Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Iran: The worlds Leading Country in Support of Terror
Patterns of Global Terrorism. United States Department of State ^

Posted on 02/11/2002 1:46:21 PM PST by knighthawk

1996

Iran remained the premier state sponsor of terrorism in 1996. It continued to be involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts by its own agents and by surrogates such as Lebanese Hizballah and continued to fund and train known terrorist groups.

Tehran conducted at least eight dissident assassinations outside Iran in 1996. In May 1996 Reza Mazlouman, a government official under the Shah, was murdered in Paris by an Iranian resident of Germany with alleged ties to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The suspect was extradited to France by Germany. Seven other dissidents were assassinated by Iran in 1996 in Turkey and northern Iraq. Iran's primary targets are members of the regime's main opposition groups, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) and the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), as well as former officials of the late Shah's government who speak out against the clerical regime.

Iran continued to provide support-including money, weapons, and training-to a variety of terrorist groups, such as Hizballah, HAMAS, and the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ). It continued to oppose any recognition of Israel and to encourage violent rejection of the Middle East peace process. For example, Iranian Vice President Habibi met with HAMAS leaders in Damascus and praised their successful efforts immediately following the February bombings in Israel. HAMAS claimed responsibility for two more bombings in Israel the following week.

During a routine customs inspection of an Iranian vessel in Antwerp in March, Belgian authorities discovered a disassembled mortar-like weapon hidden in a shipment of pickles. The shipment was consigned to an Iranian merchant living in Germany. Iranian dissidents claim that the mortar was intended for use in an assassination attempt against Iranian exiles in Europe.

Testimony in the three-year-long trial of an Iranian and four Lebanese for the Iran-sponsored killing of Iranian Kurdish dissidents in Berlin's Mykonos restaurant in 1992 concluded in late 1996. German authorities issued an arrest warrant in March for Ali Fallahian, Iran's Intelligence Minister. In the fall, former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani Sadr and two other witnesses testified against Iran. In final statements in late November, German prosecutors charged Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and Iranian President Rafsanjani with approving the operation. (Guilty verdicts for four of the accused were announced in April 1997.)

Iranian leaders have consistently denied being able to revoke the fatwa against Salman Rushdie's life, in effect for nearly eight years, claiming that revocation is impossible because the author of the fatwa is deceased. There is no indication that Tehran is pressuring the 15 Khordad Foundation to withdraw the $2 million reward it is offering to anyone who will kill Rushdie.

In addition, Iran provides safehaven to elements of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Turkish separatist group that has conducted numerous terrorist attacks in Turkey and throughout Europe. Although Turkey and Iran agreed to a joint operation in mid-October to remove the PKK from the border region, Iran reportedly failed to cooperate in a meaningful way.

Iran's terrorist network in the Persian Gulf remained active in 1996. The Government of Bahrain announced in June the discovery of a local Hizballah group of Bahraini Shiites who had been trained and sponsored by Iran in an effort to overthrow the ruling al-Khalifa family.

1997

Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 1997. Tehran continued to be involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts by its own agents and by surrogates such as the Lebanese Hizballah and continued to fund and train known terrorist groups throughout 1997. Although the August 1997 accession of President Khatami has resulted in more conciliatory Iranian public statements, such as public condemnations of terrorist attacks by Algerian and Egyptian groups, Iranian support for terrorism remains in place.

Tehran conducted at least 13 assassinations in 1997, the majority of which were carried out in northern Iraq. Iran's targets normally include, but are not limited to, members of the regime's main opposition groups, including the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) and the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). Elsewhere in Iraq, in January 1997 Iranian agents tried to attack the Baghdad headquarters of the MEK using a "supermortar" of a design similar to that discovered aboard the Iranian ship "Kolahdooz" by Belgian customs authorities in early 1996. The attack was unsuccessful, resulting in the death of one person and some damage to an Iraqi hospital building.

April 1997 witnessed the conclusion of the trial in Germany of an Iranian and four Lebanese for the 1992 killing of Iranian Kurdish dissidents, one of whom was then Secretary General of the KDPI, in Berlin's Mykonos restaurant. A German judge found the Iranian and three of the Lebanese guilty of the murders. Two defendants, Kazem Darabi and Abbas Rhayel, were sentenced to life in prison. Two others, Yousef Amin and Muhammad Atris, received sentences of 11 years and five years and three months, respectively. The fifth defendant, Aatollah Ayad, was acquitted. The court stated that the Government of Iran had followed a deliberate policy of liquidating the regime's opponents who lived outside Iran, including the opposition KDPI. The judge further stated that the Mykonos murders had been approved at the most senior levels of the Iranian Government by an extra-legal committee whose members included the Minister of Intelligence and Security, the Foreign Minister, the President, and the Supreme Leader. As a result of elections in May, however, the positions of Minister of Intelligence and Security, Foreign Minister, and President are now held by individuals other than those who were involved in the "Mykonos" murders. In March 1996 a German court had issued an arrest warrant in this case for Ali Fallahian, the former Iranian Minister of Intelligence and Security.

In September 1997, Iran's new leadership affirmed the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, which has been in effect since 1989, stating once again that revocation is impossible since the author of the fatwa is deceased. There is no indication that Tehran is pressuring the Fifteen Khordad Foundation to withdraw the $2.5 million reward it is offering for executing the fatwa on Rushdie.

Iran continued to provide support--in the form of training, money, and/or weapons--to a variety of terrorist groups, such as Lebanese Hizballah, HAMAS, and the PIJ. The Iranian Government continues to oppose recognition of Israel and to encourage violent rejection of the Middle East Peace Process. In the fall of 1997, Tehran hosted numerous representatives of terrorist groups--including HAMAS, Lebanese Hizballah, the PIJ, and the Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiya--at a conference of "Liberation Movements." Participants reportedly discussed the jihad, establishing greater coordination between certain groups, and an increase in support for some groups. In October, the Algerian Government accused Tehran of training and equipping Algerian terrorists.

Iran still provides safehaven to elements of the PKK, a Turkish separatist group that has conducted numerous terrorist attacks in Turkey and on Turkish targets in Europe. Following a late 1997 Turkish incursion into northern Iran in pursuit of PKK cadres, Tehran protested the violation of its territory but in 1997 made no effort to remove the PKK from Iranian territory.

In November, Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kamal Kharrazi, publicly condemned the terrorist attack by the Egyptian al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya on tourists at Luxor, Egypt. Similarly, in early January 1998 the Foreign Ministry's official spokesman, Mahmud Mohammadi, also condemned the vicious attacks on civilians during the Muslim month of Ramadan (late December 1997 to early January 1998) "no matter who was responsible."

(President Khatemi, in a 7 January 1998 CNN interview, agreed that terrorist attacks against non-combatants, including Israeli women and children, should be condemned.)

1998

Iran in 1998 continued to be involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts. Tehran apparently conducted fewer antidissident assassinations abroad in 1998 than in 1997. Tehran continued, however, to support a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals. Despite Iranian public statements condemning certain terrorist acts or expressing sympathy for Kenyan and Tanzanian victims of the August 1998 bombings of the US Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Iranian support for terrorism remains in place.

Tehran is reported to have conducted several assassinations outside Iran during 1998. In June the "League of the Followers of the Sunna" accused Iranian intelligence agents of murdering an Iranian Sunni cleric, Shaikh Nureddin Ghuraybi, in Tajikistan. In September the leaders of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a virulently anti-Shia sectarian group, accused Iran of responsibility for the murders of two of the organization's leaders, Allama Shoaib Nadeem and Maulana Habibur Rehman Siddiqui. In late November the National Council of Resistance claimed that the Iranian regime had kidnapped and killed Reza Pirzadi in Pakistan. Pirzadi was described as a warrant officer who had been released from prison in Iran in 1996.

Members of Iran's Ministry of Security and Intelligence (MOIS) may have conducted five mysterious murders of leading writers and political activists in Iran. Late in the year, Tehran announced the discovery of an operational cell within the MOIS that it alleged operated without the knowledge of senior government officials. Tehran reportedly arrested the cell's members.

The Iranian Government stated publicly that it would take no action to enforce the fatwa on Salman Rushdie, a British citizen, which has been in effect since 1989. The Iranian Government's assurance led the UK Government to upgrade its diplomatic relations with Iran. Tehran stated, however, that revoking the fatwa is impossible since its author is deceased. Moreover, the Iranian Government has not required the Fifteen Khordad Foundation to withdraw its reward for executing the fatwa on Rushdie, and in November the Foundation increased its offer to $2.8 million.

Iran continued to provide support to a variety of terrorist groups, including the Lebanese Hizballah, HAMAS, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which oppose the Middle East peace process through violence. Iran supports these groups with varying amounts of training, money, and/or weapons.

In March, a US district court ruled that Iran should pay $247 million to the family of Alisa Flatow, a US citizen killed in a PIJ bomb attack in Gaza in April 1995. The court ruled that Iran was responsible for her death because it provided funding to the PIJ, which claimed responsibility for the act. Palestinian sources said Iran supported the PIJ's claimed attack in Jerusalem in early November 1998, in which two suicide bombers injured some 21 persons.

Iran still provides safehaven to elements of the PKK, a Turkish separatist group that has conducted numerous terrorist attacks in Turkey and on Turkish targets in Europe.

Iran also provides support to North African groups. In an interview in April 1998, former Iranian president Bani Sadr accused Tehran of training Algerian fighters, among others.

Tehran accurately claims it also is a victim of terrorism. In 1998 several high-ranking members of the Iranian Government were attacked and at least two were killed in attacks claimed by the terrorist group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The MEK claimed responsibility for the killing on 23 August of Asadollah Lajevardi, the former director of Tehran's Evin Prison. It also claimed responsibility for the deaths in June of several persons, including Haj Hassan Salehi, allegedly a torturer at the prison, during a bombing attack on the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Tehran.

Mohsen Rafiqdust, head of the Foundation for the Oppressed and Disabled, escaped an attack on his life on 13 September. He said counterrevolutionary elements had embarked on efforts to make the country insecure.

At least nine Iranian diplomatic and associated personnel died when unknown persons invaded the Iranian Consulate in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, in early August during the Taliban takeover of that city. The Taliban denied responsibility for the deaths.

1999

Although there were signs of political change in Iran in 1999, the actions of certain state institutions in support of terrorist groups made Iran the most active state sponsor of terrorism. These state institutions, notably the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, continued to be involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts and continued to support a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals.

A variety of public reports indicate Iran's security forces conducted several bombings against Iranian dissidents abroad. Iranian agents, for example, were blamed for a truck bombing in early October of a Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) terrorist base near Basrah, Iraq, that killed several MEK members and non-MEK individuals.

Iran continued encouraging Hizballah and the Palestinian rejectionist groups--including HAMAS, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Ahmad Jibril's PFLP-GC--to use violence, especially terrorist attacks, in Israel to undermine the peace process. Iran supported these groups with varying amounts of money, training, and weapons. Despite statements by the Khatami administration that Iran was not working against the peace process, Tehran stepped up its encouragement of, and support for, these groups after the election of Israeli Prime Minister Barak and the resumption of Israel-Syria peace talks. In a gesture of public support, President Khatami met with Damascus-based Palestinian rejectionist leaders during his visit to Syria in May. In addition, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei reflected Iran's covert actions aimed at scuttling the peace process when he sponsored a major rally in Tehran on 9 November to demonstrate Iran's opposition to Israel and peace. Hizballah and Palestinian rejectionist speakers at the rally reaffirmed their support for violent jihad against Israel. A Palestinian Islamic Jihad representative praised a bombing in Netanya that occurred days before and promised more such attacks.

Tehran still provided safehaven to elements of Turkey's separatist PKK that conducted numerous terrorist attacks in Turkey and against Turkish targets in Europe. One of the PKK's most senior at-large leaders, Osman Ocalan, brother of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, resided at least part-time in Iran. Iran also provided support to terrorist groups in North Africa and South and Central Asia, including financial assistance and training.

Tehran accurately claimed that it also was a victim of terrorism, as the opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq conducted several terrorist attacks in Iran. On 10 April the group assassinated Brigadier General Ali Sayyad Shirazi, the Iranian Armed Forces Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff.

2000

Despite the victory for moderates in Iran's Majles elections in February, aggressive countermeasures by hardline conservatives have blocked most reform efforts. Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2000. Its Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) continued to be involved in the planning and the execution of terrorist acts and continued to support a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals.

Iran's involvement in terrorist-related activities remained focused on support for groups opposed to Israel and peace between Israel and its neighbors. Statements by Iran's leaders demonstrated Iran's unrelenting hostility to Israel. Supreme Leader Khamenei continued to refer to Israel as a "cancerous tumor" that must be removed; President Khatami, labeling Israel an "illegal entity," called for sanctions against Israel during the intifadah; and Expediency Council Secretary Rezai said, "Iran will continue its campaign against Zionism until Israel is completely eradicated." Iran has long provided Lebanese Hizballah and the Palestinian rejectionist groups--notably HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and Ahmad Jibril's PFLP-GC--with varying amounts of funding, safehaven, training, and weapons. This activity continued at its already high levels following the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May and during the intifadah in the fall. Iran continued to encourage Hizballah and the Palestinian groups to coordinate their planning and to escalate their activities against Israel. Iran also provided a lower level of support--including funding, training, and logistics assistance--to extremist groups in the Gulf, Africa, Turkey, and Central Asia.

Although the Iranian Government has taken no direct action to date to implement Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie, the decree has not been revoked, and the $2.8 million bounty for his assassination has not been withdrawn. Moreover, hardline Iranians continued to stress that the decree is irrevocable. On the anniversary of the fatwa in February, the IRGC released a statement that the decree remains in force, and Ayatollah Yazdi, a member of the Council of Guardians, reiterated that "the decree is irrevocable and, God willing, will be carried out."

Iran also was a victim of Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK)-sponsored terrorism. The Islamic Republic presented a letter to the UN Secretary General in October citing seven acts of sabotage by the MEK against Iran between January and August 2000. The United States has designated the MEK as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Terrorist groups supported by Iran
From: Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2000. United States Department of State, April 2001. Overview

al-Jihad

Other Names: Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group

Description:
Egyptian Islamic extremist group active since the late 1970s. Close partner of Bin Ladin's al-Qaida organization. Suffered setbacks as a result of numerous arrests of operatives worldwide, most recently in Lebanon and Yemen. Primary goals are to overthrow the Egyptian Government and replace it with an Islamic state and attack US and Israeli interests in Egypt and abroad.

Activities:
Specializes in armed attacks against high-level Egyptian Government personnel, including cabinet ministers, and car-bombings against official US and Egyptian facilities. The original Jihad was responsible for the assassination in 1981 of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Claimed responsibility for the attempted assassinations of Interior Minister Hassan al-Alfi in August 1993 and Prime Minister Atef Sedky in November 1993. Has not conducted an attack inside Egypt since 1993 and has never targeted foreign tourists there. Responsible for Egyptian Embassy bombing in Islamabad in 1995; in 1998, planned attack against US Embassy in Albania was thwarted.

Strength
Not known but probably has several hundred hard-core members.

Location/Area of Operation
Operates in the Cairo area. Has a network outside Egypt, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom.

External Aid
Not known. The Egyptian Government claims that both Iran and Bin Ladin support the Jihad. Also may obtain some funding through various Islamic nongovernmental organizations, cover businesses, and criminal acts.

HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)

Description
Formed in late 1987 as an outgrowth of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Various HAMAS elements have used both political and violent means, including terrorism, to pursue the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel. Loosely structured, with some elements working clandestinely and others working openly through mosques and social service institutions to recruit members, raise money, organize activities, and distribute propaganda. HAMAS's strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and a few areas of the West Bank. Also has engaged in peaceful political activity, such as running candidates in West Bank Chamber of Commerce elections.

Activities
HAMAS activists, especially those in the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have conducted many attacks--including large-scale suicide bombings--against Israeli civilian and military targets. In the early 1990s, they also targeted suspected Palestinian collaborators and Fatah rivals. Claimed several attacks during the unrest in late 2000.

Strength
Unknown number of hardcore members; tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers.

Location/Area of Operation
Primarily the occupied territories, Israel. In August 1999, Jordanian authorities closed the group's Political Bureau offices in Amman, arrested its leaders, and prohibited the group from operating on Jordanian territory.

External Aid
Receives funding from Palestinian expatriates, Iran, and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states. Some fundraising and propaganda activity take place in Western Europe and North America.

Hizballah (Party of God)

Other Names: Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine

Description
Radical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creation of Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from the area. Strongly anti-West and anti-Israel. Closely allied with, and often directed by, Iran but may have conducted operations that were not approved by Tehran.

Activities
Known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombing of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984. Elements of the group were responsible for the kidnapping and detention of US and other Western hostages in Lebanon. The group also attacked the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992 and is a suspect in the 1994 bombing of the Israeli cultural center in Buenos Aires. In fall 2000, it captured three Israeli soldiers in the Shabaa Farms and kidnapped an Israeli noncombatant whom it may have lured to Lebanon under false pretenses.

Strength
Several thousand supporters and a few hundred terrrorist operatives.

Location/Area of Operation
Operates in the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and southern Lebanon. Has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Asia.

External Aid
Receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria.

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC)

Description
Split from the PFLP in 1968, claiming it wanted to focus more on fighting and less on politics. Violently opposed to Arafat's PLO. Led by Ahmad Jabril, a former captain in the Syrian Army. Closely tied to both Syria and Iran.

Activities
Carried out dozens of attacks in Europe and the Middle East during 1970-80. Known for cross-border terrorist attacks into Israel using unusual means, such as hot-air balloons and motorized hang gliders. Primary focus now on guerrilla operations in southern Lebanon, small-scale attacks in Israel, West Bank, and Gaza Strip.

Strength
Several hundred.

Location/Area of Operation
Headquartered in Damascus with bases in Lebanon.

External Aid
Receives logistic and military support from Syria and financial support from Iran.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

Description
Founded in 1974 as a Marxist-Leninist insurgent group primarily composed of Turkish Kurds. The group's goal has been to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey, where the population is predominantly Kurdish. In the early 1990s, the PKK moved beyond rural-based insurgent activities to include urban terrorism. Turkish authorities captured Chairman Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya in early 1999; the Turkish State Security Court subsequently sentenced him to death. In August 1999, Ocalan announced a "peace initiative," ordering members to refrain from violence and withdraw from Turkey and requesting dialogue with Ankara on Kurdish issues. At a PKK Congress in January 2000, members supported Ocalan's initiative and claimed the group now would use only political means to achieve its new goal, improved rights for Kurds in Turkey.

Activities
Primary targets have been Turkish Government security forces in Turkey. Conducted attacks on Turkish diplomatic and commercial facilities in dozens of West European cities in 1993 and again in spring 1995. In an attempt to damage Turkey's tourist industry, the PKK bombed tourist sites and hotels and kidnapped foreign tourists in the early-to-mid-1990s.

Strength
Approximately 4,000 to 5,000, most of whom currently are located in northern Iraq. Has thousands of sympathizers in Turkey and Europe.

Location/Area of Operation
Operates in Turkey, Europe, and the Middle East.

External Aid
Has received safehaven and modest aid from Syria, Iraq, and Iran. The Syrian Government expelled PKK leader Ocalan and known elements of the group from its territory in October 1998.

Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

Description
Originated among militant Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s. Committed to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel through holy war. Because of its strong support for Israel, the United States has been identified as an enemy of the PIJ, but the group has not specifically conducted attacks against US interests in the past. In July 2000, however, publicly threatened to attack US interests if the US Embassy is moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Also opposes moderate Arab governments that it believes have been tainted by Western secularism.

Activities
Conducted at least three attacks against Israeli interests in late 2000, including one to commemorate the anniversary of former PIJ leader Fathi Shaqaqi's murder in Malta on 26 October 1995. Conducted suicide bombings against Israeli targets in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Israel.

Strength
Unknown.

Location/Area of Operation
Primarily Israel and the occupied territories and other parts of the Middle East, including Jordan and Lebanon. Headquartered in Syria.

External Aid
Receives financial assistance from Iran and limited logistic assistance from Syria.

Egypt and Algeria claim Iran also supports: al-Jihad, Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, Armed Islamic Group (AIG), the Movement for an Islamic State (MIS), the Army of the Prophet Muhammad, the United Company of Jihad, and the Armed Islamic Movement (AIM).


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS:
Official (Iran) calls for setting up Islamic fund for Palestinians
Iran Calls For Islam's Total Support for Intifada
1 posted on 02/11/2002 1:46:22 PM PST by knighthawk (knighthawk@wish.nl)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: dennisw; watchin; VOA; harpseal; timestax; xJones; justshutupandtakeit; TopDog2; ThomasMore...
If people want on or off this list, please let me know!
2 posted on 02/11/2002 1:49:06 PM PST by knighthawk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Buzznutt; Gershom; angelo; TheBlueMax; Catspaw; BenF; American in Israel
Ping
3 posted on 02/11/2002 1:49:42 PM PST by knighthawk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: knighthawk
Getting it Wrong in the Middle East
New York Post

Whoever paid attention to the American professors who specialize on the Middle East would have heard some surprising things before Sept. 11.

For one, they dismissed militant Islamic terror as unworthy of their attention. Listen to Fawaz Gerges - a well-known scholar whose credentials include connections to Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, as well as a professorship at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Gerges declared himself skeptical of the U.S. government's warnings about terrorism and criticized what he called "the terrorist industry" (a disdainful term for specialists on this topic) for exaggerating "the terrorist threat to American citizens." Professor Gerges even accused (in a sentence I expect him deeply to regret) terrorist specialists of indirectly perpetuating an "irrational fear of terrorism by focusing too much on farfetched horrible scenarios." Hmm.

Gerges, it bears noting, published these insights just a half year before the farfetched suicide hijackings of Sept. 11.

He is just one scholar of many who got it wrong, as my colleague Martin Kramer shows in his new book, "Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America" (Washington Institute for Near East Policy). In fact, the professorate as a whole so ignored the militant Islamic threat that not one of them ever "got around to producing a single serious analysis" of Osama bin Laden.

Kramer recounts a string of missed opportunities, self-imposed isolation, and failed predictions on the part of university-based academics. Some examples:

* They insisted on seeing the surge of militant Islam as an Islamic version of the 16th century Protestant Reformation in Europe - ignoring that Martin Luther's goals were roughly opposite those of militant Islam.

* They forecast that the region's states would disintegrate; none did.

* They predicted that Palestinians would break the pattern of tyranny in Arabic-speaking countries and establish a truly democratic rule. Wrong - the Palestinian Authority is just another dreary dictatorship.

In all, Kramer concludes in his incisive and original study, "America's academics have failed to predict or explain the major evolutions of Middle Eastern politics and society over the past two decades." Time and again, they "have been taken by surprise by their subjects; time and again, their paradigms have been swept away by events."

And when not getting it wrong, the university specialists neglected the problems facing the United States in the region (such as rogue regimes and weapons proliferation) in favor of studies with a theoretical bent without value for understanding practical problems.

These failures have not gone unnoticed off-campus, where they "depleted the credibility of scholarship among influential publics," Kramer reports. In Washington, "the mere mention of academic Middle Eastern studies often causes eyes to roll."

Book agents run from them, while TV producers positively gallop. Foundations came to look at them askance. Even "portions of the general public had begun to write [them] off," sensing that this guild of experts has more information than common sense.

Journalists, think-tankers and ex-government officials have largely filled the gap. Their numbers are small and academics insult them as "intellectual counterfeiters" who purvey "superficial and twisted analyses," but they speak a language Americans understand, produce in a timely fashion, and get their subject right.

As a result, Kramer finds, some few dozen individuals working out of think tanks "managed to establish more public credibility" than the two thousand-plus professors at American universities.

Professors found themselves left, in Kramer's biting words, "to debate one another in growing obscurity."

The Middle East presents the United States with singular dangers - rogue states, militant Islam, the Arab-Israeli conflict, disruption of oil and gas supplies, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, drug-trafficking, counterfeiting. The scholars' collective irrelevance makes the formulation of correct policies that much harder. And what Americans do in the Middle East has immense importance for the region, from saving Kuwait to brokering Arab-Israeli negotiations to making war on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Therefore, the failure Martin Kramer documents affects Americans and Middle Easterners alike, not to speak of others around the world.

A change for the better, he shows, will result mainly from two sources: senior American scholars, who need to recognize and rectify their mistakes; and those who fund Middle Eastern studies - from the federal government to university alumni - who need to demand improvement. The time is ripe for both of them to start making changes.

###############
Now add to that, Iran was supposed to be rapidly moving into the *moderate* catagory. Sure it was.

4 posted on 02/11/2002 2:48:07 PM PST by Nix 2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: knighthawk
A wealth of info here. Thanks.
5 posted on 02/11/2002 2:59:05 PM PST by crazykatz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Nix 2;knighthawk;RonDog
Nix2, thanks for the post.
I believe part of this article (or one very close to it) got quoted by Hugh Hewitt on
his radio show today.
6 posted on 02/11/2002 3:21:09 PM PST by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: knighthawk; Sedition
I can't understand the rdefusal of people to see taht Iran is helping Al-Qaeda.

Here we clearly see Iran funding and arming 2 constituent elements of Al-Qaeda, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah. More recently, there have been reports that Iran has or is
1. Aiding Taliban fighters in Afghanistan against the Karzai regime.
2. Transfered AL-Qaeda mebers to Lebanon, with the help of Syria.
3. Arming the PA Al-Aqsa brigades and Hamas with missles, explosives, SAMs, and rockets.

It is clear that IRan deserves the spot in the Axis of Evil. Why isn't Bush making hte case?

7 posted on 02/11/2002 3:30:25 PM PST by rmlew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Burkeman1
Bump
8 posted on 02/11/2002 4:45:58 PM PST by rmlew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: rmlew
bttt
9 posted on 02/11/2002 5:07:09 PM PST by timestax
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: rmlew
I have no doubt that Iran is a supporter of terrorism. They provide aid of every sort to those who seek to destroy Isreal. But did they have anything to do with 9/11? I would say no. And the Bush administration has offered zero proof otherwise. To use the 9/11 atrocity as an excuse to wage war against Iran is not right. Especially when the evidence points to our so called "allies".
10 posted on 02/11/2002 5:11:57 PM PST by Burkeman1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Burkeman1
If Iran supports Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah , which are part of Al-Qaeda, and Al-Qaeda attacked us, Iran supported those who attacked us.
They still do so.

That is a reason for a regime change.

11 posted on 02/11/2002 5:18:23 PM PST by rmlew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: rmlew
It is clear that IRan deserves the spot in the Axis of Evil. Why isn't Bush making hte case?

He doesn't need to. They are making his case for him. The world might be shaking in their boots, but they are not blind...just cowardly.

12 posted on 02/11/2002 5:20:52 PM PST by Nix 2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: rmlew
Wow- what a broadening of the defintion of Al Queda! But anyway. It is known that the Basque terrorists in Spain have trained in Islamic terrorist camps. Are they now part of the "war"? What about Chechnyans? How about the KLA in Kosovo whose contact with Al Queda is well documented but yet whom we support and as even as late as this summer covered a withdrawal from a Macedonian army encirclement! Please. If any group who once gave aid or traded intelligence with Osama and Al Queda and therefore any state which supports such a group is now a target then declare friggin war and show us the proof! I demand at least that and so should you. Please. What a paltry reed to hang a war on.
13 posted on 02/11/2002 5:26:44 PM PST by Burkeman1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Burkeman1
Islamic Jihad is PArt of Al-Qaeda. Do you think it is a coincidence that Bin LAden's named succesor is a member of Islamic Jihad? Is it a coincidence that the military mastermind of Al-Qaeda, before his death during our war, was the former head of Egyptian Islamic Jihad?
Al-Qaeda, or more accurately the World Struggle Against Jews and Crusaders, is an umbrella group that contains Al-Jihad and works with Hamas and Hizbullah.
Guess who funds Islamic Jihad? Guess who is the money and arms behind Hamas and Hizbullah. Here is a hint, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran is and has been the major supporter and exporter of Islamism since 1979. It is the enemy.
14 posted on 02/11/2002 6:08:02 PM PST by rmlew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: rmlew
Interesting. So we are going to go after a country that supports some terrorist groups that then give some of their proceeds and funds to an umbrealla group that attacked us. Wow- do I have to mention some of the groups that we have given money to that committed dastedly deeds with our money? Fact of the matter is you are playing with fire. And Iran is not the worst offender. Why is it that you indict Iran with this second hand contact and yet with Suadi Arabia and the ties they have directly to Al Queda that are so much more clear (and Sudan and syria and Kuwait and Bahrain) you are silent? What a joke. Oh well- I guess Iran is in the mind of the average 4 year old numbskull in this country and it makes that much more clear- that and it is more convenient to Isreal.
15 posted on 02/11/2002 6:40:33 PM PST by Burkeman1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Burkeman1
Interesting. So we are going to go after a country that supports some terrorist groups that then give some of their proceeds and funds to an umbrealla group that attacked us.

Let me spell this out. Islamic Jihad is Al Qaeda!

Wow- do I have to mention some of the groups that we have given money to that committed dastedly deeds with our money? Fact of the matter is you are playing with fire.
If we funded a terrorist group, the aggreived country would have ample cause to make war on us, as we would have already done so by proxy.

And Iran is not the worst offender. Why is it that you indict Iran with this second hand contact and yet with Suadi Arabia and the ties they have directly to Al Queda that are so much more clear (and Sudan and syria and Kuwait and Bahrain) you are silent?

If you find evidence that the Saudi regime funded Bin Laden, I will change my mind. No such evidence has come forth for the simple reason that Bin Laden is a threat to the reigme. You don't seem to understand that the Saudi Clan is the regime.
Neither the Kuwaiti nor the Bahraini government have funded Al Qaeda.

You either cannot see the difference between the actions of subjects and a regime, or you are being purposely obtuse.

As for Syria and Sudan, both should be on the list. Syria is as guilty as Iran. Sudan has helped bin Laden in the past and is still helping terrorists. Besides, it is a gencodial Islamist regime.

What a joke. Oh well- I guess Iran is in the mind of the average 4 year old numbskull in this country and it makes that much more clear- that and it is more convenient to Isreal.

I think that having a regime change in Syria would be more beneficial to Israel than that in Iran.

Of course, since when does logic interfere with anti-Semetism.
Your screen name does a disservice to Edmund Burke.

16 posted on 02/11/2002 9:08:07 PM PST by rmlew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: rmlew; Burkeman1
The Ayatollah Khomeini responding to apologists for Islam
(Taheri, Amir, Holy Terror, London 1987, pp. 226-7):

Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males, provided they are not disabled and incapacitated, to prepare themselves for the conquest of other [countries] so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world. But those who study Islamic Holy War will understand why Islam wants to conquer the whole world...Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war. Those [who say this] are witless. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured [by the unbelievers]? Islam says: Kill them [the non-Muslims], put them to the sword and scatter [their armies]. Does this mean sitting back until [non-Muslims] overcome us? Islam says: Kill in the service of Allah those who may want to kill you! Does this mean that we should surrender to the enemy? Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword! The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for Holy Warriors! There are hundreds of other [Koranic] psalms and Hadiths [sayings of the Prophet] urging Muslims to value war and to fight. Does all that mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war? I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.

Burkeman1: may I also remind you who did the attacks in Lebanon in the 1980's? Yes, it was Hizbollah, aided by Iran. And isn't it a coincidence Hizbollah now denies involvement. Iran knows we are coming for their terrorist buddies and that we will find evidence of Irans' involvement in many other killings and bombings.

Hizbullah Denies Links to Attacks on American Facilities in Lebanon (in 1980's)

17 posted on 02/11/2002 11:14:43 PM PST by knighthawk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: rmlew
Ah yes- Mention Isrel and you are an anti semite- how utterly tiresome and predictable. Funny how so called conservatives on this page who bemoan the disgusting charges and inuendo's of racism by democrats and liberals against Republicans and conservatives resort to the exact same tactics and smears when put into a corner when their arguments are weak.

All the regimes of Arab lands are clannish and run by familes with factions in them, The Suadi Regime is one such as is Bahrain, Kuwait and the rest. YOu are the one being obtuse if you think the same country that hosts Al Jazzirri and then poisonous lies isn't or hasnt funded Al Queda in the past or is still doing so. You are the one being obtuse.

But at least you can admit that SUdan and Syria should be on the list as well.

Edmund Burke hated disembling and was disgusted by folly. Burke opposed from the 1760's on British policy towards America. He then mocked the war against the colonies as unwinnable from the start and the greatest of folly and stupidity.

I imagine that he would have much the same reaction to our current arbitrary romping in the Mideast now.

18 posted on 02/13/2002 6:58:05 PM PST by Burkeman1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

Patterns of Global Terrorism - 2001
Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism May 21, 2002

Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2001. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) continued to be involved in the planning and support of terrorist acts and supported a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals. Although some within Iran would like to end this support, hardliners who hold the reins of power continue to thwart any efforts to moderate these policies. Since the outbreak of the intifadah, support has intensified for Palestinian groups that use violence against Israel. During the past year, however, Iran appears to have reduced its involvement in other forms of terrorist activity. There is no evidence of Iranian sponsorship or foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks in the United States. President Khatami condemned the attacks and offered condolences to the American people.

During 2001, Iran sought a high-profile role in encouraging anti-Israeli activity by way of increasing its support for anti-Israeli terrorist groups. Supreme Leader Khamenei continued to refer to Israel as a "cancerous tumor" that must be removed. Matching this rhetoric with action, Iran continued to provide Lebanese Hizballah and the Palestinian rejectionist groups—notably HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP-GC—with varying amounts of funding, safehaven, training, and weapons. It also encouraged Hizballah and the rejectionist Palestinian groups to coordinate their planning and to escalate their activities.

In addition, Iran provided limited support to terrorist groups in the Gulf, Africa, Turkey, and Central Asia. This support is at a considerably lower level than that provided to the groups opposed to Israel and has been decreasing in recent years. The Iranian Government took no direct action in 2001 to implement Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie, but the decree has not been revoked nor has the $2.8 million bounty for his death been withdrawn. Moreover, on the anniversary of the fatwa in February, some hardline Iranians stressed again that the decree is irrevocable and should be carried out.

During Operation Enduring Freedom, Tehran informed the United States that, in the event US warplanes went down inside Iran, Iranian forces would assist downed air crews in accordance with international convention. Iran also worked with the United States and its allies at the Bonn Conference in late 2001 to help in the formation of the Afghan Interim Authority. Tehran pledged to close its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan to prevent the infiltration of Taliban and al-Qaida escapees. There are, however, reports that Arab Afghans, including al-Qaida members, used Iran as a transit route to enter and leave from Afghanistan.

19 posted on 05/25/2002 5:23:30 PM PDT by knighthawk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson