General Hugh Shelton, former Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivering a speech at an international conference in Paris on Monday.
“Madame Rajavi, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, especially those who are watching us from Camp Liberty. It is indeed a pleasure for me today to join you in honoring those 52 who were killed in Camp Ashraf in a massacre and remind all that their sacrifice was not in vein. They are true patriots, true heroes, true heroines, and they provided an example for all of us in this room today and those who are watching to follow. However, I must also admit it is also painful for me and others as Secretary Ridge said and the whole US delegation as we witness the absence of President Obama’s administration and our feckless and cowardly State Department in dealing with Camp Ashraf, and now the ongoing crisis and very serious crisis developing in Camp Liberty.
“It is astonishing for me to see the actions the US just took to protect a small religious sect in northern Iraq while 3,000 Iranians that were promised protection by the US and when their safety was supposed to be guaranteed, continue to face imminent disaster in Camp Liberty. That is just not right.
What about the US promise to protect the residents? Why is the Ambassador and his team afraid to even visit? It’s been almost 5 months since the US Ambassador visited the camp. That is shabby even compared to the one visit just recently paid by the UN delegation in the last 2 ½ months. Why is it that they are not going out to Camp Liberty? Is it because they have to witness the appalling conditions those in Camp Liberty have to endure? Is it because they don’t want to see what the Iraqis are imposing on them like the fuel siege and even denying them the right to remove the sewage or the opportunity to attend a funeral or the fact that the food and medical supplies are being denied?
“All of those were promised by Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Dan Freed, which were part of President Obama’s administration. So we need to hold President Obama personally responsible for this lack of activity that is taking place in Camp Liberty.
“I cannot even imagine a cowardly US Ambassador hiding behind the walls of his embassy while 3,000 residents at Camp Liberty have to fend for themselves. Again, it’s just not right.
“However, it appears the Obama administration has recognized what we have been telling them for months, if not years, that Maliki is an Iranian regime puppet and now it’s been proven and we have witnessed him depart in less than favorable conditions. He has left Iraq in shambles.”