By Ardeshir Ommani
Apparently, the
U.S.
and British authorities have turned so desperate for an alibi that they readily
embraced the assertion of an infamous anti-Iranian Mujahedin-e Khalgh (MEK)
group, listed as a terrorist organization of bandits by Britain, the U.S.,
and the European Union. A spokesman of this group, which vegetates in the
shadow of the U.S. army in Camp
Ashraf in Iraq,
said that the British crews’ capture was planned in advance. But David
Stringer of the Associated Press immediately realized that he owes it to his
readers to mention that the speaker of the MEK offered no evidence to support
his claims. This group, along with the old Iranian monarchists, like their
financiers in the White House and Downing Street, need no evidence to fabricate
stories of any size. It is noteworthy that three years ago,
U.S. intelligence circles
suggested re-arming MEK and using it to destabilize Iran,
a recommendation that has apparently readily been implemented. The
undertaking of this plan makes the U.S. government complicit in
the terrorist acts that have been carried out inside Iran.
The New York Times recently revealed that the camp operates under the
protection of the U.S.
military and American troops chauffer MEK operatives.
Another organization
that carries out cross-border attacks on Iranian villages is the Party for a
Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK), which is supported with
equipment and training by Israeli Special Forces. This group receives its
“lists of targets inside Iran” from
U.S.
intelligence services.
A third terrorist
organization that operates on the border between Sistan-Baluchistan province of
Iran and the countries of Pakistan on the south and Afghanistan on the north is
called Jundallah (God’s Brigade), an extremist Sunni tribal faction. This
group has been launching armed attacks on the civilian population, planting
bombs and kidnapping passengers. The group has its bases in
Pakistan and apparently is
funded, trained and armed by the U.S. and British armies in
Afghanistan
and in the Iran-Pakistan border regions. According to Greg Elich of www.GlobalResearch.ca ,
U.S. and Israeli officials
are setting up front companies to help finance the future covert local wars in
Iran.
An old historical statement comes to mind when thinking about how the CIA armed
and financed Osama Bin Laden and the Mujahadeen fundamentalists in
Afghanistan during the
1980’s to undermine the Soviet
Union - History repeats itself: the first time it’s a
tragedy, the second time it’s a farce.
It is now a well-known
fact that U.S. special operation
forces in Iraq have been given the
task of kidnapping Iranian members of the diplomatic corps of individuals in
Iraq and the countries where
U.S.
intelligence agents operate freely. For example, U.S. forces led a
commando-type, helicopter-borne raid in Erbil, northern Iaq, and grabbed six Iranian
liaison personnel in January 2007. These special units, operating without
the permission of the Kurdish authorities, reportedly used stun guns against the
men while seizing office computers, ransacking and intentionally destroying the
property inside and taking down the Iranian flag from the rooftop of the raided
building as a demonstration of the hatred and disrespect toward the Iranian
people. The President of Iraq, Mr. Talabani, as well as one of
Iraq’s most powerful Shiite
leaders, condemned the raid, calling it an attack on Iraq’s
sovereignty. Furthermore, the United
States refused
to allow any communication with the detained officials until the incident with
the 15 British sailors and marines was brought into a process of
negotiation. Under that condition, the United
States was
pressured to allow communication by the Iranian government with the Iranian
captives, a promise yet to be fulfilled. And worse than that, an Iranian
diplomat, Jalal Sharafi, the second secretary in Iran’s embassy in Baghdad who was kidnapped in
Iraq by U.S.
forces and held for over two months, was released this week. Mr. Sharafi told
IRNA (Iran’s
State News Agency) he was subjected to torture “day and night”. He said, “I was
kidnapped on a Baghdad street while
shopping by officials who had Iraqi defense ministry ID cards and were riding in
American forces vehicles.” Mr. Sharafi said he was taken to a military
base near Baghdad airport, and
questioned in Arabic and English. “The CIA officials’ questions focused
mainly on Iran’s presence and
influence in Iraq.
When faced with my responses on Iran’s
official ties with the Iraqi government, they increased the torture.”
Apparently, this is the customary method that the United States government,
which likes to brag about its ‘love of democracy and concern for human rights’
treats foreign detainees and kidnapped individuals. What a respect for
human rights! Where are the human rights organizations, such as Amnesty
International, to expose and condemn Washington’s routine
practice of human rights violations?
Earlier this month, a former Iranian
deputy defense minister, Mr. Ali Reza Asgari who was in Turkey to attend a
conference, disappeared into thin air, and his family in Tehran has not heard from
him since. Iranian officials said Asgari was kidnapped by western
agents. These attacks, not highly nor widely publicized in the
U.S. press, are part of the
covert front of the U.S.
and British forces.
About the
author:
Ardeshir
Ommani is a writer and an activist in the anti-war and anti-imperialist struggle
for many years, including against the Vietnam War. Ardeshir is a
co-founder of the American-Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC) www.progressiveportals.com/aifc
, where news of his most recent visit to Iran
in March & April 2006 can be read. He helped launch the successful www.StopWarOnIran.org campaign.
His most recent article: UK Tests
Iranian Resolve
... Payvand News - 4/9/07 ...
