“Victory or martyrdom, fighting with America rises from our voice. . . . Compromise is a shame. Shout from your heart: destroy America!”
Such declares “The Battle with America,” an anthem put out by the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK). The song describes not Russia or China but the United States as “the most ruthless and blood thirsty toward all oppressed people of the world.”
There is nothing new about anti-Americanism. What disappoints is how many retired ambassadors, cabinet secretaries, and even presidential candidates embrace the group, often in exchange for cash. Patriotism is cheap, and the willingness to endorse the most anti-American groups has become a barometer of corruption.
A five-minute endorsement of Maryam Rajavi might net $50,000, but all Iranians know for what she stands. They have heard the songs the MEK sings when Joe Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, or Bill Richardson are not in the room.
Their ignorance should not be an excuse. The MEK has a half-century history of anti-American terror. The group supported Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution and the seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran. It supported Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein as he attacked first Iran and then Kuwait. This is why, in one of the most comprehensive surveys of Iranian politicians’ popularity, Rajavi came in 24th out of 24, and the MEK as an organization won the support of only 0.6 percent of Iranians. Simply put, Iranians hate the Mujahedin-e-Khalq. The group’s antics impede a free Iran, not advance it.
Economist Jeffrey Sachs has become a symbol of intellectual corruption for his full-throated endorsement of China’s anti-American conspiracy theories. It is time patriotic Americans view those who sell their souls to the MEK’s noxious anti-Americanism as exhibits of corruption, not as senior statesmen or even serious candidates for president.
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