Iran Policy Committee

The Iran Policy Committee (IPC), formed in January 2005, is a pressure group meant to influence US government policy towards Iran. IPC is made up of former White House, State Department, Pentagon and CIA officials. Several of the principals are affiliated to AIPAC and its related think tanks.

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Platform

On the grounds that Iran poses a threat to US National Security, the IPC advocates that the US should favor "regime change" through a process of "destabilization" and "coercive diplomacy", while keeping the full military option open. Suggested policies include economic blockades, military support of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) or the MEK, and precision strikes of selected targets within Iran. They describe this as "providing a central role for the Iranian opposition to facilitate regime change". [1]

Principals, directors, and personnel

• James Akins
• Bill Cowan (CEO of private military corp the WVC3 Group, Inc.)
• Paul Leventhal
• Neil Livingstone
• Clare M. Lopez - Executive Director. Also a senior intelligence analyst at Hawkeye Systems, and a former CIA operative.
• R. Bruce McColm
• Thomas McInerney
• Charles T. Nash
• Edward Rowny
• Raymond Tanter – Founder and Co-Chair
• Paul E. Vallely

Source

Affiliations

• Committee on the Present Danger
• Council on Foreign Relations
• Nuclear Control Institute (hosts the only web presence of IPC, and shares some principals).
• Washington Institute for Near East Policy
• National Council of Resistance of Iran

US Congressmen promoting IPC

• Bob Filner – (D, CA)
• Tom Tancredo – (R, CO)
• Dennis Moore – (R, KN)
• Ted Poe – (R, TX)
• Kay Bailey Hutchison – (R, TX)
• James Talent – (R, MS)

Contact

Iran Policy Committee
3700 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 507, Washington DC 20016
Phone: 202-333-7346
Fax: 202-333-4126 (fax)
Web: http://www.iranpolicy.org

Related SourceWatch Resources

Organizations: Iran-Related

• Friends of a Free Iran
• Iran Democracy Foundation (IDF)
• Iran Freedom Foundation (IFF)
• Iran Freedom Foundation (Maryland)
• National Council of Resistance of Iran
• People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran, also known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK/MKO/NCR)

• For further info on Iranian opposition groups.

Organizations: Other

• Alliance for Democracy in Iran (ADI)
• American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
• American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
• Bilderberg
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
• Committee on the Present Danger (CPD)
• Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
• Hudson Institute
• Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA)
• Trilateral Commission
• US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC)
• Voice of America (VOA)
• Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP)

People

• Zbigniew Brzezinski
• Anthony H. Cordesman
• Jerome Corsi
• Bill Cowan
• Douglas Feith
• Larry Franklin
• David Frum
• Reuel Marc Gerecht
• Manucher Ghorbanifar
• Henry Kissinger
• Michael Ledeen
• Richard N. Perle
• Harold Rhode
• Michael Rubin

Miscellaneous

• Axis of evil
• China-Iran-Russia axis
• Iran Freedom Support Act (HR 282) – IPC and its supporting Congressmen are pressing for HR 282, and it will likely have the same effect as the Syria Accountability Act, in essence, imposing a US embargo on the country.
• Freedom Walk, May 2005: Iran Freedom Walk
• Hawkeye Systems
• Iran
• Iran/Contra scandal
• Iran-Contra II
• Iran's oil industry
• regime change
• war in Iran
• WVC3 Group, Inc.

External links

• Jim Lobe, "Iran War Drums Beat Harder", Inter Press Service, February 11, 2005.
• "Iran policy group outlines new approach in dealing with Tehran", Iran Focus, February 13, 2005.
• Press Release, "Members of Congress, Iran Policy Committee Meet to Discuss U.S. Policy Options for Iran", U.S. Newswire, April 7, 2005.
• Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich, "Let’s Rethink What We Wish For…", Payvand News, April 14, 2005. (discusses significance of the Congressional meeting and why the MEK has been removed from the list of terrorist organizations).
• Barbara Slavin, "Iran's 'terrorists' helped disclose nuke program", USA Today, April 14, 2005. Discusses another IPC rumination: "Ray Tanter, a Middle East expert on the National Security Council under President Reagan, said the United States should use the MEK to try to destabilize Iran's government before it acquires nuclear weapons".
• Bill Samii, "Iran opposes US moves", Asia Times, April 26, 2005.
• John Stanton, "Iran Policy Committee (IPC): Pentagon mouthpiece, Israeli ally, MEK supporter", Online Journal, May 21, 2005.
• Massoud Khodabandeh, "Let's talk about Regime Change", Asia Times, November 30, 2005.
• Yossi Melman, "Ultimately The US will Attack," Haaretz.com, September 20, 2006.
• Bronwyn Adcock, "Gunning for Iran", Dateline, SBS , October 4, 2006.