[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5769]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ATTACK ON CAMP ASHRAF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, last week Iraqi forces unleashed a 
surprise attack on Camp Ashraf, the home of thousands of Iranian 
exiles, including innocent men, women and children; 2,500 members of 
the Iraqi military, armed with military weapons, attacked those 3,000 
unarmed Iranian exiles.
  These Iranian civilians are pro-American. They are exiles from Iran 
because of their opposition to the evil dictator, the little tyrant of 
the desert, Ahmadinejad.
  The Iraqis showed no mercy in their attack. They used live ammunition 
against these people who could not defend themselves. They ran over 
these citizens, smashing them with their American-made Humvees. Reports 
indicate an estimated 300 people were injured and 33 people were 
murdered in their vicious attack.
  And it doesn't stop there. Iraqi soldiers still occupy parts of Camp 
Ashraf. We don't even know if the attackers are all Iraqis. It has been 
reported that some of these occupiers could be Iranian agents who seek 
to harm the Iranian dissidents living in this camp.
  The international community cannot tolerate this unprovoked, violent 
attack by the Government of Iraq. We have a legal and moral obligation 
to ensure the safety of Iranian dissidents in Camp Ashraf.
  The innocent people who live in Camp Ashraf continue to be in danger 
as we speak. It has been reported that the Government of Iraq blocked 
the delivery of American humanitarian aid to the wounded until Sunday, 
2 days after the attack. And just yesterday the Iraqi Government 
announced that they plan to close Camp Ashraf and move its residents 
out of the country. This is exactly what Ahmadinejad wants.
  If this happens, Mr. Speaker, these people's lives are in total 
danger. Why? Right now, some citizens of Camp Ashraf are members of the 
MEK. The MEK is on the United States' list of Foreign Terrorist 
Organizations.
  The FTO organization designation by the United States is still being 
used by Iran to justify the harsh treatment of its own citizens, of the 
MEK worldwide. Many nations have already removed the MEK off the FTO 
list. So the Government of Iran uses our designation as a justification 
to harm the MEK citizens. That is why the Iranian Government praised 
the attack in Camp Ashraf on the Iranian dissidents.
  Mr. Speaker, by not taking the MEK off the FTO list, we are 
endangering innocent people and empowering the Governments of Iran and 
Iraq to harm them. They are on our side. They oppose the evil dictator 
in Iran.
  This is just another example of the inconsistency the United States 
presents with our foreign policy. In one breath we say publicly we need 
to protect Camp Ashraf. Yet in the second breath we won't take MEK off 
the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list.
  Fifty-four of my colleagues have joined me on a resolution urging the 
Secretary of State to immediately remove the MEK from the FTO list. The 
State Department has yet to give convincing evidence that the MEK is an 
FTO. It is time they make their case or remove them from the 
designation.
  Failure to do this sends mixed signals to both the Iranian and Iraqi 
Governments. These governments think they have a license to kill these 
dissidents.
  This is a matter of life or death for the people in Camp Ashraf. If 
more Iraqi attacks occur against these people, the blood will be on the 
hands of the Iraqi Government and the little tyrant of the desert, 
Ahmadinejad.
  We must make it clear to the Iraqis that they do not have the right 
to attack Camp Ashraf just because America is leaving town. We must not 
tolerate these crimes against innocent civilians that we have legally 
and morally promised to protect.
  And that's just the way it is.

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