* nimmo:
"Last month, as the U.S. was unleashing the murderous MEK in Iran, the corporate media in this country reported “U.S. intelligence officials, already focused on Iran’s potential for building nuclear weapons, are struggling to solve a more immediate mystery: the murky relationship between the new Tehran leadership and the contingent of Al Qaeda leaders residing in the country,” according to the complaisant “liberal” Los Angeles Times. “Some officials, citing evidence from highly classified satellite feeds and electronic eavesdropping, believe the Iranian regime is playing host to much of Al Qaeda’s remaining brain trust and allowing the senior operatives freedom to communicate and help plan the terrorist network’s operations.” In other words, there is no evidence “al-Qaeda” is in Iran, never mind that “al-Qaeda” has vowed to kill “infidel” Shia Muslims (Iran is primarily Shia)."
* soto:
"As far back as a year ago, Newsweek was reporting that in a replay of the debacle with Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress and “Curveball”, Bush has been using information supplied by the MEK to support administration claims about Iran’s nuclear program, even though the MEK is on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. Rummy denied a year ago that he had plans to use the MEK in Iran, which has now turned out to be a lie. It is clear to some though that we have decided to adopt the “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” approach to the MEK, and at least use them as an intelligence asset inside Iran, even though we are therefore repeating the INC mistakes all over again, and are ignoring the warnings that the MEK 1) has a questionable record on providing accurate intelligence, and 2) has been infiltrated by Iranian intelligence itself.
And if that isn’t enough, the MEK participated in the suppression of the Kurds and Shiites while Saddam was in power. The new Iraqi government wanted them expelled from the country after Saddam was toppled, but we have refused to expel the MEK for now-obvious reasons.
Shouldn't Jane Harman and Jay Rockefeller demand to know how much of the administration's intelligence on Iran is coming from the MEK, so that we don't have a replay of the INC debacle? And doesn't the use of a terrorist organization in support of PNAC's foreign policy undermine our entire war on terror, and call into question everything this administration has said about 9/11?"
* juancole:
"Some Turkish politicians and journalists are accusing the United States of sheltering terrorists in northern Iraq, i.e. the PKK or Kurdish Worker's Party, a violent group that has fought along guerrilla action against Ankara.
What a fall from 9/11, when the US was seen as the archetypal victim of terrorism. Now its friends call it an enabler of terrorists. And, don't forget about those Mojahedin-e Khalq fighters at Ashrafiyah Base in Iraq, Iranian terrorists of whom the Pentagon just doesn't seem able to let go."
2 comments:
re nimmo on al Qaeda and Iran:
The neocons sabotaged Iran's help on al-Qaeda
There's also this nice account from Jo-Anne Hart:
"Take this quick quiz: in which islamic theocracy were there immediate and repeated public outpourings of sympathy for americans following the 9/11 attacks in 2001?
If you did not know about the several candlelight vigils in iran, you are not alone. In fact, few americans know that hundreds of Iranians gathered publicly to pay their respects and to show their solidarity with the American people, first on 13 September, then in two other vigils. The crowds chanted “Death to terrorism!” “Death to Bin Laden!” and, “America: condolences, condolences!”.
Three days after the attacks, a moment of silence for the American tragedy was held before the start of the World cup-qualifying soccer game, the same day the Tehran Friday prayer leader said the terrorist attacks against America were “heart-rending. . . . everyone condemns, denounces, and is saddened . . . by it.”
While note of the candlelight vigils appeared in some Western papers, The Wall Street Journal, for example, Iranian sympathy for the US terrorist tragedy is largely unknown here."
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