No Peace as Long as Iran's Mullahs Enjoy Power

by Majid Rafizadeh • June 20, 2019 at 5:00 am

Already eight years ago, the head of Iran's Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani boasted to the US General David Petraeus that: "You should know that I... control policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan. The ambassador in Baghdad is a Quds Force member. The individual who's going to replace him is a Quds Force member."
An honest analysis of acts of terrorism in the Middle East, and throughout the world, reveals that nearly every conflict, war, and tension in the Middle East, can be traced back to the Iranian government. Despite the illusion that those who would like to appease the Iranian leaders attempt to create, it is clear that the Iran, still racing toward nuclear-breakout capability, has no interest in peace.
The Quds Force has also apparently found new sources of funding to evade current US sanctions.

Iran's Quds Force, commanded by Qassem Soleimani, is in charge of Iran's extraterritorial operations, which include organizing, supporting, training, arming and financing Iran's predominantly Shiite militia groups in foreign countries; launching wars directly or indirectly via these proxies; fomenting unrest in other nations to advance Iran's ideological and hegemonic interests; attacking and invading cities and countries; and assassinating foreign political figures and prominent Iranian dissidents worldwide. Pictured: Qassem Soleimani. (Image source: Tasnim News [CC by 4.0])

It is astonishing that while the fundamentalist government of Iran continues to enjoy unchallenged power, and engages in whatever violent behavior it wishes, its apologists proclaim that peace and stability can still exist within the Middle East.

An honest analysis of acts of terrorism in the Middle East, and throughout the world, reveals that nearly every conflict, war, and tension in the Middle East, can be traced back to the Iranian government. Despite the illusion that those who would like to appease the Iranian leaders attempt to create, it is clear that the Iran, still racing toward nuclear-breakout capability, has no interest in peace.

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Mae Cannon & CMEP: The New Face of the Palestinian Authority's Antisemitic "Christian" Lobby

by Joshua Joseph • June 20, 2019 at 4:00 am

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has apparently decided to shift strategies. Its latest initiative is apparently to use their "Christian" lobby — and various organizations that lobby creates — to infiltrate Christian pro-Israel communities through a carefully crafted narrative designed to appeal to Christians' love for all humanity and desire to pray for the Middle East. The PA's end goal, apart from displacing Israel, is both to dilute Christians' pro-Israel beliefs and their influence, and to convert Christians outright to the PA's narrative and cause.
"The organisation I lead," Mae Cannon wrote, "Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), has long been a friend to Israelis." Regrettably, a serious review of the history and activities of Cannon and CMEP illustrates that her statement is demonstrably false.
Does her audience know that she is accusing Christian supporters of Israel of increasing antisemitism and hate crimes? Does her audience know that she is writing and promoting Palestinian propaganda in media outlets? Do they know that she is working closely with the Palestinian Authority to implement the PA's strategic plan for targeting Israel by chipping away at Christian support for Israel through eroding support for Christian Zionism? Most likely they do not: Cannon's hidden agenda is disguised by a carefully constructed facade — one that claims simply to be introducing her audience to multiple narratives and perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The current goal is shifting the balance of power so that Congress, specifically, buys into the PA's political and legislative agenda as pushed by the PA's "Christian" lobby.
While Cannon pays lip service to opposing antisemitism and to being a "friend to Israelis," she leads CMEP in strategizing with Israel's enemies on the best way not only to undermine Christian Zionism but also — at the behest of the Palestinian Authority — to target the PA's putative enemy, the State of Israel, in the halls of the government of the United States — arguably, Israel's greatest ally.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has "expressed appreciation" for the work of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP). He has every reason to laud the work of CMEP and its executive director, Rev. Dr. Mae Cannon: CMEP was one of the signatories of an anti-Israel plan created at a strategic conference co-hosted by the PA and the Carter Center to guide American "Christian" organizations in their anti-Israel activism. Pictured: Mahmoud Abbas. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

Rev. Dr. Mae Cannon — the executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) — is charming and disarming. Her friendly smile, calm demeanor, and quiet passion for her topic is engaging. It comes as no surprise, then, that the Palestinian Authority (PA)/Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) appears to have selected her as the face of their strategic "Christian" anti-Israel lobby — even sharing, on the PLO's social media, a piece in which Cannon blames Christian Zionists for the rise in antisemitism and hate crimes.

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