian ISNA agency, dated March 4, quoted Ghzanfar Asl Roknabadi, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, as saying he hoped all “Palestine” would shortly be liberated from its “Zionist occupiers” and that cries of “Allahu Akbar” would be heard throughout Rehavia, an elite neighborhood in west Jerusalem.
ITIC noted that a local committee was appointed, in Iran and other Arab countries, to make preparations for the marches. The committee, called The Board of the Global [March] to Jerusalem, is headed in Iran by Hossein Shaikhol-Eslam, who ITIC noted is likely directly connected to the Iranian regime.
The ITIC report also cites the Haganah website, which is run by American professionals specializing in the analysis of jihadist Internet sites. Haganah examined the Global March to Jerusalem website and found indications of Iranian involvement in the marches.
Haganah found three domains of march organizers sharing an IP address with Ahl al-Bayt, an Iranian institution directed by Khamenei's office and which spreads Shi'ite and Khomeini ideology around the globe. It is headed by Khojat el-Eslam Mohammed Hassan Akhtari, the former Iranian ambassador to Syria.
ITIC also cited an Iranian website, believed to be connected to the Iranian regime, which initiated a cartoon contest in support of the marches.
The cartoons are supposed to deal with the theme of the so-called "right of return" of the Arab refugees and with opposition to the so-called “occupation” of Jerusalem. Each of the three winning entries, ITIC noted, will receive a prize of $1000 and a trophy.
The report also noted that the Iranian English-language Press TV channel was also enlisted to promote a propaganda campaign for the marches.
On January 8, 2012, a video was posted on YouTube to promote the marches, produced by Press TV and featuring former British MP and pro-Hamas enthusiast George Galloway.
Finally, ITIC noted, another manifestation of Iranian participation in the propaganda campaign for the march was an open letter posted on the marches' website on March 5, purportedly written by Iranian Jews. The ITIC believes the letter was planted by the Iranian regime.
The letter’s heading was the Society of Iranian Jewry Supporting GMJ and it was purportedly signed by two Iranian Jews, one a Jewish member of the Majlis (the Iranian parliament) and the other a Jewish leader. In it, the Society of Iranian Jewry expressed support for what the letter called “a global demonstration in support of the liberation of Jerusalem from the Zionists.”

Iran suggests Assad use Israel as a Smokescreen

Emails leaked by Syria opposition and released by the U.K.'s Guardian indicate that Syrian President Bashar Assad was advised by Iranian officials to divert attention toward Israel and the Palestinian cause in an effort to deflect criticism of his brutal crackdown. According to the Guardian, the messages were reported to have been intercepted by the opposition's Supreme Council of the Revolution between June of 2011 and February 2012, and include private emails from both Assad and his wife.


From Haaretz;

"One email sent in December 31 indicated that Assad's aides advised the Syrian president on the contents on an upcoming speech following "consultations with a good number of people in addition to the media and political adviser for the Iranian ambassador."

In the composed memorandum, Assad was advised to stress the issue of Muslim identity through the use of Koran quotes, as well as centering on what the email called "Syria's principles," which included: "Resistance"; "Hostility to Israel, the first enemy of the Muslims"; and "Protection of Palestinian people's rights (real prayers should be in the direction of Jerusalem)."

"Maybe here the president can reiterate his stance by condemning forcefully the recent Israeli practices and policies to Judaise Al-Quds (Jerusalem)," the email added, saying that Assad should use "powerful and violent" language in his opposition to Israel"

Could the Global march to Jerusalem be a cynical plot by Iranian interests to protect their puppet Assad? It it simply be a smokescreen to distract the Arab street? Its certainly beginning to look that way.

Transcript of Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC

Nearly 14,000 supporters of Israel heard Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC last night, with thousands more watching live on streaming video. A few dozen protesters, led by JVP and Code Pink weakly proclaimed that they were the 99%, in an anemic and failed attempt to prove their relevance.

Transcript of Netanyahu's speech at AIPAC March 5, 2012

"Thank you for the warm reception. It could be heard as far away as Jerusalem – the eternal and united capital of Israel.

More than two thirds of the Congress is in attendance here tonight.

I deeply appreciate your being here.

Last May when I addressed the Congress, you stood up to applaud the state of Israel. Now I ask the 13,000 friends of IL here to stand up and applaud you, the representatives of the American people. Democrats and Republicans alike, we applaud your unwavering commitment to Israel.

I want to recognize Yossi Peled who is here tonight. Yossi was born in Belgium. His parents hid him with a Christian family during World War II. His father, and many other members of his family, were murdered at Auschwitz. His mother survived the Holocaust, returned to reclaim Yossi, and brought him to Israel. He became one of Israel's bravest and greatest generals. And today, Yossi Peled serves as a minister in my government.

Yossi's life is the story of the Jewish people – the story of a powerless and stateless people who became a strong and proud nation able to defend itself.

And ladies and gentlemen, Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.

I'd like to talk to you about a subject no one has been talking about recently….Iran.

Every day, I open the papers and read about these redlines and these timelines. I read about what Israel has decided to do or what Israel might do.

Well, I’m not going to talk to you about what Israel will do or will not do. I never talk about that. But I do want to talk to you about the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. I want to explain why Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

President Obama has reiterated his commitment to prevent this from happening. He stated clearly that all options remain on the table, and that American policy is not containment. Well, Israel has the same policy. We are determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We leave all options on the table. Ad containment is definitely not an option. The Jewish state will not allow those seeking our destruction to possess the means to achieve that goal. A nuclear armed Iran must be stopped.

Amazingly, some people refuse to acknowledge that Iran’s goal is to develop nuclear weapons. You see, Iran claims that it’s enriching uranium to develop medical research. Yeah, right. A country that builds underground nuclear facilities, develops intercontinental ballistic missiles, manufactures thousands of centrifuges, and absorbs crippling sanctions – is doing all that in order to advance…medical research. So you see, when that Iranian ICBM is flying through the air to a location near you, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s only carrying medical isotopes.

Ladies and Gentlemen, If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then what is it? That’s right, it's a duck --but this duck is a nuclear duck. And it’s time the world started calling a duck a duck.

Fortunately, President Obama and most world leaders understand that the idea that Iran's goal is not to develop nuclear weapons is ridiculous. Yet incredibly, some are prepared to accept an idea only slightly less preposterous: That we should accept a world in which the Ayatollahs have atomic bombs.

Sure, they say, Iran is cruel, but it's not crazy. It’s detestable but it’s deterrable.

Responsible leaders should not bet the security of their countries on the belief that the world’s most dangerous regime won’t use the world’s most dangerous weapons. And I promise you that as Prime Minister, I will never gamble with the security of Israel.

From the beginning, the Ayatollah regime has broken every international rule and flouted every norm. It has seized embassies, targeted diplomats and sent its own children through mine fields. It hangs gays and stones women. It supports Assad's brutal slaughter of the Syrian people. Iran is the world's foremost sponsor of terror. It sponsors Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and terrorists throughout the Middle East, Africa, and South America. Iran's proxies have dispatched hundreds of suicide bombers, planted thousands of roadside bombs, and fired over twenty thousand missiles at civilians. Through terror from the skies and terror on the ground, Iran is responsible for the murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans.

In 1983, Iran's proxy Hezbollah blew up the Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 240 American servicemen. In the last decade, its been responsible for murdering and maiming American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Just a few months ago, it tried to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in a restaurant just a few blocks from here. The assassins didn’t care that several Senators and members of Congress would have been murdered in the process.

Iran accuses the American government of orchestrating 9/11, and it denies the Holocaust. Iran brazenly calls for Israel's destruction, and they work for its destruction – each day, every day. This is how Iran behaves today, without nuclear weapons. Think of how they will behave tomorrow, with nuclear weapons. Iran will be even more reckless and far more dangerous.

There's been plenty of talk recently about the costs of stopping Iran. I think it's time to talk about the costs of not stopping Iran.

A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase terrorism by giving terrorists a nuclear umbrella. That means that Iran's terror proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas will be emboldened to attack America, Israel, and others because they will be backed by a power with atomic weapons.

A nuclear-armed Iran could choke off the world’s oil supply and make real its threat to close the Straits of Hormouz. If you're worried about the price of oil today, imagine how high oil prices will be when a nuclear-armed Iran starts blackmailing the world.

If Iran gets nuclear weapons, this would set off a mad dash by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and others to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. The world's most volatile region would become a nuclear tinderbox waiting to go off.

And the worst nightmare of all, Iran could threaten all of us with nuclear terrorism. It could put a nuclear device in a ship heading to any port or in a truck parked in any city. Think about what it would mean to have nuclear weapons in the hands of radicals who lead millions in chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." For the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of our security, for the sake of our children, Iran must not be allowed to get nuclear weapons!

The best outcome would be if Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program peacefully. No one would be happier than me and the people of Israel if Iran actually dismantled its program. But so far, that hasn't happened.

For fifteen years, I've been warning that a nuclear-armed Iran is a grave danger to my country and to the peace and security of the world. For the last decade, the international community has tried diplomacy. It hasn't worked. For six years, the international community has applied sanctions. That hasn't worked either. I appreciate President Obama's recent efforts to impose even tougher sanctions against Iran. Those sanctions are hurting Iran's economy. But unfortunately, Iran's nuclear march goes on.

Israel has waited patiently for the international community to resolve this issue.

We've waited for diplomacy to work. We've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer.

As Prime Minister of Israel, I will never let my people live under the shadow of annihilation.

Some commentators would have you believe that stopping Iran from getting the bomb is more dangerous than letting Iran have the bomb. They say that a military confrontation with Iran would undermine the efforts already underway, that it would be ineffective, and that it would provoke even more vindictive action by Iran.

I’ve heard these arguments before. In fact, I've read them before.

In my desk, I have copies of an exchange of letters between the World Jewish Congress and the US War Department. The year was 1944. The World Jewish Congress implored the American government to bomb Auschwitz. The reply came five days later. I want to read it to you.

"Such an operation could be executed only by diverting considerable air support essential to the success of our forces elsewhere…..and in any case would be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources…."

And here’s the most remarkable sentence of all. And I quote:

"Such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans."

Think about that – "even more vindictive action" -- than the Holocaust.

My Friends, 2012 is not 1944. The American government today is different. You heard it in President Obama's speech yesterday.

But here's my point.

The Jewish people are also different. Today we have a state of our own. The purpose of the Jewish state is to secure the Jewish future. That is why Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.

We deeply appreciate the great alliance between our two countries. But when it comes to Israel's survival, we must always remain the masters of our fate.

Israel's fate is to continue to be the forward position of freedom in the Middle East. The only place where minorities enjoy full civil rights; The only place where Arabs enjoy full civil rights. The only place where Christians are free to practice their faith; The only place where real judges protect the rule of law; And as Prime Minister of Israel, I will never allow anything to threaten Israel's democratic way of life. And most especially, I will never tolerate any discrimination against women.

This week, we will read how one woman changed Jewish history. In Synagogues throughout the world, the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim. We will read how some 2,500 years ago, a Persian anti-Semite tried to annihilate the Jewish people. We will read how his plot was foiled by one courageous woman – Esther.

In every generation, there are those who wish to destroy the Jewish people. We are blessed to live in an age when there is a Jewish state capable of defending the Jewish people. And we are doubly blessed to have so many friends like you, Jews and non-Jews alike, who love the State of Israel and support its right to defend itself.

Thank you for your friendship, Thank you for your courage, Thank you for standing up for the one and only Jewish state."

Israel and Iran on the Eve of Destruction in a New Six-Day War

"There are plenty of arguments against an Israeli attack on Iran. And all of them are bad."

From Newsweek, via the Daily Beast

"There are five reasons (I am told) why Israel should not attack Iran:
1. The Iranians would retaliate with great fury, closing the Strait of Hormuz and unleashing the dogs of terror in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iraq.
2. The entire region would be set ablaze by irate Muslims; the Arab Spring would turn into a frigid Islamist winter.
3. The world economy would be dealt a death blow in the form of higher oil prices.
4. The Iranian regime would be strengthened, having been attacked by the Zionists its propaganda so regularly vilifies.
5. A nuclear-armed Iran is nothing to worry about. States actually become more risk-averse once they acquire nuclear weapons.
I am here to tell you that these arguments are wrong.
Let’s take them one by one.


1.The threat of Iranian retaliation. The Iranians will very likely be facing not one, not two, but three U.S. aircraft carriers. Two are already in the Persian Gulf: CVN 72 Abraham Lincoln and CVN 70 Carl Vinson. A third, CVN 77 George H.W. Bush, is said to be on its way from Norfolk, Va....

2.The eruption of the entire Muslim world. All the crocodiles of Africa could not equal the fake tears that will be shed by the Sunni powers of the region if Iran’s nuclear ambitions are checked.

3.The double-dip recession. Oil prices are on the way down thanks to concerted efforts of Europe’s leaders to reenact the Great Depression. An Israel-Iran war would push them up, but the Saudis stand ready to pump out additional supplies to limit the size of the spike.

4.The theocracy’s new legitimacy. Please send me a list of all the regimes of the past 60 years that have survived such military humiliation. Saddam Hussein’s survival of Gulf War I is the only case I can think of—and we got him the second time around.

5.The responsible nuclear Iran. Wait. We’re supposed to believe that a revolutionary Shiite theocracy is overnight going to become a sober, calculating disciple of the realist school of diplomacy ... because it has finally acquired weapons of mass destruction? Presumably this would be in the same way that, if German scientists had developed an atomic bomb as quickly as the Manhattan Project, the Second World War would have ended with a negotiated settlement brokered by the League of Nations.


The single biggest danger in the Middle East today is not the risk of a six-day Israeli war against Iran. It is the risk that Western wishful nonthinking allows the mullahs of Tehran to get their hands on nuclear weapons. Because I am in no doubt that they would take full advantage of such a lethal lever. We would have acquiesced in the creation of an empire of extortion.
War is an evil. But sometimes a preventive war can be a lesser evil than a policy of appeasement. The people who don’t yet know that are the ones still in denial about what a nuclear-armed Iran would end up costing us all.
It feels like the eve of some creative destruction."

Remember International ANSWER?

Anyone remember International ANSWER? Galvanizing Americans' ambivalence on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, they originally attracted tens of thousands to their San Francisco rallies. But San Franciscans aren't stupid, and ANSWER was unmasked fairly quickly. San Francisco ANSWER, under the leader of Richard Becker is strongly rooted in the Workers World Party, a tiny vestigial organ of the Communist party.

From Sf Gate:

The Workers World Party and Richard Becker, a party leader and leader of International Answer, have defended Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Milosevic -- who is on trial at the Hague for war crimes -- and Chinese leaders who put down the 1989 "counter-revolution" in Tiananmen Square.

International ANSWER rallies became huge hate fests filled with anti-American and anti-Semitism symbolism. People kept away in droves. ANSWER became less and less relevant, attracting only the most extreme local activists to their events.

Like a lingering flu, ANSWER just won't go away, still trying to ride the coat tails of whatever social movement seems promising.

Keeping with their tradition of supporting dictatorial regimes, today ANSWER, along with the air plants of Code Pink co-sponsored a pro-Iran rally, taking a firm stand (sit down for this one) against sanctions directed towards the Islamic republic of Iran. Only at an ANSWER rally in San Francisco would you find a kaffiyeh clad women carrying a sign glorifying both Fidel Castro and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Cindy Sheehan was there, too, anxiously attempting to prove her relevance and extend her 15 minutes of fame.



The dictatorial regime of Iran is denying one Holocaust while planning another. Iran routinely persecutes gays, minorities, and women, and supplies and trains its Hamas and Hezbollah proxies in their war against the Jewish state. It is a perversion for ANSWER to use the image of civil rights visionary Dr. Martin Luther King in support of the Iranian theocracy. Sadly, we expect no better from International ANSWER.

(thanks to dholsey for use of the photos)