Iran Policy Committee (IPC), the infamous lobbying group comprising retired CIA and Arms trade employees, has been assigned to act as the mouthpiece of the Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (MEK, currently on the terrorist lists of the USA, UK, European Union and Canada). Employment of the ICP came about after the Mojahedin’s alias National Council of Resistance of Iran was added to the terrorist list and its activates halted by the police.
Last week the Supreme Court of the US refused to hear the appeal by Mojahedin Lawyers against prosecution of its fundraisers since it did not consider their case even fit to be heard.
The American army bombarded the Mojahedin’s Iraqi bases and disarmed them 3 years ago. Since then about 800 of them have been helped to return home to their families. The US army is tasked with dismantling the MEK camp (Camp Ashraf) and is handing this responsibility to a small Bulgarian army unit in Iraq.
The Iraqi Government has demanded the removal of MEK terrorists from Iraqi territory as soon as is practicable. Dismantlement of the MEK’s Camp Ashraf (where about 3000 ageing men and women have been held captive from the time of fall of their benefactor Saddam Hussein) is expected to take place in the next few weeks.
The Iranian Government has made it clear on several occasions that not a penny would be paid for this dead horse.
It is widely believed that the final phase of dismantlement will take place within weeks with a new screening process which will allow the rank and file members to be freed and repatriated, leaving about 200 hard core members to be detained for further investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The group’s (aka Saddam’s Private Army) few desperate lobbyists in the Israeli lobby in Washington have long lived on the reaction of different officials announcing the group should not be approached because of its long history of violence, participation in the massacre of Iraqi Kurds on behalf of Saddam Hussein and the assassination of many civilians including American citizens in Iran. In the wake of the group’s gradual disappearance, such reactions have been muted, particularly over the last few months. The MEK is increasingly irrelevant to the political scene in Iran or in Iraq.
In this situation, Raymond Tanter is trying his best to get either the US army, or the Iraqi Government or the Iranian Government to react to his claim that there are still some people who think they could use the group. This is the only way the group can claim any credence as a viable entity – simply by reflection of any acknowledgement that it exists.
It must be said simply that this approach is ‘too little, too late’. No one expects any reaction to his ridiculous claims neither from the US, Iraq nor Iran.
The Mojahedin Khalq Organisation (Rajavi cult) died a long time ago. These tragi-comedy scripts cannot revive them, much as some wish they could.
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SOURCE Iran Policy Committee
"…Drawing on the conclusion of the White Paper, Professor Tanter said, "Because the Iranian regime is the primary power broker in Iraq, it is necessary for the United States to devise methods of restraining Tehran’s influence. Countering the Iranian regime in Iraq requires reaching out to its main opposition-the Mujahedeen-e Khalq. But such a move is not to assist the MEK; rather, reaching out to the MEK serves as a political counterweight to the Iranian regime’s influence in Iraq, helps the United States end the sectarian violence and the insurgency, and balances the U.S. Government offer to join the international community in holding direct talks with the Iranian regime."
"Professor Tanter also said, "As the Iranian regime increases sectarian strife in Iraq, new analysis by the Iran Policy Committee suggests a role for the Iranian opposition in Iraq to help build a national compact among Iraqi factions." Professor Tanter concluded, "One way to overcome the acrimony between the U.S. Government and Sunni politicians is to utilize an interlocutor trusted by both groups. The Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) in Iraq can function in just this capacity; indeed, the MEK already engages in quiet negotiations with Iraqi factions and has excellent relations with the U.S. military.""
Massoud Khodabandeh, January 13, 2007