Women's Campaign International Helping Women Here and Abroad

Tonight, I attended a fundraiser for Women's Campaign International (WCI) headed by former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky (MMM), who just happens to be Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law. WCI was started in 1998 after MMM led the United States delegation to the fourth world conference on women in Beijing, China.  First Lady Hilary Clinton spoke at the Beijing conference.

Women's Campaign International teaches advocacy skills to women and girls in emerging democracies and post-conflict regions. They teach the women how to speak in public, effectively lobby, deal with the media, conduct letter writing and social media campaigns etc.

They also run programs that help women being  economically self- sufficient. They teach budgeting, provide agricultural tools in farming regions, and even provide martial counseling for couples to help the women in the home.

They are operating in 16 Middle Eastern and North African countries, having recently been forced to leave Syria due to the escalating violence. They also run a similar program in West Philadelphia. The organization prepares women for elective office by teaching them leadership skills such as public speaking and budgeting.

They do all of this on a shoestring.

Jeff Gavin, a WCI board member said, "Our program in Liberia, which trained 600 women only cost $25,000."

The programs that WCI seems to be making a difference in Muslims' attitude toward the United States.

"After a day of attacks in Iraq, one of the Iraqis called and said tell the United States that we love them." recalled Margolies Mezvinsky.

In a Kevin Bacon moment, MMM recounted a conversation with a state department official, who was asked if he knew about this small, but wonderful program that WCI was running. I am betting that he did since it is run by his boss's in-law.


For those that do not know Margolies Mezvinsky's history, it is pretty incredible to see her still giving to others after everything that she has been through. Some people in her position would have stopped helping other people.

Will The Constitution Center Survive?

When Ed Rendell was Mayor of Philadelphia and Governor of Pennsylvania, he was an indefatigable cheerleader for the city. The Kimmel Center, National Museum of American Jewish History, and the National Constitution Center owe their existence to his fundraising prowess and his superhero ability to extract money from the federal and state budgets. Rendell's political philosophy seemed to be borrowed from the "Field of Dreams" - "Build it and they will come."

Now that he is out of office, these institutions are floundering. When his final legacy is written, it may be littered with white elephants throughout the city. The Kimmel Center has cut back its programming schedule. Most of their reduced schedule is joint productions with concert promoters. Attendance at the Jewish Museum and the Constitution Center has fallen short of projections. 

The National Constitution Center seems to be in the most danger of shutting its doors. The head of the center, David Eisner, recently resigned his $400,000 job. With no new job lined up, the announcement indicates to me that he is in a rush to leave a sinking Titanic.

Eisner's tenure at the Constitution Center was a failure. A diffident public speaker, he never clearly articulated a vision for the center. Without the exhibit of Bruce Springsteen memorabilia this year, center attendance would have fallen off the cliff.

Like the Princess Diana exhibit before it, the Springsteen exhibit had no real ties to the stated mission of the center, which is to teach visitors about the constitution. The overflowing crowds at the press luncheon for the Springsteen exhibit did not hear a lecture about copyright laws or freedom of speech that would have linked the exhibit to the constitution. Instead a photographer showed his early photographs of Bruce. The best indication that the Constitution Center has lost its way were the covering up of the picture of founding father George Washington by a photograph of Bruce and the enlarged photo of Bruce that overpowered the building's inscription of "We the People".

Similarly, the selection of Muhammad Ali for this year's Liberty Medal while the nation is at war is a slap in the face to all the soldiers that have died defending our constitution. Being the daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors, I revere Ali's fight for religious freedom. I just think that he should be honored when the nation is not at war. When thousands of return soldiers suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder are committing suicide, it is not the right time to honor a draft evader.

While former Defense Secretary Bob Gates honorably served his country, his speech at the Liberty Medal was his regular canned speech. He was ubiquitous on the lecture circuit last year. I heard him give the exact same speech two other times. I had championed the selection of Google executive Wael Ghonim, who was one of the leaders of the Arab Spring in Egypt.

In this bad economy, non- profits can not be choosy about their donors. The Constitution Center may have trouble luring suitable recipients for the Liberty Medal because the lead donor, Ira Lubert, has been accused of fraudulent transferring funds by a bankruptcy trustee.

It is not just the public events that lacked relevance. Although the Constitution Center touts winning State Department funds for participating in the Table to Table program, the superficial agenda for the visiting Latvian students had very few lessons about our constitution. Reading the description of the program provided me with one of my few tea party moments. I was angry that my tax dollars were being wasted on this program.

I attended one of the events at the People for People Charter School in North Philadelphia. Center staffer Sayeh Hormozi could not explain how Latvian teenagers eating lunch at an inner city school was classified as a service project and how it was teaching them about the Constitution. It struck me as racist to think that eating lunch with black children was a service project. As someone who participated as a teenager in archaeological digs at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and picked oranges on a Kibbutz, I am familiar with meaningful service projects.

Although it is one of the main freedoms in the constitution, the center curiously never respected freedom of the press. They limited press access to most of the speakers at the center, including last year's Liberty Medal winner. When former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld appeared at the Center, presidential historian Michael Beschloss used the weak excuse that he did not want to ask the same questions as ABC's Diane Sawyer to avoid asking him hardball questions. They regular bar members of the press, including me, that are critical of the center.

Former General in charge: Government Must Keep Promise to MEK

The State Department has asked for a delay in a lawsuit brought by the Iranian dissident group MEK (Mujahdeen-e Khalq) that would compel the State Department to remove MEK from the terror watch list in 30 days. After talking to former Brigadier General David Phillips, the highest ranking American armed forces representative at Camp Ashraf from 2003-2009, and Shariar Kia, a MEK representative at Camp Ashraf, I am wondering why.

Kia, who attended University of North Texas, said, "We want to stay at Ashraf. The Americans want us to Camp Liberty, which is a prison. How do we know that the Iraqis will not kill us like they did in 2009 and 2011? Our members that are handicapped and disabled have made a video saying how fearful of the move they are. They do not know how they will cope."

Phillips assured me, "I found no evidence that they were terrorists. I conducted many midnight raids looking for weapons and found nothing. While MEK was terrorist organization in the seventies, the majority the MEK members at Ashraf are under 30. They were not even born when the terrorism occurred."

He explained why the MEK does not leave Ashraf for Camp Liberty. He said, "Ashraf is Disneyland. The MEK have built the camp into a paradise. There are 25 foot vines of roses, mini Eiffel Towers. Camp Liberty is a prison. They will be cut off from all communication. They will have no cell phones or internet. Without any form of communication with the outside world, they fear what the Iraqis will do."

In 2005, he wrote a letter, which probably cost him a promotion, to human rights organizations criticizing their characterization of the MEK as a cult. The former general when challenged on Saturday did not rule out the possibility that they were a cult.

"There are cultish parallels," he said. I was in Waco, Texas with the Branch Davidians. Maryam Rajavi is no David Koresh or Jim Jones."

He continued, "There are separate female and male units. Members, who wear uniform like clothes, are married to the cause not each other," Phillips said. "One of the leaders, Oxford educated Hossein, told me that his wife was at the camp but he did not see her for two years."


He conceded that members would have no trouble dying for the cause- either fighting the Iranian regime or by suicide.

"All of the leaders wear a black leather strap around their necks that holds a square poach. Inside the pouch, there is a black rubber capsule that contains an off white powder that is cyanide," he said. The powder is enough to kill three people. I have asked them about it. They feel they  will be tortured for information and then killed so it is better just to die and not give up the information. I do not see this as a mass suicide like Jim Jones in Guyana."


The general, who was in Germany when the wall came down, insists, "They are a democracy. Maybe, not an American style democracy. I watched them hold elections and elect leaders at Ashraf. Their beginnings were Marxist. They have more of a Communist way of doing things."

Most of the senior leaders are women, which is atypical for the Middle East. Phillips believes that the MEK would be preferable to the current Iranian regime.

Phillips also dispute the wide spread allegation that the MEK holds members against their will. "They may not be happy that members leave. Neither is the army for that matter," said the general. "I have watched them escorted members that are leaving to the camp's entrance. They leave with two suitcases and are given $200 American dollars and some Iraqi dinar."

Retired from the army, Phillips spends time advocating for the MEK. When asked why, he said, "The American Government made a promise, which I was part of, to protect the MEK. I want the government to keep that promise. The world will not be safe for marines like my son if we do not keep the promises we negotiate."

Documents that Show Rendell and MEK Politicos Are Being Slimed

I have received a group of documents that shed a different light on the politicians helping the Iranian dissident group MEK (Mujahideen el-Khalq)

The first two documents are the American government promise of protection given to each individual MEK member if he disarmed. The first guarantee was given to Amir Khairy and signed by Vicente Perez CDR, the official representative of the Multi National Forces-Iraq. The second was given to Emami Hanif and signed by Harold Dunning, USN. While some have accused the MEK of being a cult, the United States Government will not be able to negotiate future cease fires if they do not keep their word to the MEK.

An update: Khairy and Hanif were killed by Iraqi soldiers even though the American government swore to protect them.

The third document is a letter from Major General Miller, deputy commander of the multinational forces in Iraq, reiterating the US government promise that MEK members are protecting under the Geneva convention.

Some have speculated that the Treasury Department has opened this investigation because of a looming court of appeals deadline. When you see this court order, it is hard not to be suspicious of the timing. As Special Agent Gibbs always says on NCIS, I don't believe in coincidences.

This is a standard form given to every MEK member that renounced violation. In the second paragraph, I linked to two forms that were actually signed by a MEK member and an official representative of the multinational forces.


AGREEMENT FOR THE INDIVIDUALS OF THE PEOPLE’S MUJAHEDIN
ORGANIZATION OF IRAN (PMOI)

You are being offered your release from control and protection in exchange for
your promise to comply with certain conditions. In exchange for your promises, you will be
released from Multi-National Forces-Iraq control and protection as soon as reasonably
practicable.

Please read the Agreement below. If you agree to abide by these terms, then sign
your name at the bottom of the page.

AGREEMENT

I, ________________________________, knowingly, willingly, and voluntarily enter into
this Agreement with Multi-National Forces-Iraq. I agree to the following:

a. I reject participation in, or support for terrorism.

b. I have delivered all military equipment and weapons under my control or
responsibility.

c. I reject violence and I will not unlawfully take up arms or engage in any hostile
act. I will obey the laws of Iraq and relevant United Nations mandates while residing
in this country.

I understand that I will be free to leave and to return home when viable disposition
options become available. I understand that some of these disposition options include:
return to my nation of origin; admission to a third country; application to the Ministry of
Displacement and Migration for continued residency in Iraq, or application to
international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
I agree to cooperate with Multi-National Forces-Iraq while these disposition options are
pursued. I agree to remain under the protection of Multi-National Forces-Iraq at Camp
Ashraf until these options are completed. If I violate any terms of this Agreement, I may
be subject to prosecution or internment, and administrative sanctions. I promise to
scrupulously comply with my Agreement.

_______________
SIGNATURE

_______________________
MNF-Iraq Representative

_____________________
NAME (PRINTED)

_________________________
IDENTITY NUMBER

_____________________
PRINTED NAME, RANK

________________
DATE

Source: I Was on Calls When State Department Asked for MEK Help

After my recent posts on MEK, someone contacted me refuting the statement that the State Department sent me denying asking for help with MEK. 

This source, who is in a position to know, said, "Every week or two for the last three months, I have been on the calls with Ambassador Dan Fried, who was appointed by the State Department to deal with MEK, asking for our help in moving members of the MEK from the camp in Ashraf to Camp Liberty."

Ambassador Fried's official mandate within the State Department is to relocate Guantanamo Bay prisoners. 

He also reminded me that the United States Government in 2003 promised the members of MEK that they would be protected if they disarmed. Each member of the group was given a piece of paper with that promise written on it. 

My source said, "The United States should keep their promise to 3400 unarmed civilians."

The FBI in 2004 declared that the MEK was terrorism free. My source assumes that it is why Louis Freeh, a former director of the FBI, is working on behalf of the MEK. 

The Iraqis have attacked members of the MEK twice. In 2009, President Maliki’s soldiers killed 11 people. 36 more people were slaughtered in cold blood in 2011. 

He discounts the NBC report linking MEK to the recent assassinations of Iranian scientists. 

"The Iranians are always waging a propaganda campaign against the MEK and Israelis? There are plenty of people on their payroll. What could be better than linking them together?" he asked.

He suspects the Treasury Department subpoenaed Rendell now because of a looming State Department court deadline. For more than two years, the MEK has been suing in federal court to be removed from the terror watch list. The State Department has repeatedly delayed providing their explanation for keeping the MEK on the terror watch list or offered any evidence that they are still terrorists. The judge, fed up with the slow pace of their answers, insisted on a March 26 deadline. 

Human rights advocate Alan Dershowitz has filed an amicus brief on behalf of 21 individuals who want to help the MEK. He has told me that the situation at the camp is a humanitarian disaster. 

"While the State Department may eventually lose in court, they are winning the public relations battle by opening the investigation into Rendell and others that have helped MEK," my source said.

My source believes that the pending court case will mandate that the State Department remove the MEK from the terror watch list in the United States. 

"It required court cases to force the British and French governments and the European Union to remove MEK from their terror watch lists. The same thing will happen here," he said. 

If the MEK is soon removed from the terror watch list, all of the the recent media hullabaloo will have been naught. Rendell and the other politicians helping MEK will have been wrongly smeared.