US Openly Supports Iranian Terrorists MEK

Electronic Iraq ^ | 27/7/05 | William Van Wagenen

[F14 Pilot]

The U.S. Government is now openly supporting the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, an Iranian resistance movement designated as terrorist organization by the US State Department. On June 20th of this year, the Mujahideen-e-Khalq held a conference at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, which is where many foreign journalists stay and is under the full protection of the U.S. Army. I was in the area of the hotel that day, and saw at least 10 U.S. tanks heading in the direction of the hotel to provide additional security. I knew of the conference in advance, because of a report issued to all NGO's working in Iraq, which mentioned that the conference would take place. The report warned of an increased danger of attacks against the hotel, as anti- U.S. insurgents were likely to attempt to disrupt the conference [1].

The Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) is a Marxist oriented Iranian resistance organization founded in the 1960's to topple the pro- western regime of Reza Shah. Since that time, MEK has carried out scores of attacks and assassinated a number of Iranian government officials. MEK killed several American military and civilian personnel in Iran during the 1970's, and assisted in the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 where American civilians were held hostage. Though MEK participated in the 1979 revolution, which toppled the Shah, once the Ayatollah Khomeini consolidated power in Iran, MEK moved their headquarters to Paris and continued resistance activities against the Islamic Republic. In 1981, MEK bombed the offices of the Islamic Republic Party, killing 70 high-ranking Iranian officials. MEK established its military headquarters in Iraq in 1986, where Saddam Hussein became their main source of funding and protection. In return, the MEK fought alongside Iraqi forces during the war against Iran in the 1980's, and assisted Saddam's security forces in putting down the Kurdish and Shiite revolts after the first Gulf War in 1991. The majority of Saddam's recently discovered mass graves are filled with the Shiite and Kurdish dead from this uprising. MEK military operations against Iranian targets continued through the 1990's. The U.S. Department of State added the MEK to its official list of terrorist organizations in 1997, and shut down the organization's Washington, DC office in 2003 [2].

During the U.S. invasion of Iraq, MEK forces in Iraq surrendered to U.S. forces and turned over their military hard wear, including several thousand tanks, armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft guns, and other vehicles. Despite denying suspected terrorists from Afghanistan and elsewhere prisoner of war status under the Geneva conventions, the US granted this status to detained members of MEK in Iraq [3].

Support for the MEK reveals one of the advantages the U.S. has acquired by occupying Iraq. The country can now be used as a staging post for carrying out attacks against regimes hostile to U.S. interests in the region, whether through proxy organizations such as MEK, or by attacking such countries directly by dispatching U.S. forces based on Iraqi soil. U.S. planners are currently somewhat constrained from using the latter option due to the difficulty they face in pacifying Iraq, so the first option, namely supporting terrorist organizations that are trying to destabilize the Iranian regime, will likely be their preferred course of action until U.S. control of Iraq is fully consolidated.

So when Paul Wolfowitz promised Iraqis in 2003 that the US would hunt down the "monsters" that assisted Saddam in digging the mass graves in 1991 [4], the Bush administration was in fact just beginning its support for some of the direct perpetrators of these crimes. Also revealing is U.S. criticism of the new Iranian president elect, due to his alleged involvement in holding U.S. embassy personnel hostage in 1979. Though the U.S. admits the MEK was involved in the same incident, White House support for this terrorist organization continues. This kind of hypocrisy reveals much about what the global "war on terror" is really about. It's not a war against terror as such, but rather a war of terror to subdue resistance to the US designs in the region.

Sources:

[1] The organization which provides these security reports does not allow them to be cited publicly, and thus I cannot indicate the name of the source. The report for June 19th, 2005 stated the following: "A large conference involving the mujahadeen kalk and sponsored by the Iraqi Government is scheduled to take place in the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad 20th June, this may lead to insurgent attempts to disrupt the conference, HOM are advised to advise their staff to avoid this area."

[2] US State Department, Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002 (pdf). See specifically Appendix B: Background Information on designated foreign terrorist organizations, pg. 115 for information on the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq

See also this description of the group from Globalsecurity.org.

[3] Why the US granted 'protected' status to Iranian terrorists, The Christian Science Monitor, 07/29/2004.

[4] New York Times, July 20th, 2003.

[CWOJackson]

"You seem to ignore the very true fact!"

Hardly, the very true fact is the source of this story is horse hockey.

[nuffsenuff]

We know. No one here is stating that they weren't terrorists.

Only that they have been neutralized and have no way of attacking anyone.

[nuconvert]

Yes, they could be put back on the list if they misbehave.
But we wouldn't take them off the list, unless we wanted to use them. And using them would send a very bad message to the Iranian people and would cause them to distrust us & side with the mullahs against us. And we'd lose our allies in Iran.
And that's not what we want.

[nuffsenuff]

Taking them off the list means they are neutralized and no longer a threat.

Saying we'd "use" them is a huge assumption.

[Khashayar]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GG06Ak03.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0720/p09s01-cojh.html

http://www.csis-scrs.gc.ca/eng/miscdocs/200004_e.html

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/mek.htm

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20050721/cm_thenation/20050801klare/nc:742

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/conspiracy_theory/fullstory.asp?id=234

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2105.shtml

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GF29Ak03.html

[PureTrouble]

Free republic started because people in the US believed that what they herd on the news was not the truth.

The stories that the news, even the Washington post or times or new york times provides to the American public most of the time do not stand up to scrutiny or checking the facts of the story.

When you believe what an op ed writer writes just because he has written a story and do not check the facts of the story to see if the facts are distorted or just plain wrong, you are doing an injustice to your name. Blindly believing what you are told does not make what you were told a fact or something the truth.

If an author has written articles and distorted (or outright lied in articles) it makes them less credible and points out that they have an agenda. (hence the reference to Mike More's Fahrenheit 911 movie, which if you look at the definition of propaganda, fits quite well. Blind belief in a story does not make it fact.

Right now, since the author has not written any factual stories, twists what he writes to his agenda, we are placing this article under the "propaganda" definition until there are believable facts or other sources that support that this meeting took place.
It is not that we support the MEK. The US does not have a policy to kill people just because they are standing on a corner or sitting in a compound. Think about how the Arab press would love to write about how the Americans slaughtered peace loving MEK people in Iraq (both women and Children). I believe that if the MEK can stay in Iraq will be up to the Iraq government and the people of Iraq. Please forward your concerns to the Iraq government and help remind them how bad the MEK is and what you recommend to do with that organization.

[Khashayar]

Iraqi government has no control over them and that is the US Army protecting them!

[nuconvert]

It's what congresspeople Tancredo and Ros-Lehtinen (among others) have suggested. So, it's not just a "huge assumption" or speculation. It's an idea floating around Washington.

[PureTrouble]

You must not recognize that Iraq is a sovereign nation. Or you must not recognize that the people in the government were voted on by the Iraqi people.

America is in Iraq until Iraq can handle the security situation. Once the Iraq government is able to handle the security for Iraq and its citizens the US will be willing and to move our soldiers out of Iraq. We do not want our troops in harms way any longer then necessary.

Please send your request to have the Iraq government expel the MEK (or have them killed) to the Iraq government and if the government understands your request they will address the situation.

Now remember that in a democracy things move slow so expect that most request take time. The request has to gain support of the majority of the voting block (get voted on) and then has to be signed on by the president (is that what Iraq calls the leading 3 persons?)

[nuffsenuff]

Well, then make sure you write and tell them to knock it off.

It's a dumb idea.

[wtc911]

It makes us angry to see any cooperation between terrorists and Bush's government. It makes us wonder if there is a war on terror going on at all. It helps fade our hope in the US as a true ally in our fight against the Mullahs. It makes us wonder if the US is about to replace an Islamic dictatorship with a Marxist one. I guess Jackson and wtc911 (who always makes every body laugh) are not able to understand our concerns.

------------------------------------------------------

You are an avowed shahista who wants others to do your dirty work. Your countrymen threw the shah (and presumably your family) out. Jimmy Carter didn't do it, the iranian people did. If the iranians were not pushed by the shah and his Savak savages to revolt no US President could have done anything to make them thow your hero out.

you and the other iranians in exile here live in complete safety with no skin in the game. you want us to believe that the samee iranians who held our folks hostage and who have supported terror around the globe (axis of evil - ever hear of it?) are really America loving captives in their own country...and you want us to put the shah's line back in power for you...ain't gonna happen sparky.

as has been noted before Bush has challenged your countrymen to step up...so far only MEK seems willing to fight for what you say you want. you are free to get out of your warm bed and into the fight, it is your country...but I bet you don't.

[nuconvert]

I have written them already.

[TAquinas]

It's a legitimate photo.

Why are you against America having ties, friendly relationships and partnership with Iran?

There are many Christians in Iran and it is on this basis that we start ties with Iran and its leadership.

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.

[Khashayar]

why are you a disgrace?

[humint]

There may be some truth to this article... The Palestine Hotel is in fact a well know front organization for the MEK. The following excerpt proves it… It may even be a front for 2.8 Million Iraqis as well. Or maybe, it's just a hotel?!?! run by the BRITS!

2.8 million Iraqis’ petition warns of Iran domination    Sun. 17 Apr 2005

BEGIN EXCERPT...

Baghdad, Apr. 17 – Leaders and representatives of 11 Iraqi political parties and groups unveiled a petition signed by 2.8 million Iraqis, sharply criticizing neighboring Iran’s rising meddling in Iraq and warning of the specter of “Islamic fundamentalism’s stealthy domination” of their country.

The announcement came in a conference yesterday in Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel in the presence of about 500 Iraqis representing political, social and cultural groups. The signatures were put on display in long rows of folders…

… The petition offered strong support to the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI).[AKA the MEK] Thousands of PMOI members are based at Camp Ashraf, near the Iran-Iraq border….

END EXCERPT...

It makes me wonder why the author of this post didn't mention what the conference was about. My bet is that the content of the conference didn't fit neatly into their left wing agenda so they conveniently omitted it.

[F14 Pilot]

Since when Iraqis determine Iranians' future?

[Khashayar]

I don't care what Arabs do/say about us Persians.

I mean it!

Moreover, it is not a valid discussion here that if Iraqis think MEK is good, then me as an Iranian should think the same.

And at last, it does not change the fact that MEK is a terrorist group armed with Marxism-Islamism which is dangerous for modern world.

BTW, I doubt endorsing a foreign terrorist organization on FR is allowed!

[wtc911]

why are you a disgrace?

____________________________________

In whose eyes? Those of some shahista, some clown who wants a despotic rule put back, who won't fight for his own country's freedom but spends his time dishing propaganda from some safe haven and asking others to do his heavy lifting? Big deal, having people like that pissed off is a good thing.

[humint]

To F14 Pilot

"Since when Iraqis determine Iranians' future?"

I think Iraqis want to and will determine Iraq's future. It would appear as though they recognize who is trying to hijack their future [Iran] and who can help prevent it [U.S. , Democratic organizing, and maybe even the PMOI].

I think Iran's neighbors have an influence on Iran's future, particularly when Ahmadinejad is preaching renewed global Islamist revolution from Tehran's presidential pulpit. That kind of garbage needs to stop and it's not going to be stopped by dreaming about the good old days in Tehran.

The point of my previous post was to demonstrate that the Palestine hotel is a hotel in a war zone! U.S. troops do not define the content of what goes on there. Many of the comments on this thread are attributing the behavior of kings and dictators to the U.S. that just doesn't exist.

Iraqis are free now... As free as a people can be while living in a war zone! The MEK are protected persons under the fourth Geneva convention and can give a press conference [if that is what actually happened] and U.S. troops are obliged to make sure nobody is killed in the process

The Iranian oligarchy, who dominate Iranians, threaten the free expression of their internal and external opponents, obviously requiring an increase in security for Iraqis and Iranians in Iraq who peacefully speak out against the regime in Tehran.

Does that offend you? That's how the democratic process works... defend the rights of everyone, even people you disagree with. Besides, if you paid attention to what was said instead of who said it, you might be wondering what the [alleged] conference was about.

To Khashayar

What can I tell you?… This word support must not translate well from Farsi to English. To talk about, think about or even debate an idea or event does not imply support for one side or another. Be happy and be free my friend, try to think things through before your fingers start typing…