Obama’s Iran man is still pictured on site calling for sanctions on Iran

by on June 11, 2009 19

The hard-line group, United Against a
Nuclear Iran is pushing for sanctions against Iran with an ad featuring images of nuclear-armed missiles. Check out the group's leadership. Dennis Ross is pictured on the leadership page. Note that Ross is pictured at the site as one of its
"original co-founders and former co-chairman." The other co-founder is
Richard Holbrooke, who is Obama's guy on Afghanistan/Pakistan.  So the the State Department official in charge of the Iran portfolio is still associated with a private group calling for stiff measures against the country?

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Iran, US Politics

{ 19 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. doug says:
    June 11, 2009 at 4:38 am

    "How can the top State Dept official in charge of dealing with Iran be part of a private group calling for sanctions against Iran?" Ross comes with baggage but having had a position, and "had" is ther operative word, doesn't preclude him from serving in State per se.

  2. RowanBerkeley says:
    June 11, 2009 at 4:38 am

    A friend writes, "While watching CNN (to learn more about the Holocaust shooting) … What a revealing freudian slip. A 'Holocaust museum' is not a 'Holocaust'.

  3. MRW says:
    June 11, 2009 at 5:08 am

    These commercials are all over the cable networks here. What bothers me is that they not only contradict US policy directly, but they are fear-mongering. They spew info that 16 US Intel agencies say is not true. That Ross and Holbrooke are behind this demands an explanation.

  4. DICKERSON3870 says:
    June 11, 2009 at 9:48 am

    RE: "I saw a commercial from a hard-line group called United Against a Nuclear Iran pushing for sanctions against Iran" ALSO SEE: "ISRAEL WAGES PROPAGANDA WAR AGAINST IRAN’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION", by Richard Silverstein, 06/01/09 (EXCERPT) Haaretz reports that the Israeli foreign ministry plans to wage an all out diplomatic war against Iran in the run up to its June presidential election. The purpose is to show the world that Iran is a medieval, homophobic, misogynist nation outside the norms of western civilization… …Barak Ravid, known as a conduit for Israeli political and military figures, is remarkably explicit about the tactics behind the campaign: “We decided to move from defense to offense,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said, explaining the decision to broaden Israel’s public diplomacy campaign against Iran to showcase other issues, such as human rights violations, instead of focusing solely on Iran’s nuclear program. “We need to show the world who the real Iran is and make sure that the presidential election does not create the illusion that it is a Jeffersonian democracy.” If you attempt to peek behind the Wizard of Oz’s heavy curtains to parse the meaning of this I’d guess that Bibi and Yvet are afraid that the moderate presidential candidate might win the election. This might mean a potential new Iranian opening to the U.S. In turn, this could prove disastrous for Bibi’s goal of bombing Iran. Therefore, it’s in the interest of Israel’s rightist government to smear Iran even, if, or especially if a moderate candidate assumes the presidency…. ENTIRE POST – http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2009...

  5. TruthHurtsPals says:
    June 11, 2009 at 10:28 am

    More racism from the Rev. Wright: Asked if he had spoken to the president, Wright told the paper: "Them Jews aren't going to let him talk to me." He went on to say "Ethnic cleansing is going on in Gaza." This has to be the most ridiculous thing I've heard recently, especially considering the fact that Palestinians are not being driven out of Gaza. Does this guy even know what "ethnic cleansing" means? I wouldn't be surprised if he's left some comments here, judging by the similarity in tones of Strahl & Saleema.

  6. ila says:
    June 11, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Dennis Ross is beyond the control of the Obama Administration. Mondoweiss posted his financial disclosure form a few weeks ago. It noted huge honorarium payments to Ross from every academic or private group he addressed/with the exception of the JPPPI. JPPPI was funded by the Jewish Agency, which in turn is funded by the Israeli government. It seems improbable that, as he claims, he received no compensation from the Israeli government (not even expenses) for a half decade of work. But how does anyone get an audit? Where does one go to demand disclosure from the Jewish Agency? (Fulbright tried http://www.irmep.org/ILA/JA/default.asp Kennedy tried http://www.irmep.org/ILA/JA/default.asp , both largely failed). Ross is out of control.

  7. Oscar says:
    June 11, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    Wow, man, and let's rewind the tape to the Chas Freeman debacle, shall we? What exactly disqualified Chas for his position — some vague connection to a pro-Saudi think tank? On the board of a Chinese oil company? It's worrisome that Ross and Holbrooke have an agenda going into the region. If Holbrooke keeps his hands off the Iranian situation, the private sector warmongering can be excused. But Ross?! Our Man in Eye-Ran? The AIPAC-JPPPI-WINEP crew may be insisting that Obama have Ross in a position of influence, but last time we let Feith-Wurmser-Libby-Wolfowitz into the M/E, we lost 5,000 American soldier's lives under false pretenses. Deja vu all over again.

  8. LeaNder22 says:
    June 11, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    Thanks, I looked a bit into the terredisrael blog. Below you find a complaint concerning Sarkozy's statements in Israel. The author objects to Sarkozy's statement that Israelis and Palestinians could live side by side. This is what I mean. I found his idea of a Mediterranean union with close ties to the EU not so uninteresting. On the other hand I consider his ardent objections that Turkey joins the European union as a standare on the European right. As is his fishing for voters on the extreme right. Basically I have mixed feelings about that. In a nutshell: The lesser evil? The minister of Hesse over here in Germany used this trick for his first election. He centered quite a bit on double citizenship of the Turks. But you have to understand that in Turkey a foreigner cannot buy land, or build a house. As a foreigner you need a Turkish citizen to sign the papers for you. So there may well be a series of basic necessities for Turkish people to demand or keep their double citizenship. Other things I am not aware of. http://www.terredisrael.com/wordpress/?p=1311 Look, I am aware of the attraction of conspiracy tales. I am still reading about the topic. The most interesting story is that researchers–that may be the reason, why they ignored the subject for a rather long time–occasionally are infected too. The Israeli stamp celebrating Sarkozy is peculiar, but understandable too. Lately I often wonder about my earlier perceptions of Mossad (the good guys and the best) and reality. This myth could feed into the tale that Sarkozy ties. I've read more hesitant statements about the ability of the Israeli services lately from insiders of the trade. Concerning html. Are you using complete html code for your answer not just single tags? I am wondering if that is why it works for some.

  9. seanmcbride says:
    June 11, 2009 at 2:53 pm

    Isn't Richard Holbrooke also connected to the PNAC and MEMRI? Are neoconservatives still pulling the strings in the Obama administration?

  10. Marion says:
    June 11, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    "How can the top State Dept official in charge of dealing with Iran be part of a private group calling for sanctions against Iran?" A good question that lobbyist groups such as J-Street should be asking our government because let's be truthful here our largely Zionist controlled government reps still aren't willing to listen to Arab or Muslim lobbying groups that ask such questions ….Hint, hint….

  11. US Objector says:
    June 11, 2009 at 6:07 pm

    Um, THP, are you suggesting that Operation Cast Lead didn't have — as one of its primary objectives — the collective punishment of a civilian population. Are you suggesting that when the IDF intentionally targeted homes and farms of Palestinian civilians, and turned their domiciles into rubble, that it was not meant to push the homeless into the arms of Jordan? Are you suggesting that the IDF didn't intend to make civilians pay for electing "radical" Hamas and didn't use a loose standard of "human shield" to justify sending Gaza back to the stone age? Ethnic cleansing is going on in Palestine in the name of a Greater Israel. All the hasbara in the world will never change that on-the-ground truth.

  12. estebanfolsom says:
    June 11, 2009 at 7:49 pm

    big brother doesn’t watch you you watch it how would you know if you’ve seen the truth if you never got dragged up from that cave images cast on the far wall sounds in time with the play in front of your eyes didn’t notice being tied down fettered in this state i stay

  13. pineywoodslim says:
    June 11, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    Hush, Avigdor.

  14. LeaNder22 says:
    June 11, 2009 at 11:00 pm

    We don't like cititations out of context here. At least I don't. Can you give us a link?

  15. Marion says:
    June 11, 2009 at 11:29 pm

    This ongoing Zionist oriented fabricating and saber rattling against Iran really gets on my nerves…It reminds me of what the Zionists have been doing to the Arabs and Palestinians all these years which they have actually used to help excuse their ongoing violent occupations, and as an excuse to keep waging destructive and deadly wars in the region…. I fear that if this destructive pattern doesn't end soon, the entire region may end up on fire and I do not think that the Jews in Israel will be able to survive during such a war and many non-Jews will also not be able to survive…It will be utter death and destruction which the Zionists will have caused for the most part….

  16. nitwit says:
    June 12, 2009 at 12:25 am

    It's not a revealing slip, it is simply the way it is alluded to in the news. You should look into things before you judge. This is a really bad habit of yours, Rowan Berkeley. But it seems to attract points. Doesn't make me feel especially good about mine.

  17. Dagon says:
    June 12, 2009 at 2:12 am

    I heard danial pipes rooting for Ahmainejad,because,nejad is upfront about his views.Yeah right.

  18. RowanBerkeley says:
    June 12, 2009 at 7:09 am

    Obama envoy raises possibility of US strike on Iran Reuters via Haaretz, Jun 12 2009 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1092238.html US envoy Dennis Ross, in a new book he co-authored, raises the possibility of the use of military force against Iran should negotiations fail to head off Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Ross, who is leading the US diplomatic effort to engage Iran on a series of issues, wrote “Myths, Illusions, and Peace – Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East” with David Makovsky, a former journalist who is a fellow at WINEP. The book, released on Thursday, is significant in that Ross, who led Clinton’s Middle East diplomacy in the 1990s, has said little in public on Iran since he was named in February as a special adviser to handle the issue. (cont.)

  19. Citizen says:
    June 12, 2009 at 11:44 am

    Well, the museum is also a symbol of what it memorializes. In turn, the hired guard by extension is also a symbol, which is why the MSM has given him a lot of play as a hero. The shooter likewise is both just a lone man–and a symbol of what he represents, also given much play. There are no freudian slips in MSM selection of subjects and MSM terms of description & extent of analysis.

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