December 31, 2015

Senator Kurt Schaefer 201 W Capitol Ave., Rm. 416 Jefferson City, Missouri 65101 Dear Senator Schaefer,

Recent news reports indicate that you mistakenly referred to the People’s Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI) as a “terrorist” organization.

In fact, neither the United States nor any of its NATO allies consider PMOI a “terrorist”

group.1 On the contrary, PMOI has proven to be a valuable partner in the struggle against the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Islamist regime in Tehran. PMOI has provided critical intelligence on the Iranian nuclear program and other sensitive matters, and assisted the U.S. military in defeating our enemies in Iraq. The United States protected PMOI camps for nearly a decade during the Iraq War and its aftermath.2

You seem to misunderstand the threat we face from the Islamist regime in Iran, and the

value of pro-western groups like PMOI. This is why Senator Roy Blunt, Senator Kit Bond, Attorney General John Ashcroft, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Ambassador John Bolton, three CIA directors, a former FBI director, two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a former commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, a former Homeland Security Secretary, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, a former director of the NSA, multiple ambassadors, the current Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and hundreds of members of Congress have voiced strong support for PMOI.

As someone who has spent his career in government, I am sure you understand the negative impact misinformation can have on the public good. So please allow me a moment to explain the facts.

PMOI was formed decades ago as a resistance group to the theocratic regime in Iran. In time, it came to advocate pro-American democracy. PMOI has repeatedly declared that pro-American democracy is “the answer to Islamic fundamentalism.”3 The group officially

1 See e.g., Patrick Clawson, “What is the Purpose of the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations List?” WASHINGTON INST. (Mar. 18, 2010), http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-u.s.-foreign-terrorist-organizations-list (quoting Britain’s Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission, calling the original designation “perverse”). 2 GLOBAL SECURITY, (accessed Dec. 29, 2015), http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/mek.htm 3 Higgins and Solomon, Iranian Imbroglio, WASH. POST (Nov. 29, 2006), http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116475111368234891.

renounced military action in 2001.4 In 2002, PMOI revealed Iran’s nuclear weapons program to the United States, earning praise from President Bush and senior military officials.5 Group members voluntarily handed over their arms to the U.S. military in Iraq and cooperated with our campaign against Saddam Hussein’s regime.6 In 2004, the United States granted PMOI “protected person” status.7

PMOI is widely considered the “principal opposition” to Iran’s theocratic, Islamist rulers.8 Our military’s most elite commando unit trained PMOI operatives in Nevada for years.9 Commentators report that PMOI operatives have covertly disrupted Iran’s nuclear program.10 When PMOI sought removal from the foreign organizations watch list, scores of top-ranking national security officials and conservative leaders seconded the request, including Senator Roy Blunt and those other individuals named above.

These leaders appreciate the danger posed to America by the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the Islamist regime in Tehran. I trust you do as well. Thank you for the opportunity to correct the record.

Sincerely,

Joshua D. Hawley

4 Bernd Debusmann, After U.S. departure, a bloodbath in Iraq?, REUTERS BLOG (Nov. 4, 2011), http://blogs.reuters.com/bernddebusmann/2011/11/04/after-u-s-departure-a-bloodbath-in-iraq/. 5 Higgins and Solomon, Iranian Imbroglio, WASH. POST (Nov. 29, 2006), http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116475111368234891. 6 U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES (May 10, 2003), http://www.usccar.org/us-public-officials/us-military/ 7 U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES (July 2, 2004), http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/7-MEK%20STATUS%20DOCUMENT%20MNFI-July2004.pdf. 8 former Rep. Tom Tancredo, Congressional hearing rightly reverses marginalization of Iranian opposition, The Hill Blog (Apr. 29, 2015), http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/240382-congressional-hearing-rightly-reverses-marginalization-of. 9 Seymour Hersh, Our Men in Iran?, NEW YORKER (April 5, 2012) http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/our-men-in-iran. 10 Id.