Another shocker, Keith Ellison will also be in attendance.
(Daily Caller) — The State Department is sending a senior official to attend a March 15 meeting hosted by the National Iranian-American Council, which has been derided by critics as a thinly-veiled advocate for Iran’s Islamic theocracy.
Suzanne Nossel, the deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations is slated to speak at the event, titled “Answering the Iranian People’s Call for Human Rights,” which will be held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The conference’s theme matches NIAC’s strategy of promoting modest democracy measures in Iran as an alternative to policies intended to remove the theocratic government. “The case for war [against the Iranian theocracy] is already being pushed by the ‘pro-war’ elements on the Hill. . . . We can either remain quiet and let them work their magic OR we can promote the alternative to war by emphasizing the importance of and need for human rights,” reads a March 7 e-mail sent by Nobar Elmi, who joined NIAC in October 2010 as the director of community outreach and programming.
In practice, she wrote, “we’re taking steps to ensure human rights is on the table, by doing things such as working to ensure there is an independent U.N. human rights monitor and encouraging the dialogue.” Elmi’s e-mail was written to Peter Khan Zendran, a Rhode Island blogger who argued that NIAC’s focus on democracy might spur stronger action against the Iranian government.
Other speakers at the event include Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the co-chair of the House Progressive Caucus. He is an original sponsor of NIAC-backed “Stand with Iranian People Act,” which would impose modest sanctions on companies that sell domestic-security gear to Iran, but also ease work by U.S.-based non-profits in Iran.