Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

MKO: U.S. state-sponsored terrorism against Iran

In a particularly blatant display of U.S. double standards, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton MKO: U.S. state-sponsored terrorism against Iranannounced that the Mojahedin Khalq (People’s Mojahedin), known also by the acronyms MKO, MEK, and PMOI (People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran), and dedicated to the violent overthrow of the legitimate government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had been removed from the United States’ list of designated terrorist organizations as of September 28, 2012.

By removing the MKO from the list, the terrorist organization can now legally seek funding from the U.S. government, some of whose officials have already received hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees for speaking on its behalf. In addition, U.S. companies can now engage in business transactions directly with the MKO without the necessity of obtaining a license.

The MKO is a cultish, Marxist-influenced radical terrorist organization with roots in the Freedom Movement of Iran dating back to 1965 that was revitalized in the 1970s by a group of young intelligentsia who had been influenced by foreign ideas about Islam, politics, and government. The MKO began its armed struggle against the U.S.-supported shah in 1971 and continued its efforts by joining the Islamic Revolution of Iran. The terrorist group assassinated at least six U.S. citizens, participated in the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and opposed the release of the U.S. hostages, urging their execution instead. Later on, however, the MKO withdrew its support for the revolution’s leadership and directly opposed the government of the fledgling Islamic Republic.

In the aftermath of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini submitted the proposed constitution for an Islamic government to a public referendum on December 2, 1979. The MKO rejected the concept of velayat-e faqih (rule of the supreme jurisprudent), abstained from the referendum, and began to voice their opposing views by carrying out increasingly violent acts, including assassinations and bombing attacks on government leaders.

On June 28 1981, the MKO began a series of vicious attacks by bombing the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party during a meeting of party leaders, resulting in 74 fatalities. This was followed by other terrorist attacks resulting in deaths and destruction at a time when the Islamic Republic was engaged in its Sacred Defense against Saddam Hussein’s regime (the Iran-Iraq war) from 1980 to 1988.

Eventually forced into exile because of its terrorist activities within Iran, the MKO was given asylum and financial support in Iraq by Saddam from 1986 until the time his regime was toppled by the U.S. invasion in 2003. On July 26, 1988, after the UN-brokered ceasefire was accepted, a 7,000-man assault force from the MKO, armed by Saddam, invaded and attacked Iran, but was forced to retreat back into Iraq three days later. According to the U.S. State Department, the MKO aided Saddam’s Republican Guard in suppressing the 1991 Shia uprising in Iraq.

Since November 4, 1979, the MKO has been responsible for over 70 acts of terrorism within Iran, which have claimed the lives of over 12,000 Iranians over the past three decades. Other humanitarian organizations place the figure of Iranian victims of terror even higher, while the MKO itself claims that it has inflicted over 40,000 casualties within Iran.

The U.S. State Department, acknowledging the terrorist group’s grizzly record, stated “the Department does not overlook or forget the MKO’s past acts of terrorism, including its involvement in the killing of U.S. citizens in Iran in the 1970s and an attack on U.S. soil in 1992.” According to news sources, the MKO is responsible for carrying out the assassinations of leading Iranian scientists and when asked about this by a BBC correspondent, a senior State Department official responded, “The United States government has not claimed that the MKO was involved in the assassination of scientists in Iran.”

The official added, “We believe that terrorism is terrorism no matter what country on earth it may be practiced in or against any party that it may be practiced against. So we do not distinguish between actions in or against Iran or in or against any other country.” This statement is especially breathtaking, since the MKO is listed in the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database as one of the organizations responsible for the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979. In other words, while continuing to hold the Iranian government responsible for the U.S. embassy hostage crisis, the U.S. government has effectively pardoned one of the actual perpetrators by removing its name from the terrorist list!

So why has this obviously irrational delisting of the MKO taken place? Just as the Afghan mujahedin were used in a covert U.S. war to overthrow the Soviet-aligned government in Afghanistan, the MKO is being used in conjunction with Mossad to fight a covert war against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And the U.S. trained members of the MKO at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada Security Site under the auspices of the Joint Special Operations Command between 2005 and 2008. According to an unnamed source, as a result of the Nevada JSOC training, “MKO now has a capacity for efficient operations that it never had before.”

It appears that as long as the terrorists commit their abominable acts in accordance with Washington’s policy goals, they are not treated as terrorists but instead as allies, and even while they are still officially listed as terrorists by the State Department. As arch-Zionist Alan Dershowitz would undoubtedly agree, the MKO may still be terrorists, but they are now the United States’ terrorists. No doubt, deceased Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, the mastermind of Operation Cyclone, would agree as well.

Yuram Abdullah Weiler ,

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Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Bad terrorists and good terrorists

The United States’ recent decision to remove the Mojahedin Khalq Organization from its list of foreign terrorist organizations was actually taken in line with Washington’s problematic approach to the issue of terrorism.

The U.S. divides terrorism into good and bad versions. Those terrorist activities which are against the national interests of the United States are regarded as bad while those benefiting the U.S. government are placed in the good category. This problematic approach has in fact legitimized the crimes committed by many terrorist groups and organizations around the world, including the MKO.

From the U.S. perspective, Israeli attacks on Palestinians and the slaughter of innocent citizens by the savage Israeli troops are regarded as good. The terrorist operations targeting Iranian nuclear scientists are also deemed acceptable because they are in line with the general interests of the U.S. government in countering Iran and its growing influence. However, the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan targeting the occupation forces are defined as evil.

Over the past twenty months, U.S. officials have staunchly supported the terrorists operating in Syria. They have overtly funded the rebels fighting against the popular government of President Bashar al-Assad, and the U.S. has ensured that weapons have flooded into the hands of the terrorists. This is because the terrorism in Syria is a good instrument for protecting the Zionist regime and such types of terrorism must be supported in U.S. doctrine.

Over the decades, Washington has also been forced to endorse the political terrorism of the Zionist lobby. Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s ridiculous show at the United Nations General Assembly, in which he called for a red line to be set on Iranian nuclear progress, was regarded by many political analysts as a blatant act of bullying the U.S. government. The extremists in Israel have become accustomed to such acts of political terrorism, which are meant to eliminate any type of opposition to their lust for power.

U.S. President Barack Obama finally came to the conclusion that he and his administration had nothing to hide about their dealings with the MKO. In other words, everyone knows that the group and its activities have become integrated into the United States’ anti-Iran policies. However, the decision clearly proved that Washington’s so-called campaign against terrorism is nothing but a big lie.

By Hossein Sheikholeslam

Hossein Sheikholeslam formerly served as Iran’s ambassador to Syria. He is currently the parliament speaker’s advisor on international issues.

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Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

WikiLeaks And The MEK: The Paradoxical Labeling Of FTOs

The U.S. designated the whistleblower website, WikiLeaks “an enemy of the state,” placing the self-described free speech project in the same category as al-Qaida, the Taliban and other foreign terrorist organizations (FTO). The unprecedented labeling of the website known for leaking classified government documents signals a new escalation in U.S. efforts to shut down WikiLeaks and other groups speaking out against crimes, corruption and misconduct in the government and armed forces.

The dubious FTO labeling was evident last week when the Mujahideen al-Khalq (MEK), an armed group of Iranian dissidents, was removed from the foreign terrorist list after years of intense lobbying by groups within the Iranian diaspora. The “enemy of the state” and “foreign terrorist organization” labels are strategically employed to advance U.S. security interests, even if those interests require support for known terrorist organizations.

WikiLeaks

The decision to classify WikiLeaks as an enemy of the state is consistent with the aggressive pursuit of Julian Assange, the founder and main proponent of the website.

Assange, who has been hiding inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since July, has been trying to secure safe passage to Ecuador. The Australian national was granted asylum by the South American country earlier this year after requesting assistance from Ecuadorian president and personal friend, Rafael Correa.

The new “enemy of the state” classification is unlikely to affect the standoff between Assange and U.K. authorities, who have pledged to arrest Assange and extradite him should he attempt to flee the embassy compound. However, the classification remains concerning for Assange and WikiLeaks supporters threatened with imprisonment.

Julian Assange’s U.S. attorney, Michael Ratner, commented on the WikiLeaks classification, saying, “In the FOI documents there is no allegation of any actual communication for publication that would aid an enemy of the United States such as al-Qaida, nor are there allegations that WikiLeaks published such information.”

Ratner elaborates, saying, “Almost the entire set of documents is concerned with the analyst’s communications with people close to and supporters of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, with the worry that she would disclose classified documents to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

“It appears that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks are the ‘enemy’. An enemy is dealt with under the laws of war, which could include killing, capturing, detaining without trial, etc,” added Ratner.

U.S. authorities have pursued Assange and other WikiLeaks contributors for publishing classified government documents, photos, videos and diplomatic cables. Assange contends that revealing secret government correspondence is necessary for maintaining transparency in a free, democratic society.

WikiLeaks has also released documents revealing crimes and misconduct by members of the U.S. armed forces conducted during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan including, most notably, a video called “Collateral Murder.” The video shows U.S. attacks on unarmed Iraqi civilians and journalists from a helicopter gunship.

Assange is also wanted by authorities in Sweden for questioning regarding a possible sexual assault.

Conversely, the U.S. has used the foreign terrorist list strategically to support an armed group called the Mujahideen al-Khalq, an armed group of Iranian dissidents opposed to the current regime. While delisting the MEK is unlikely to significantly change the standoff over Iran’s supposed nuclear program, the selective removal of the MEK shows the willingness of the U.S. to embrace violent opposition groups.

Mujahideen al-Khalq

The MEK formed as a leftist opposition group on university campuses in Tehran before the 1979 revolution. The MEK opposed the rule of the Shah and supported popular national movements for his overthrow.

However, after the rise of a new Shiite state headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the MEK become enemies of the Iranian state, launching attacks against a new government they saw as suppressing the development of democracy.

The MEK has carried out political assassinations from their base in Ashraf, Iraq. During the Iran-Iraq war, the MEK was allied with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, launching attacks against Iran from their base near the border.

Although the group has tacitly embraced non-violence in recent years, many of the core supporters in Iraq remain armed in camp Ashraf, despite repeated requests that MEK members disarm and reintegrate into mainstream society.

Equally as concerning is the deplorable conditions inside MEK camps, where leaders run what has been described as a “cultish community.” An independent report by Human Rights Watch describes the excesses and abuses within the organization.

“Human rights abuses carried out by MEK leaders against dissident members ranged from prolonged incommunicado and solitary confinement to beatings, verbal and psychological abuse, coerced confessions, threats of execution, and torture that in two cases led to death.”

The reason for recent U.S. delisting likely stems from the shared interests in regime change and, more immediately, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The MEK had been on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization list since 1997.

The selective branding of WikiLeaks, the MEK or other organizations aligns with the security interests of the U.S. While the MEK may share some of the same goals, namely, regime change in Iran, the labeling indicates an underlying desire to justify alliances in the name of security.

By Martin Michaels, MintPress

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Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Iranians see Mujahedin as traitors rather than opponents

The return of People’s Mujahedin, unpopular opponents in Iran
Washington withdrew the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran led by Maryam Rajavi, from their list of "terrorist". A decision denounced by Tehran, which required collaboration between the group and Washington.

"Old forefronts of the opposition against the Shah, but also the Islamic Republic of ayatollah Khomeini, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) was listed in 1997 as terrorist organization by the United States. Since the Iranian opposition group has renounced violence long time ago, Washington finally decided on September 28 to remove them from the list. But according to Thierry Coville, Iran’s researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), the overdue recognition is futile, because the organization suffers its image within its own country.

The opposition has lost much of its aura in Iran. "The People’s Mojahedin are opponents in exile and have lost all legitimacy in Iran since the episode of the war with Iraq, where they conducted operations against the Iranian army," explains Thierry Coville. The "Iranian public opinion far from considering them as opponents see them as traitors. They no longer enjoy any popularity among the Iranians, whether in the country or among the diasporas," he insists.

Founded in 1965 in opposition to the Shah, PMOI, with obedience to Marxism, conducted urban guerrilla actions to undermine the regime. After the 1979 Islamic revolution and the advent of ayatollah Khomeini, the organization becomes the most aggressive opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 1981, Massoud Rajavi, leader of mujahedin, founded with other opponents, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which reflected the forces opposed to the dictatorship of the Shah and ayatollah Khomeini’s government.

During the Iran / Iraq war (1980-1988), the Mujahedin settled in Iraq where they create the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA) in 1986 and launched operations against their country. In 1988, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering the execution of members of the organization. Based in France, PMOI is directed by Maryam Rajavi, the wife of Massoud Rajavi.

In announcing the news of his removal from the list of terrorist organizations, the group, which is headquartered in the Auvers-sur-Oise in suburb of Paris, in a statement hailed a "correct decision".

"Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance for the period of the transfer of sovereignty to the Iranian people, welcomed" the decision of the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "the statement said." we hope to better introduce ourselves and our goals to international community and the American people. "

Lobbying and working with American Secret Service

According to Thierry Coville, several factors explain the change in U.S. position. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran over its nuclear program are no strangers. "The fact that the United States declares the Mujahedin accessible now, is not trivial at a time when Washington and Israel raise Iran as the greatest enemy in the planet," noted the researcher.

In addition, it has been long time that PMOI seeks to improve its image. Designated in 1997 as a "terrorist" organization in the United States, it has, for several years, renounced violence and actively collaborated with the U.S. Secret Service.

"The Mujahedin have worked effectively with the U.S. Secret Service in providing information gleaned from their contacts in the country on the Iranian nuclear program, but still on the Iranian aid to Bashar al-Assad", explains the researcher.
Thierry Coville also noted that the decision of the U.S. administration is the result of a genuine communication by the Iranian opposition organization. "The Mujahedin have been lobbying and in a less conventional way: they paid services responsible for American security to testify in their favor. Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, for example, who was present at the last Congress in Paris, was paid to speak at the forum, "reveals Thierry Coville.
The decision of the U.S. State Department to remove the PMOI from the list of terrorist organizations finally coincide with the evacuation ,nearly complete and demanded by the UN and the United States, of Camp Ashraf, North of Baghdad, where the Mujahedin had occupied for years.

France24  – Translated By Nejat Society

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Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Delisting of MKO will boomerang on U.S.

The United States’ recent decision to remove the Mojahedin Khalq Organization from its list of foreign terrorist organizations will have no impact on the public perception of the group as a notorious terrorist entity.

The move was a carbon copy of what the European Union did several years ago, and it is a clear example of the double standards the U.S. government applies in dealing with the issue of terrorism.

Over the past few years, Washington has labeled many Muslim governments and organizations as terrorists, only because of their brave resistance against the hegemonic policies of the West. However, the MKO has admitted that it has killed more than 16,000 innocent citizens and government officials of Iran, and no one can deny that the group is terrorist. The United States’ double standards in dealing with the issue of terrorism and its blatant support for groups like the MKO will certainly encourage other terrorist organizations to expand the scope of their carnage.

However, the Iraqi government recently decided to close down Camp Ashraf, which was the last sanctuary of the MKO on Iraqi soil. The move greatly angered Washington, since U.S. officials had made every effort to save the camp, which many political analysts say is being used as a strategic platform for pressuring the Iranian government and nation. Despite the massive amount of pressure imposed on them by Western governments, the Iraqi people and government stood firm on their legitimate demand and showed that they are opposed to anything that undermines Iraq’s national security.

The amicable and brotherly relationship Iran and Iraq currently enjoy has its roots in the two countries’ common cultural and religious values. Thus, the U.S. decision to delist the MKO is expected to have no impact on these friendly ties. Time will prove that legitimizing the activities of a notorious terrorist group will harm the national interests of the United States more than the interests of any other country.

Hassan Kazemi Qomi formerly served as Iran’s ambassador to Iraq.

By Hassan Kazemi Qomi

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Iran

Iran Has Detailed Information on West’s Support for MKO

Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi condemned the removal of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, NCR and PMOI) from the US list of terrorist group, and said Tehran has detailed information about the various types of the western states’ support for the terrorist group.

"At present, we have precise information displaying that the US and sometimes European countries provide Monafeqin (hypocrites as they are called in Iran) with abundant facilities and equipments," Moslehi told reporters in Tehran on Monday, adding that Iran has envisaged and implemented plans to confront such supports and plots.

He said that the inimical stance shows that the arrogant powers are feeling desperate in their confrontation against the Iranian nation.

"These supports are meant to prevent annihilation of Monafeqin," the Iranian intelligence minister added.

The US State Department last Friday removed the MKO from its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The decision made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enabled the group to have its assets under US jurisdiction unfrozen and do business with American entities, the State Department said in a statement on Friday.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry last week condemned the US administration for striking the MKO (also known as MEK, NCR and PMOI) off the list of terrorist groups, saying the move displays Washington’s double standard policies.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement accused Washington of applying double standards in dealing with terrorism, reminding that the terrorist MKO is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranian civilians.

The delisting of MKO was "a violation of America’s legal and international obligations" that could threaten US interests. The decision "will bring US responsibility for past, present and future terrorist operations by this group," the statement said.

The MKO is blacklisted by much of the international community.

Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

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Terrorist groups and the MEK

Mojahedin-e Khalq terrorists in Syria

The so-called Free Syrian Army, the main armed rebel group fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s government, announced that it has set up two battalions called ‘Martyr Saddam Hussein’ in the cities of Idlib and Deir al-Zour in Syria.

In a blatant act of defiance and in a move aimed at provoking the feelings of Kurds in general and Syrian Kurds in particular, the FSA formed the two battalions.

Analysts believe that these acts, which are condemned and seen as worrisome by Kurds and all Syrians, might push the opponents to retract and backtrack on their moves against Bashar Assad’s government.
Naming the FSA battalions after Saddam Hussein was met with overwhelming outrage and condemnation by the Kurds.

Earlier reports also said that the FSA is building a military base for the anti-Iran terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, NCR and PMOI) in the bordering areas of Syria and Lebanon.

The announcement was made yesterday by Basam al-Dad, a spokesman of the terrorist Free Syrian Army. Al-Dad claimed that the group wants to enjoy the experiences and combat skills of the MKO in different battle fronts.

The MKO is blacklisted by much of the international community.

Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

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Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

Obama shoots himself in the foot

The United States recently removed the Mojahedin Khalq Organization from its list of foreign terrorist organizations, despite the fact that the MKO has been widely recognized as a terrorist group by the international community.

Pundits believe that Washington’s priority in its dealings with the MKO over the past few years has been the protection of U.S. interests and not the terrorist activities of the MKO in Iran, Iraq, and other countries. The criterion used for delisting the MKO was that it has not conducted any terrorist operations against the interests of the U.S. This is a clear manifestation of the United States’ double standards in dealing with the issue of terrorism.

Thus, the MKO remained a terrorist group while it became an instrument in the hands of the U.S. government to serve its interests, especially when it comes to countering the rising influence of Iran in the Middle East. Over the years, MKO members have provided U.S. and European intelligence agencies reports about Iran’s nuclear program, some of which were disinformation. The 2013 presidential election in Iran will also provide another opportunity for the MKO to conduct activities against the Iranian government and people.

However, many political analysts believe U.S. President Barack Obama made a huge mistake when he decided to delist the group. The MKO’s long record of terrorist activities, including the slaughter of thousands of innocent citizens, has increased Iranians’ hatred of the group. Obama’s decision will certainly be met with disdain in Iran and the rest of the world and will create a negative impression of Obama’s rhetoric about fighting against terrorism. U.S. citizens have now gained a better perception and a more detailed picture of what Obama’s foreign policy stands for and are beginning to realize that the U.S. government’s so-called campaign against terrorism is just a pretext to realize its goals.

Since he came to power in 2009, Obama has repeatedly declared that he will make every effort to gain the trust of the Iranian government and people. However, by delisting the MKO, Obama shot himself in the foot.

Mohammad Jamshidi is the director of the foreign policy department of the research center of the Iranian parliament.

By Mohammad Jamshidi

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Mujahedin Khalq Organization as a terrorist group

MKO, A Potential Global Threat

The US has accepted the responsibility of a terrorist threat unleashed with intact fangs
A venomoid is a venomous snake made harmless, but extracting its venom or exposed to cold temperature means a dangerous but temporarily harmless and inactive snake. The serious difference between the two is a matter of life and death for those in touch. So, there is the very same serious difference when a dangerous terrorist cult surrenders its arms and publically renounces terrorism, as well as making alterations in its infrastructural organizational principles, and the one that is forcibly disposed of weapons to curb its threatening terrorist and militarist potentiality. The State Department’s decision to delist the designated MKO is a clear indication of the two latter illustrations.

A more perfect illustration is provided in a tale in Persian literature, Rumi’s ‘The Snake-Catcher’s Tale’. A snake-catcher went into the mountains in winter and found a sluggish, inactive snake. He brought it back to the city claiming to have killed a dragon! And the gathered crowed were amazed and fascinated by the big task! But the hot sun woke the terrible life and dormant bestial potentiality in it; it tore easily and hungrily loose, spreading panic and killing many instantly including the snake-catcher himself.

The State Department delisted MKO credited with a decade long inactivity in terrorism and also for peacefully leaving its paramilitary base, Camp Ashraf. But how can an innately violent and terrorist group, gone into a state of inactivity for many reasons, claim it has forsworn terrorism without a single alteration in its old principles it stresses to maintain? As Bijan Niyabati, a leftist ideologue of the group, has emphatically and repeatedly stated, “Any criticism of MKO’s strategy of widespread armed struggle adopted in military phase that may deny necessity of armed resistance is deemed absolutely illegitimate”.

Notably, a series of the organization’s early pamphlets, designed to provide the basis for its general aspirations and systematic world-outlook, explicitly theorize and advocate the violent strategy of armed struggle. In fact, the cornerstone of its struggle when emerged as an opposition was partly the Machiavellian doctrine of the ‘end justifying the means’. A specified catalogue of these early booklets and pamphlets that were drafted by a selected ideological team to manifest the organizational ideology and policy are still strongly valued as practicable. The specific series are entitled Takamol (Evolution), Shenakht (Epistemology), Cheguneh Quran biamuzim (How to study the Koran), Rah-e anbiya rah-e bashar (The way of the prophets: the way of humanity) and finally a book entitled An account of the formation and short history of Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization from 1965 to 1975.

Its ideology conforming more closely to the modern phenomenon of terrorism as a tool of a political movement, MKO believes it is also a phenomenon itself among all other opposition groups. Naturally, it opposes any criticism and change of strategy and resists urges of modifications in general ideology as well as refusing to grasp the necessity of laws ruling over the phenomenon. As stated in its published ‘An account of the formation and short history of Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization’, “To make any change in any phenomenon, one has to develop a comprehensive recognition of it. In respect to society and social movement and struggle, the recognition is of great significance because of their complexity. Thus, any change within a phenomenon, society and social movement requires recognition of the laws controlling them”.

Relatively, if any change is to happen within MKO concerning disavowal of terrorism, the ideological principles that legitimize aggressive conduct has to be removed from its methodology of struggle, otherwise, it is hard to believe that it will be unwavering in its renunciation of terrorism. Armed strategy is the effect of the group’s principal ideological cause and source and its renunciation is totally out of question if the cause remains intact.

The change in principles is a move of such great significance that even MKO itself cannot ensure to what degree it is feasible and practical. Not in a single occasion has the organization tried to convince neither the insiders nor the outsiders that it intends to actualize the will to stop military and violent activities. Now, how the State Department has come to warrant MKO’s terrorist inactivity for a certain period remains a mystery, but at least it has actually accepted the responsibility of a terrorist threat unleashed with intact fangs but extracted venom!

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Mujahedin Khalq; A proxy force

The War of Terror, the Obama Administration, Abu Hamza and MEK

My enemy’s enemy is my friend? The War of Terror, the Obama Administration, Abu Hamza and MEK

As an old Arabic proverb goes ‘me and my brother against my cousin. Me, my brother and my cousin against the stranger’. This is perhaps the best description of International relations and global politics. The question of ‘who is the stranger’ is often contentious in the ‘war of terror’. In the Second World War ‘the stranger’ was Nazi Germany and during the Cold War it was the Soviet Union. The enemy was a state and the objective was clear it was to defeat that state ideologically, politically and morally. The ‘War on Terror’ is a shift away from a ‘state-centric’ The War of Terror, the Obama Administration, Abu Hamza and MEKenemy and the ‘stranger’ has become an organisation, idea, person, book, the internet etc.. The ‘stranger’ is broadly speaking a ‘terrorist’ which is a generic and abstract term which could apply to almost anyone. At current there is no agreed international definition for what constitutes a ‘terrorist’, as many governments decide on a per group or individual basis.

This week saw two separate but equally important events which cut’s to the core of this debate. The first important event is the ruling of the European court of human rights ruling, that Abu Hamza Al-Masri should be extradited to the United States. Abu Hamza stands accused of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in rural Oregon in the United States. His legal team have been fighting against the extradition proceeding since he was arrested in 2004. The Governments of the United States and Britain clearly regard Abu Hamza as a ‘terrorist’ although no charges of terrorism have yet been proven. At the minute Abu Hamza is guilty of making inflammatory, racist and anti-Semitic speeches. However, Abu Hamza is perhaps fortunate that he lives in the UK unlike Yemeni based Anwar Al-Aulaqi was killed in a US drone strike. Al-Aulaqi was an American citizen who denounced the US in his speeches but there is no evidence that he was involved in any ‘terrorist’ activity. The reason for his killing is still a mystery however it is known that Al-Anulaqi was on a ‘secret kill list’ that the Obama Administration set up. Since taking office President Obama has along with his national security team preceded over so-called ‘death panels’, in-which decisions about who to kill are made.

The second important event has been the de-listing of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MKO or MEK) from the US state department’s terrorism list. The MEK has been on the state department’s list since 1997 for their involvement in a series of bombings during the 1980’s in Iran. The organisation was born in the 1960’s and sought to fuse Marxism and Islam in order to combat the Shah’s regime. After the Islamic revolution in 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini declared them to be an enemy organisation and executed and expelled its members. The MEK took refuge in Iraq and allied itself with Saddam Hussein during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war. Allying themselves with Iraq made the organisation very unpopular in Iran so much so that recruitment dried up. The organisation effectively turned itself into a cult for its remaining members and has been accused by opponents of strange cultist practises which include vowels of celibacy, forceful divorce and odd sexual practises.

The MEK declares itself to be the ‘secular democratic’ opponents to the Islamic regime but their coalition with Saddam Hussein led them to be listed by the state department. American forces targeted the MEK during the 2003 invasion of Iraq for its alliance with the Iraqi dictator. The MEK sent many of its wealthy members to the United States and Europe. Using their wealth the MEK lobbied many high profile US officials and politicians and this led to their recent de-enlistment. Behind closed doors it is alleged that the MEK and the US have been working together for many years as Seymour Hersh reported in 2008, US Special Forces were training MEK members in the United States. There have been previous reports that the Israelis were financing, training and arming the MEK for operations against Iran. It has been reported that the MEK on behalf of Israel is responsible for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists. It should be noted that there is no evidence that Iran is currently pursing nuclear weapons according to the US intelligence estimate reports. If Abu Hamza is the case to go by then the suggestion alone that MEK were involved in the assassination of scientist should have left them on the list.

However, this is not the case and the US has turned the MEK from a ‘stranger’ into a ‘cousin’ albeit a long-distant one. The changing status of the MEK opens up serious questions about the definition of ‘terrorist’. The suspicion here is that its only terrorism if you attack or kill Americans or Western not Iranians. By doing this the US increase the on-going tension in the Middle East in general and Iran in-particular. It will make Iran more hostile towards the United States and possibly push the region closer to war.

By Usman Butt – Catch21.co.uk

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