Half page ad in WashPo today from "Iranians" who want our support to bring "democracy" to Iran

[peacebird]

They have a website listed called futureJihad.com.... Seeing it brought on queasy feelings of deja vu. Does this mean we have now found our Iranian "Chalabi"?

:scared:

[Donnachaidh]

1. and exactly WHO is the money behind this website?

I don't think any of this BS will fly. The country is tired of the webspinning being done for a new war.

[Robbien]

2. Mr and Mrs John Q Taxpayer

paid for it. Of course.

And why not try it again. They got away with it the first time around.

[devilgrrl]

3. Oh. So Iranians are incapable of doing that themself?

BTW, where the fuck have the US ever built a democracy?

[LynnTheDem]

4. Ahmed Chalabi IS Iranian.

Born & bred.

[Stephanie]

11. Not true.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Chalabi

Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi,1 (Arabic: احمد الجلبي) (born October 30, 1944)

Chalabi is the scion of a prominent Shi'a family, one of the wealthy power elite of Baghdad, where he was born. Chalabi left Iraq with his family in 1956 and spent most of his life in the USA and the UK. In 1965, he received an Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from MIT. In 1969, he received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago (dissertation title: On the Jacobson Radical of a Group Algebra, see <3>), after which he took a position in the mathematics department at the American University of Beirut.

[LynnTheDem]

13. Sorry, I was thinking of al Sistani.

The leading "Iraqi" cleric who isn't Iraqi.

Too early, need more caffeine!

[H2O Man]

28. However,

Mr. Chalabi is closely associated with Iranian intelligence. In many significant ways, he is far more closely tied to Iran than to Iraq.

[notadmblnd]

5. do you have a link?

nt

[peacebird]

18. sorry - I read it in the paper edition this morning... Are the ads like that in the online edition?

I will go look.....

Can't find the "letter to America" ad on the post website but here's the authors bio from his website:

Walid Phares is currently MSNBC/NBC terrorism and Mideast expert and a senior fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington. He has been a Professor of Middle East Studies and Ethnic and Religious Conflict at Florida Atlantic University and lectures worldwide. He regularly appears on NBC, Fox News, CNN, BBC, C-Span, Voice of America, al Jazeera, al Hurra, NPR International, and Abu Dhabi TV, among others and is a frequent contributor to US and international radio programs.

Phares conducts briefings to the State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security Departments, the US Congress, the European Union, the United Nations Security Council, and other international bodies on the Middle East, Jihadism, counterterrorism, democratization, al Qaeda and other issues. His columns and articles, in such venues as The Washington Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Denver Post, Indianapolis Star, San Diego Tribune, etc, have received much attention. He is a media communicator, and has the academic, professional, and insider credentials to offer an unprecedented analysis and prescription for the future of Jihad

[doublethink]

19. Futurejihad.com takes us to …… as you just stated .....

a guy named Walid Pharis who wrote a book named “Future Jihad Terrorist Strategies Against America”…… googeling Walid Pharis takes us to “Foundation For Defense Of Democracies” whom again is in the above bio .... Anyway I looked up in Source watch: Foundation For Defense Of Democracies:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Foundation_for_the_Defense_of_Democracies
Which if you read the above link you will learn is pretty much a ‘neo-con think tank’ with a who’s who list of it’s members etc… etc… and here’s a snip of just a bit of that …..

“With a few possible exceptions, the members of FDD are predominately conservative and neo-conservative and the articles written by FDD's members and the literature on their site promote a neo-conservative slant.“ -snip-

“Another indicator of FDD's ideological bias is provided on their related websites page. They provide links to numerous conservative think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute (which some FDD members are either current or former fellows of) and the Hudson Institute. There is a link to the so-called student group Oxford Democracy Forum which portrays the same hawkish perspective and includes the same rhetoric with respect to Iraq and terrorism as is coming out of the Bush administration and neo-con controlled media. On OxDems' FAQ page, it repeats false information about Iraq, such as its links to Al-Qaeda by citing Colin L. Powell's discredited United Nations speech. “ -snip-

Bla bla bla ... :)

And under their Senior Fellows roster … Dr. Walid Phares, Florida Atlantic University Professor

Etc.. etc… etc…. lots of fun links and gadgets on that page to keep you entertained for hours. Peace.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Foundation_for_the_Defense_of_Democracies

[bidiboom]

22. Thanks for the link, very revealing

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Foundation_for_the_Defense_of_Democracies#Zionist_Political_Action_Committee

Origins of FDD

An enhanced view of FDD's origins is expressed in the 17 November 2003 issue of The American Conservative article by Daniel McCarthy, "Most Favored Democracy":

In early 2001, a tightly knit group of billionaire philanthropists conceived of a plan to win American sympathy for Israel's response to the Palestinian intifada. They believed that the Palestinian cause was finding too much support within crucial segments of the American public, particularly within the media and on college campuses, so they set up an organization, Emet: An Educational Initiative, Inc., to offer Israel the kind of PR that the Israeli government seemed unable to provide itself.

At first, Emet floundered, without an executive director or a well-defined mission. But that changed after Sept. 11, and Emet changed too, into what is now the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. The name is different, but the goal of influencing America's opinion-forming classes remains.

What makes all of this possible is the support the foundation receives from its billionaire backers. Its nearly $3 million annual budget comes from 27 major donors, most of whom are members of "the Study Group"--also sometimes called the "Mega Group" because of their sizeable contributions--a semi-formal organization of major Jewish philanthropists who meet twice a year to discuss joint projects.

[doublethink]

25. And from Informed Comment (Juan Cole)

this from Sept 4th 2004 on "Walid Phares"...

"As it is, pro-Israeli figures like the Phalangist-related have played a sinister behind-the-scenes role in trying to railroad Arab-Americans like the four defendants in the Detroit case, which has now had to be dropped because of overwhelming evidence of their innocence and of prosecutorial malfeasance. The FBI should investigate how Pharis, an undistinguished academic with links to far rightwing Lebanese groups and the Likud clique, became the "terrorism analyst" at MSNBC." -snip-

http://www.juancole.com/2004/09/aipac-spy-case-update-knight-ridders.html

Interesting where these guys come from .... I just finished reading "Target Iran" by Scott Ritter and the tie in's witn groups like the the NCRI (National Council of Resistance in Iran) just being a political front for the terrorist orgnization MEK (Mujahedeen e Khalq)....... on and on and on .... it's crazy how all these forces work behind the scenes to promote their political agendas. Anyway I see your pretty new on this board, welcome to DU! Stay informed and peace. :hi:

[Missy M]

6. Maybe the late Shah's family...

that's who we supported the last time.

[doublethink]

7. We will obviously be greeted as liberators ......

isn't that obvious to you? Now don't go google anything like a good little patriot and just get on the bandwagon okay. Peace.

[cigsandcoffee]

8. Are they calling for military intervention?

Or peaceful support of Iranian moderates? If the latter, surely that isn't something to be dismissed or disparaged.

[leftchick]

9. Ledeen's man Ghorbanifar perhaps?

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0410.marshall.html

While the FBI is looking at the meetings as part of its criminal investigation, to congressional investigators the Ghorbanifar back-channel typifies the out-of-control bureaucratic turf wars which have characterized and often hobbled Bush administration policy-making. And an investigation by The Washington Monthly -- including a rare interview with Ghorbanifar -- adds weight to those concerns. The meetings turn out to have been far more extensive and much less under White House control than originally reported. One of the meetings, which Pentagon officials have long characterized as merely a "chance encounter" seems in fact to have been planned long in advance by Rhode and Ghorbanifar. Another has never been reported in the American press. The administration's reluctance to disclose these details seems clear: the DoD-Ghorbanifar meetings suggest the possibility that a rogue faction at the Pentagon was trying to work outside normal US foreign policy channels to advance a "regime change" agenda not approved by the president's foreign policy principals or even the president himself.

The Italian Job

The first meeting occurred in Rome in December, 2001. It included Franklin, Rhode, and another American, the neoconservative writer and operative Michael Ledeen, who organized the meeting. (According to UPI, Ledeen was then working for Feith as a consultant.) Also in attendance was Ghorbanifar and a number of other Iranians. One of the Iranians, according to two sources familiar with the meeting, was a former senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard who claimed to have information about dissident ranks within the Iranian security services. The Washington Monthly has also learned from U.S. government sources that Nicolo Pollari, the head of Italy's military intelligence agency, SISMI, attended the meetings, as did the Italian Minister of Defense Antonio Martino, who is well-known in neoconservative circles in Washington.

[Skidmore]

10. This is a neocon ploy.

I sat in Iran and watched the Iranians bring the Shah to his knees with the full force of American trained troops, intelligence agency, and all the latest military gadgets with all the bells and whistles. If these people wanted to oust their government, they are damned will capable of doing so.

Find the people who paid for the ad.

[conscious evolution]

12. Someone should tell them

that Iran is already a democracy.

[RC]

14. Which is why we, (read neo-cons in White House) want to

overthrow their government.

[madeline_con]

15. PUH-leeeeze. The U.S. government is getting desperate. n/t

:eyes:

[Doctor_J]

16. Like Rove isn't behind this

:eyes:

at least they found the right GOP organ to run it.

[EstimatedProphet]

17. Psyops

Betcha that ad came straight out of the Office of Special Plans

[ChairmanAgnostic]

20. paid for by a DOD slush fund - that 250 Million PR fund

i'd bet.

[ecstatic]

21. wow. Bush & Co. must really take us all for fools

It's mind boggling :crazy: It's like they're not even trying. No offense, but that type of BS might work in a generic newspaper in small town USA, but it damn sure won't work on WP readers.

[musette_sf]

23. i'm wondering where all of the

Happy Shiny Iran "Freedom" supporters who showed up on this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2644479

are? they seem awfully quiet now that the RW drumbeat to attack Iran is becoming louder.

[Nikki Stone1]

24. Sounds like Hill and Knowlton to me

We've seen this one before.

[doublethink]

26. Hey peacebird ...... did this "letter to America" look something like this?

The Washington Post 12.10.06. Letter to the American People (4)

IRAN NEEDS A CHANGE OF DIRECTION

http://www.futurejihad.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125&Itemid=32


L.A. Times 12.10.2006. Letter to the American People (3)

CALLING HOLLYWOOD TO HELP THE OPPRESSED IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Behrooz Behbudi and Walid Phares

http://www.futurejihad.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=32


Was just looking around this guys website again and came across these two 'letters' #3 and #4 ...... wonder if the one your looking at is #5? Couldn't find #1 or #2 on his site. Anyway looks like this guys group has been pretty busy .... here's one more link to his media page .... http://www.futurejihad.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=16&Itemid=32

Some of the contacts in the list are pretty telling in themselves. Psy-Ops at it's finest, but not very stealth. Peace. :)

[IndyOp]

27. K&R to expose the machinations of the insane. (n/t)

[Little Star]

29. Walid Phares=Mr. Faux News n/t