By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
No longer regarded as a terrorist group by the U.S. and Europe, the Iranian resistance now is urging the West to recognize the movement as a legitimate advocate for democratic change in a country ruled for more than 30 years by a brutal, theocratic regime suspected of trying to build nuclear weapons.
The leader of an Iranian militant group that was taken off the U.S. terror list on Friday says the move will change her group's "balance of power" with the world — predicting a higher profile in politics, fundraising and diplomacy and increased anti-regime activity in Iran.
A U.S. appeals court on Friday ordered Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to decide within four months on removing an Iranian dissident group from the State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The events of the decade since Sept. 11 accentuate the reality that fighting terrorism and defending the security and welfare of the civilized world is the responsibility of every citizen, especially those in public service. But when the purported combat against terrorism turns into a witch hunt, with tactics like using slurs, mudslinging and disseminating unsubstantiated claims, that is the time to sound the alarm and to stand in defense of the institutions and values that distinguish democracies from the rest of the world.
Is Iran serious in threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz or is this simply saber-rattling? Whatever the motives, inaction is not an option - not any more.
An Iranian exile group says more than 3,000 of its members based in a camp in Iraq are ready to leave if they get U.S. and U.N. security guarantees.
A former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the FBI says played a role in a 1996 terrorist attack that killed 19 U.S. servicemen, accompanied Iraq's prime minister to the White House on Monday, attending an event at which President Obama trumpeted the end of the Iraq War.
As Iran continues with its efforts to become a nuclear power, President Obama has signed into law sweeping new economic sanctions against companies found to be trading with Iran. This action follows the adoption of a new sanctions resolution last month at the United Nations Security Council and a tightening of European Union sanctions.
Maryam Rajavi, head of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, urged the European Parliament last week to enforce sanctions against the Iranian regime, safeguard the rights of disarmed Iranian rebels living in camps in Iraq and recognize the "Iranian people's resistance."
"We succeeded in crushing the terrorist label in its birthplace, the United States," Mrs. Rajavi said.
