October

On October 7, 2021, members of AMCD met with Guila Fakhoury, daughter of Amer Fakhoury, an American citizen who was lured back to Lebanon, detained and tortured in September of 2019 on the orders of Hezbollah. The Trump administration succeeded in obtaining his release, but he died not long afterward. The family then created the Amer Fakoury Foundation to help others being held unjustly anywhere in the world and his daughter, Guila is an eloquent spokesperson for them.

On October 21, 2021, AMCD members met with Dr. Aziz Barez, an ex-diplomat and Funding Director for the Center for Afghanistan & Central Asia Strategic Studies to discuss mistakes the US made in Afghanistan and the question of what will happen in Afghanistan now.

On October 25, members of AMCD met with Bob Kurkjian, President of the USO West Region. Mr. Kurkjian worked in Afghanistan providing all the logistical support for all the fuel, food and other supplies needed by the military at Bagram. Mr. Kurkjian was also involved in helping to evacuate a valued translator who was trapped with his family in the chaos of withdrawal. He also described the demilitarization process which dismantled tons of military equipment left behind.

November

On November 4th, members of AMCD met with Michael Alfaro, who an ex-Marine who served as Trump Victory Finance Co-Chair for Illinois in 2020. He heroically volunteered to help evacuate the Afghans the Biden Administration abandoned, including the former ambassador to the US.  He also raised over 3 million dollars for the effort.  We also met with Mr. Alfaro on Dec. 5 for an update on his efforts.

On November 5, AMCD issued a press release cautioning the Biden administration against re-joining the Iran deal. Nevertheless, the administration continued to court Iran and in the mistaken belief that the deal will do anything to stop the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons capability.

On November 15, we met with best-selling author Kenneth Timmerman who was kidnapped and held by Hezbollah back in 1982 when he was working as a journalist in Lebanon. He explained the ideology and motivation of the mullahs in Iran and how the search for a moderate with whom we can deal is futile. His has been a clear voice explaining the truth about the Islamic world for many years and he explained in lucid terms the history of how we got here and what might be done to navigate the political situation today.  

On November 18, we met with Ambassador Ric Grenell. This was an opportunity for our members to help shape policy for future Republican administrations and many had helpful ideas and viewpoints. He explained how France is letting Hezbollah use their banking system because they are afraid of hurting the people of Lebanon. He also said it was a mistake not to have designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

On November 26, we met with microbiologist Dr. Ali Mohseni on the question of whether Covid-19 was manmade. He concluded that a section of the virus’ DNA appears to have been inserted when compared with the closest viruses existing in nature. He also noticed that the variation coming out of Iran appeared to have an unusual number of mutations and is worried that Iran may be manipulating the virus as well.

December

On December 7, AMCD issued a press release praising Enes Kantor Freedom for his stance on the NBA’s relationship with communist China in spite of their many human rights violations.  He is risking a lot to speak out against China and the tyranny in Turkey. We are proud to stand with this new American. Great job, Mr. Freedom!

On December 9, we met with Pfizer researcher Dr. Mally Rozbeh about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines and the new therapeutics coming soon. With all the hysteria about the vaccines, it was good to hear the straight scoop from an expert in the field.

On December 16, AMCD issued a press release criticizing Representative Omar’s “Islamophobia” bill which we recognize for what it is: a weapon used by the Ikhwan to silence its critics. Although the bill passed in the House, we noted this bill was unlikely to pass the Senate and become law – at least for now.

On December 21, we met with Ali Mahdavi on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Mr. Mahdavi is not optimistic that Iran can be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons, in fact, he believes they have such a weapon already and that they will supply them to other hostile states as well.