Spiegel Magazine has published an article, "The Second Iraq", in which discusses the issue of US’s support for Iranian opposition group, the MKO, to confront the Islamic Republic.
Rockefeller, the head of Senate’s Intelligence Committee, has recently expressed concern over the possibility of US’s action against Iran and the repetition of Iraqi story.
Pointing to Bush’s order to US forces in Iraq to shoot Iranian and Syrian agents in Iraq, Pentagon’s emphasis that Iranian agents were behind the deaths of 5 US forces in Karbala and the departure of second US aircraft carrier to the region, Spiegel writes that despite all these, the White House denies any effort to overthrow the rule of Mullahs.
Spiegel also points to Iran’s denial of interference in Iraq and that the US has delayed presentation of documents on Iranian involvement in Iraqis unrest, which were to be presented on last Thursday.
According to Spiegel, what’s more alarming here is the presence of a group of Iranian opposition in the State Department, the White House and Pentagon’s Iran office. This group claims to have documents on Iran’s nuclear activities in Arak.
Other claims of the group includes having documents on the role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps in Najaf, secret documents from a group of physicists showing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s efforts to acquire nuclear bomb and …
The group also claims to have a list of 30000 Iraqi politicians, army and police working for Iran.
Iranian Chalabis are Coming!
Iranian Chalabis are a source of intelligence whose accuracy is not known. This group includes people like Amir Abbas Fakhravar. He introduces himself as a leader of Student’s Independent Movement who has been tortured in prison.
Spiegel refers to his visit to the US senate and his meeting with James Woosely, the former head of CIA, and a number of senior Pentagon officials.
Although Fakhravar doesn’t like to be compared to Chalabi, Spiegel says they have both a common friend: Richard Perle, well-known conservative and one of Iraq war planners.
Spiegel also writes about the budget the Bush administration has allocated to regime change in Iran. In Dubail, London and Frankfurt, US experts on Iran are looking for revolutionary people like Fakhravar.
"It seems that Bush administration has also another plan: that if it can’t stop the production of nuclear bomb by Tehran, it should be careful not to allow the Mullahs get it," Spiegel writes.
Prominent political figures like James Baker and Henry Kissinger have warned the Bush administration that it should stop such supports because working on people like Fakhravar prevents making deal with Iran.
"Meanwhile, who’s this smart guy (Fakhravar)?" Spiegel asks.
The rumors in Washington indicate that he was an ordinary wrongdoer who accidentally met the students in Evin prison. Mr. Vali Nasr, Professor of Political Sciences and a prominent Iranian expert, says comments of Fakhravar are "sheer lies" and that nobody knows him.
However, Fakhravar is not the only reservist of the US, Alireza Jafarzadeh is another one.
According to Spiegel, Jafarzadeh is busy holding interview with Fox News Channel and has recently published his book "the threat of Iran".
During a controversial press conference in August 2002, Jafarzadeh revealed the uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz.
On the issue of MKO to which Jafarzadeh belongs, Spiegel refers to thousands of its members living in Camp Ashraf near Baghdad after US invasion and that they are ready to help US forces.
Terrorist Allies in the War on Terror?
In response to this question, Jafarzadeh laughs and says they enjoy unimaginable level of support.
They have also provided many details about Iranian agents’ interferences in Iraq.
In a press conference, Jafarzadeh claimed that Revolutionary Guards Corps distributes millions of dollars among Shiite paramilitaries in the border region of Shalamcheh.
They have also claimed that Iran uses the trucks, carrying materials for reconstruction of holy cities of Iraq, to transfer weapons; however, this has not been confirmed by any other sources.
"US’s bitter experience in Iraq should prevent American people from being convinced of the necessity of another war. However, in this issue, the US is influenced by MKO," the Spiegel writes.
Also citing an article in Congressional Quarterly, Spiegel says that Pentagon uses MKO members in Camp Ashraf for setting air targets in Iran.
It’s been said that these people are given new identities so that Washington can claim easily that they have never been terrorists.
According to Spiegel, there’s big difference between current time and when Iraq was attacked: unlike the previous time during which the American media showed sympathy with occupying Iraq, this time there’s no agreement.
Last Thursday, NY Times wrote that Bush can go to another war if he’s not careful and that he could bring a disaster to his country if the Congress doesn’t stop him.
Radio Farda – 2007/02/07