Iran busts CIA terror network

[halliburtonsux]

Source: tehrantimes.com

Iran busts CIA terror network
Tehran Times Political Desk
May 18, 2008

TEHRAN - The Intelligence Ministry on Saturday released details of the detection and dismantling of a terrorist network affiliated to the United States.


In a coordinated operation on May 7, Iranian intelligence agents arrested the terrorist network’s members, who were identified in Fars, Khuzestan, Gilan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces, the Intelligence Ministry announcement said.

The group’s plans were devised in the U.S., according to the announcement, which added that they had planned to carry out a number of acts such as bombing scientific, educational, and religious centers, shooting people, and making public places in various cities insecure.

One of the terrorists was killed in the operation, but the rest are in detention, the Intelligence Ministry said, adding that the group’s main objective was to create fear among the people.

<snip>



Read more: http://www.legitgov.org/tehrantimes_iran_cia_terror_180508.html

---

Comcast was apparently blocking access to tehrantimes.com.

[angstlessk]

1. ya know, back in the 'old days' I recall we would dismiss out of hand

these accusations and as proof we would say we know the Iranian government tortures detainees in order to elicit a confession....we no long have the right to claim that! :grr:

[cstanleytech]

4. Well, until there is something firmer other than

their claims I will be treating it just like I would treat a press release that came from the Bush whitehouse.

[angstlessk]

6. while I agree we need more info..the US has less credibility when

it comes to Iran than Iran has when it comes to the US...we are saber rattling them, while they are saber rattling Israel.

[choie]

20. our credibility with Iran died

in 1953 when we overthrew Mossadeq

[Truth2Tell]

74. We are doing more than saber rattling

http://www.counterpunch.org/andrew05022008.html

Secret Bush "Finding" Widens War on Iran
By ANDREW COCKBURN

Six weeks ago, President Bush signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that, according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope."

Bush’s secret directive covers actions across a huge geographic area – from Lebanon to Afghanistan – but is also far more sweeping in the type of actions permitted under its guidelines – up to and including the assassination of targeted officials. This widened scope clears the way, for example, for full support for the military arm of Mujahedin-e Khalq, the cultish Iranian opposition group, despite its enduring position on the State Department's list of terrorist groups.

Similarly, covert funds can now flow without restriction to Jundullah, or "army of god," the militant Sunni group in Iranian Baluchistan – just across the Afghan border -- whose leader was featured not long ago on Dan Rather Reports cutting his brother in law's throat.

Other elements that will benefit from U.S. largesse and advice include Iranian Kurdish nationalists, as well the Ahwazi arabs of south west Iran. Further afield, operations against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon will be stepped up, along with efforts to destabilize the Syrian regime.

All this costs money, which in turn must be authorized by Congress, or at least a by few witting members of the intelligence committees. That has not proved a problem. An initial outlay of $300 million to finance implementation of the finding has been swiftly approved with bipartisan support, apparently regardless of the unpopularity of the current war and the perilous condition of the U.S. economy.

And who are these guys we are funding?

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

Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) is the largest and most militant group opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Also known as the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, MEK is led by husband and wife Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. MEK was added to the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist groups in 1997.

-snip

Activities

The group has targeted Iranian government officials and government facilities in Iran and abroad; during the 1970s, it attacked Americans in Iran. While the group says it does not intentionally target civilians, it has often risked civilian casualties. It routinely aims its attacks at government buildings in crowded cities. MEK terrorism has declined since late 2001. Incidents linked to the group include:

The series of mortar attacks and hit-and-run raids during 2000 and 2001 against Iranian government buildings; one of these killed Iran’s chief of staff

The 2000 mortar attack on President Mohammad Khatami’s palace in Tehran

The February 2000 "Operation Great Bahman," during which MEK launched 12 attacks against Iran

The 1999 assassination of the deputy chief of Iran’s armed forces general staff, Ali Sayyad Shirazi

The 1998 assassination of the director of Iran’s prison system, Asadollah Lajevardi

The 1992 near-simultaneous attacks on Iranian embassies and institutions in 13 countries Assistance to Saddam Hussein’s suppression of the 1991 Iraqi Shiite and Kurdish uprisings

The 1981 bombing of the offices of the Islamic Republic Party and of Premier Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, which killed some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei and Bahonar Support for the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by Iranian revolutionaries

The 1970s killings of U.S. military personnel and civilians working on defense projects in Tehran

In the early 1970s, angered by U.S. support for the pro-Western shah, MEK members killed several U.S. soldiers and civilians working on defense projects in Iran... MEK members also supported the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, in which 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.

And these guys...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jundallah

Jundullah (Army of Allah)... is a militant organization that is based in Balochistan. It is a part of the Baloch insurgency in Pakistan and in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan Province. Jundallah claims that it has 1,000 fighters and has killed Iranian soldiers. The group has been identified as a terrorist organization by Iran and Pakistan. Some believe the group is linked to Al-Qaeda.

-snip

The group's leader is known to be Abdolmalek Rigi (also known as Emir Abdul Malek Baloch)...

In an interview with Dan Rather, Rigi describes the Iranian military as "cowardly" and in that video, he cuts off a person's head in front of the camera, in Al-Qaeda style.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jundullah

Regi "used to fight with the Taliban" and is "part drug smuggler, part Taliban, part Sunni activist," according to Alexis Debat, a "senior fellow on counterterrorism at the Nixon Center and an ABC News consultant who recently met with Pakistani officials and tribal members," Ross and Isham wrote.

"Pakistani government sources say the secret campaign against Iran by Jundullah was on the agenda when Vice President Dick Cheney met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in February," Ross and Isham wrote. "A senior U.S. government official said groups such as Jundullah have been helpful in tracking al Qaeda figures and that it was appropriate for the U.S. to deal with such groups in that context."

"Some former CIA officers say the arrangement is reminiscent of how the U.S. government used proxy armies, funded by other countries including Saudi Arabia, to destabilize the government of Nicaragua in the 1980s,"...

[SpiralHawk]

10. "Smirk. Occultist Evil Doers are, like, everywhere. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

[angstlessk]

24. LOVE it..have not seen MoPaul art for some time..got a link to where

he/she is now??

[Matteon]

13. I concur...

...It would be irresponsible, I think, to take what they say at face value without corroboration from a more reliable source.

[JackRiddler]

40. Oh, really?

You might be skeptical, but wouldn't you find evidence that the Bush WH had released some claim automatically on AP, CNN, Reuters, Google News, NY Times?

Absolutely no coverage so far of the Iranian claims. Simply incredible!

[cstanleytech]

41. You mean a WH claim denying it?

Why should they bother, it looks bad to them if they make any kinda statement, even a denial so they probably will wait to see what if any real evidence Iran has before saying anything.

[JackRiddler]

46. NO.

I mean any coverage in the Western media that Iran has said this - any at all.

[Ian David]

23. Even Fox Noise Channel sometimes reports actual news. I assume Tehran Times sometimes does too.

However, neither CLG nor Tehran Times are credible enough sources for The LBN Forum.

I'll K&R this topic in the General Discussion forum, but not here. Here, I'm hitting Alert.

And by the way, I have Comcast, and I was able to access the article just fine.

[Jack Rabbit]

34. We -- that is, you and I -- can still use that as a basis of skepticism

And I am skeptical of this claim for that reason, among others.

What changes today is that I would be equally skeptical of any claim from the US government (read: the Rush Regime) and much of that for the very same reason. As for the Regime's "right" to make such a claim, they can still make it (and, in such circumstances. just watch them do it). What changes is that they can't very well claim that torture is ineffective when Iranians do it but effective when neoconservatives do it.

[L. Coyote]

2. I can access the Tehran Times article direct here:

http://tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=168823

..........

The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated.

The terrorists had maps, films, pictures, and sketches of important and sensitive sites in various cities in their possession when they were arrested.

They also had a large number of weapons and ammunition and a great deal of highly explosive chemicals and cyanide.

The blast at a religious center in Shiraz last month was carried out by this group ........

==========
Does not sound like the US Generals Propaganda Project wrote this one! :rofl:

[halliburtonsux]

3. Yup, but some folks cannot access it, especially those who...

have Comcast.

[globalvillage]

5. I have Comcast.

It's not blocked.

[deadmessengers]

7. I have Comcast and I can see it just fine

Please adjust your AFDB - you're getting false-positives.

[crimsonblue]

62. I have ATT dsl

and it is totally blocked. I have an onion server that I sometimes switch on, and was able to see the page... Why is ATT censoring this website?

[Igel]

75. Yes, the Shiraz blast.

When the story quietly shifted from an mosque accident to terrorism, I knew something was up.

It was apparently too embarrassing for it to have simply been an accident with leftover munitions from some exhibition ... held in the mosque. That story didn't last long in print--and lasted barely as long in neurons--even though it was the Iranian News Agency propagating it.

[Turbineguy]

8. There was also a time

When the CIA could do such ops with a lower risk of detection. But that was before the mass retirements and resignations of qualified personel to make way for incompetent Bushbots.

The CIA is one of the many broken agencies that face a slow recovery from the Bush years.

[raystorm7]

9. It's funny, I believe the Iran Gov't more than my own. Thanks, Bush Co. :)

[halliburtonsux]

12. Me too. n/t

[L. Coyote]

28. Tehran Times is NOT the Iranian government.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_info.asp?I=A

If you ever pass by Ostad Nejatollahi Street at Bimeh Alley you will see a sign surrounded by jasmine branches on the wall of an old house, which leads you to Iran’s first English daily newspaper, the Tehran Times. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, there was a need for an international media outlet to export the ideas of the revolution.

Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Beheshti realized the need and the English-language Tehran Times was born concurrently with the revolution. The daily’s general policy was based on Ayatollah Beheshti’s statement: “The Tehran Times is not the newspaper of the government; it must be a loud voice of the Islamic Revolution and the loudspeaker of the oppressed people of the world.”

This sentence is written on the exterior wall of the newspaper’s offices, so that it is always remembered by the staff as a motto. Now, after nearly three decades, the Tehran Times has become a strong tree, the fruit of which is attracting readers from over 80 different countries. Every day, the newspaper staff comes together from different parts of the metropolis of Tehran to present their work on the next day in 16 pages at the newsstands. The Tehran Times covers domestic, political, social, foreign, and sports news and also includes commentary.

Due to its accepted duties, the Tehran Times makes a special effort to publish reports on cultural and religious issues. For Islamic celebrations and religious occasions, the culture and arts page is dedicated to the event. To make the content more colorful, additional stories on Iran’s tourist attractions, women’s issues, children’s issues, and the Internet are also included and those interested can read them on special pages every week. The Tehran Times has become a reliable news source for hundreds of foreign media outlets as well as envoys from different countries based in Tehran, who read it to learn about the country’s current events. The Tehran Times also has an educational function since English language students use it as a source to learn Standard English. Www.tehrantimes.com is among the most frequently visited websites with over 10,000 visitors each day.

[raystorm7]

30. Why I said "GOVT" not the "Tehran Times", in general terms when it comes to current obvious facts.

[northernlights]

11. Given our current administration's disdain

for the CIA, right down to doing untold damage and endangering many lives by outing an undercover agent for its political gain, sadly nothing surprises me any more. The agency has probably been gutted, refilled with political operatives instead of qualified agents and is a shell of itself.

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that "we" started covert operations in Iran?

[magellan]

49. Yep, signed off and paid for by Congress. n/t

[Doctor_J]

14. This is how WWW III will start

Bush destroyed Iraq because a handful of Saudis flew planes into the WTC. By rights, I guess Iran would now be justified in attacking the US.

[L. Coyote]

29. Didn't WWIII start when Reagan bombed refugee camps?

Or, have we forgotten why the Marine barracks were bombed, ..... and all that has followed?

[FarCenter]

15. Islamic Republic New Agency story

New findings divulge US hand in Shiraz bombing Tehran, May 17, IRNA

Iran-US-Terrorists http://www1.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0805176583165226.htm

New findings divulge the US hand in terrorist bombing at a mosque in Shiraz which left a dozen dead last April, Ministry of Information said on Saturday.

"Investigations from the suspects indicated that a terrorist network has been backed by the US," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that its forces have thwarted numerous terrorist plots and obtained classified documents which indicated the US and the Israeli logistical support for terrorist group.

It said that the US-Israeli-backed terrorist group has targeted religious sentiments of the people and carries terrorist operations against the religious centers in Iran.

A complete report on the group will be made public in the near future, said the statement.

"Iran will embark on diplomatic campaign against the US and Britain and will take legal action with the United Nations against the two sponsors of terror squads against Iran."

On April 12, some 12 people were killed and more than 190 others wounded in an explosion at a cultural center that was part of a mosque in the city of Shiraz, southern province of Fars.

Iran's Prosecutor General Qorban-Ali Dorri Najaf-Abadi has been assigned to follow up the case.

[dixiegrrrrl]

16. I've had suspicions

that many of the "suicide" bombs and "IEDS" were remotely controlled by "our side"....

even if Tehran is making this up, it is no different than what the Usa Regime has been making up..same language, too:

"The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated.

The terrorists had maps, films, pictures, and sketches of important and sensitive sites in various cities in their possession when they were arrested.

They also had a large number of weapons and ammunition and a great deal of highly explosive chemicals and cyanide."

CIA did a better job in Tehran than it did with those poor retarded guys who were caught in the FBI sting and accused of targeting the Sears Tower.

[last1standing]

17. Does anyone doubt that the bush* administration is working to create instability in Iran?

Conversely, if a group of people were trying to create instability in the U.S. would we not term them as "terrorists"?

If you can put these two concepts together you will see what the rest of the world sees when looking at us.

[halliburtonsux]

32. Our tax dollars at work. n/t

[AntiFascist]

48. Look at 'Operation Chaos' within the United States...

there have been incidents of right-wing trouble makers at anti-war rallies who try to instigate violence just so people can be arrested or intimidated. These types of operations probably exist at many different levels, and I have no problem calling them terrorists.

[judasdisney]

52. "These type of operations exist at many different levels" ... AHEM.

Amen.

[nashville_brook]

18. the terrorist had cyanide and planned to attack a Book Fair, the Russian Consulate, & oil pipelines

They also had a large number of weapons and ammunition and a great deal of highly explosive chemicals and cyanide.

The blast at a religious center in Shiraz last month was carried out by this group, and it also had plans to carry out similar attacks on the Tehran International Book Fair, the Russian Consulate in Gilan Province, oil pipelines in southern Iran, and other targets, the communiqué stated.

[maddezmom]

19. here's Reuters story from yesterday: Iran says mosque bombers planned oil pipeline attack

Iran says mosque bombers planned oil pipeline attack
Sat May 17, 2008 1:48pm BST Email | Print | Share| Single Page| Recommend (0) <-> Text <+> TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Saturday U.S. agents had armed and trained those behind a deadly blast in a mosque last month and that pipelines in the country's oil-rich south were also among the planned targets.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday Iran had evidence the United States, Britain and Israel were involved in the April 12 blast in the southern city of Shiraz that killed 14 people and wounded 200.

Iranian officials had initially said the explosion during an evening prayer sermon was caused by explosives left over from an exhibition commemorating the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

The Islamic Republic, which is embroiled in a standoff with the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear plans, has yet to make public evidence against those arrested and the alleged involvement of its old foes.

Iran's allegations about the Shiraz explosions are similar to accusations U.S. officials have made about Iranian support for militias in Iraq that have fought U.S. and U.S.-backed government forces there, charges Tehran denies.

more:http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKHOS73659420080517

[halliburtonsux]

38. Good find! n/t

[Dystopian]

21. K&R - P2OG

I recall reading about P2OG a few years back, our government's attempts at stirring up the 'enemy' to enable a US strike.
I believe the black ops are at work. :scared:
I read a lot about P2OG, and it just faded away.....
I just googled it, and one has to actually pay for the original article from the LA times now, but there's another link to it here:

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/SecretWar.html



peace~

[halliburtonsux]

25. Thanks for the K&R and...

That's a great Obama pin!

[Dystopian]

27. You're quite welcome.

Thank you....I love the pin, also :-)
And I must say:
Welcome to DU! You're off to a great start here.
It's a crazy place! ;)


peace~

[VP505]

35. Here is something more recent , May 07

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/bush_authorizes.html

[halliburtonsux]

39. Unbelievable - and the media labels the Iranian government terrorist?

Bush and Cheney are the actual terrorists.

[Dystopian]

43. Thank you for the link.

I couldn't believe the comments bashing ABC for putting out this story. As a whole, I think our entire country is ignorant...most people get their information from the MSM, and we are a nation of sheep. Nice find, thank you very much.

peace~

[Marie26]

65. Thanks

That's a great article. It's easy to dismiss the Iranian story as propaganda, but the ABC story confirms that the Bush Ad. has ordered black ops within Iran. But according to ABC, it only authorizes "non-lethal" operations (officially, at least). It looks like the neocons, Hadley & Abrams, are in charge of this plan. Abrams was also in charge of managing the Contra terrorist group in Central America during the Reagan Adm.


Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran

"The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions. ....

Also briefed on the CIA proposal, according to intelligence sources, were National Security Advisor Steve Hadley and Deputy National Security Advisor Elliott Abrams. "The entire plan has been blessed by Abrams, in particular," said one intelligence source familiar with the plan. "And Hadley had to put his chop on it.....

As earlier reported on the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the United States has supported and encouraged an Iranian militant group, Jundullah, that has conducted deadly raids inside Iran from bases on the rugged Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan "tri-border region." U.S. officials deny any "direct funding" of Jundullah groups but say the leader of Jundullah was in regular contact with U.S. officials.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/bush_authorizes.html


Jundallah was allegedly headed by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, an Al-Qaeda leader. If this article is true, the US is actually aiding Al-Qaeda splinter groups in an effort to create terror attacks against Iran.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jundullah

[lebkuchen]

22. creating fear among the people....

Sounds more like an importation of US culture per the Chimpy administration.

[jeff30997]

26. K&R

Very interesting.

[halliburtonsux]

31. Yup. BTW, there were 1200 views of this item - does anyone know

where they went?

[DU GrovelBot]

33. ## DON'T DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

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[ileus]

36. tehrantimes... woo woo you know it's true. LOL

[halliburtonsux]

37. Background has been confirmed by many other sources.

n/t

[cstanleytech]

42. Links? NT

[halliburtonsux]

44. A few can be found here:

Originals were all found here.

Iran says intercepted terrorist attack on Russian consulate 14 May 2008 Iran has arrested a terrorist group that planned to blow up the Russian consulate building in the town of Rasht near the Caspian Sea, the Iranian intelligence and security minister said on Wednesday. "This terrorist network, with links to the U.S., planned an explosion at the Russian consulate in Rasht, aiming to create a rift between Iran and its neighbors," Qolam Hosein Mohseni-Ejei was quoted by Fars news agency as saying. http://en.rian.ru/world/20080514/107350350.html

Iran says mosque bombers also planned Russia attack 14 May 2008 Iran's intelligence minister said on Wednesday those behind a bomb blast in a mosque that killed 14 people last month also planned to target a Russian consulate in the Islamic state, an Iranian news agency reported. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States, Israel and Britain on Tuesday of being responsible for the blast in the southern city of Shiraz that also wounded 200 people. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSHOS437568

Iran holds U.S. responsible for terror attack on diplomats in Baghdad 17 May 2008 Iran has denounced a "terror attack" on its embassy staff in Baghdad and held the United States responsible for violating diplomatic immunity in Iraq, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made the remarks, while strongly condemning the terror attack, said IRNA. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/17/content_8195149.htm

Iran blames US after diplomats are shot in Baghdad 18 May 2008 Iran angrily blamed the US on Friday after at least three of its diplomats were wounded in a Baghdad shooting, saying the US was encouraging attacks on Iranians in Iraq. The shooting, which may have been by Iraqi soldiers during an argument at a checkpoint, comes amid unprecedented strains between Iran and the Iraqi government, which has long been close to Tehran. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2008/05/18/2003412282

Pentagon Propagandist General Calls for US to Sponsor Terrorism Against Iran By Bill W. 16 May 2008 Last month on Fox News, Ret. Gen. Thomas McInerney, one of the Pentagon’s propaganda team of military analysts exposed by David Barstow in the NYT, openly called for the US to begin committing "tit-for-tat" terrorist attacks by proxy inside Iran: "Here’s what I would suggest to you. Number one, we take the National Council for Resistance to Iran off the terrorist list that the Clinton Administration put them on as well as the Mujahedin-e Khalq at the Camp Ashraf in Iraq. Then I would start a tit-for-tat strategy which I wrote up in the Wall Street Journal a year ago: For every EFP that goes off and kills Americans, two go off in Iran. No questions asked. People don’t have to know how it was done. It's a covert action. They become the most unlucky country in the world..." Media Matters’ exhaustive research into the NYT story shows that McInerney appeared on Fox News 144 times since Jan 2002, and according to this bio from last year’s "Intelligence Summit," McInerney is on the Board of Directors for several companies with defense-related contracts that would seem to benefit from his pro-war propaganda. http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/15/pentagon-propagandist-general-calls-for-us-to-sponsor-terrorism-against-iran/

[cstanleytech]

45. Eh, seems to me its mostly the same with more

"Iran claims" and "Iran says" other than that retired general and ummm, he is retired and just because thats what he would do does not constitute proof.
What about something like a report released from a 3rd part intelligence agency or even a statement from a 3rd party government that has evidence, do you have any of those?

[halliburtonsux]

47. Are the only '3d party' gov't statements you'd accept are those from

Bush-friendly governments?
Just curious.

[cstanleytech]

50. Nah, I was thinking more of spain or maybe france or are they pro bush these days?

Edit: forgot to add italy

[halliburtonsux]

53. Well, France is and (now) so is Italy, but it doesn't hurt to find more...

links.

[cstanleytech]

54. Yup never hurts just see if you can come across any reports confirming

the claims.
Sorry to be such a hardass about but ever since Iran took those hostages back in the 70s its been hard for me to trust them, I was starting to trust them a bit though a few years ago, you remember it was when they had started to open up more and become someone more free and it really did sadden me when they reverted back to the hardline religion making the rules pretty much again.

[tom_paine]

59. It's not that Iran is so trustowrthy, it's that the rulers of Imperial Amerika are so criminal

I agree with you and feel the same antipathy towards Iran from the 70s.

Again, people's skepticism (or lack thereof) is not so much reflective of Iran as it is from the fact that our nation has no Constitution, no Bill of Rights, and NO Rule of Law.

Bushie can and have gotten away with murder, to say the least. Why would they stop? Hell, even Gonzales remains free and he perjured himself in a way that is metaphorically identical to running down the street with a severed head in his hands and STILL he walks free...and likely continue to do so.

Ironically, you are correct about Iran, and it is no coincdience that their "liberty factions", so to speak, became disempowered just after the Bushies revealed what a hollow shell and a joke American "democracy" had become.

[DireStrike]

51. Goddamn, now THAT'S terrorism

>The group’s plans were devised in the U.S., according to the announcement, which added that they had planned to carry out a number of acts such as bombing scientific, educational, and religious centers, shooting people, and making public places in various cities insecure. <

Man, we are good at this. Must be all the practice.

[halliburtonsux]

60. Yeah, Bush's war on (of) terror should actually be a war against *himself.*

n/t

[and-justice-for-all]

55. Oddly, I can not get the Tehran times page to load...

I will try again later, to see if it is not because of traffic on the site.

On Edit: It finally loaded.

[halliburtonsux]

57. Yup, many people told me that.

n/t

[Faux pas]

56. The CIA has been flucking around with countries who have

natural resources that we think we should ours for at least 50 years, and people don't want to believe this?? Time for a big old dose of reality folks.

[halliburtonsux]

58. Wait until the US privatizes the water supply. I am sure Bush and Cheney...

are working on getting the 'usual suspects' (KBR, Halliburton and Blackwater) to profit on selling and 'protecting' the US water supply. One small (real or imagined) 'terror attack' and that's where we are.

[Virginia Dare]

64. The Bush family has already prepared for that eventuality..

bought 100,000 acres on one of the world's largest aquifiers..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/oct/23/mainsection.tomphillips

[Faux pas]

72. Also, I think I read that boosh's land in paraguay sits on a huge

aquifer. If they can't steal our water, they'll take it from the (even) less fortunate. There aren't enough derogatory words in any language to describe these a-holes.

[New Dawn]

61. K&R

[Marie26]

63. Does this make the US a "state sponsor of terror?" nt

[halliburtonsux]

67. Why yes, yes it does.

n/t

[Marie26]

73. Other articles

Telegraph (UK): "However, the CIA is giving arms-length support, supplying money and weapons, to an Iranian militant group, Jundullah, which has conducted raids into Iran from bases in Pakistan."

"Bush sanctions 'black ops' against Iran" -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1552784/Bush-sanctions-%27black-ops%27-against-Iran.html

CS Monitor: "Jundullah, which claims that Iran's Shiite regime is oppressing its Baluchi minority, has claimed responsibility for bombings, kidnappings, and televised beheadings that have killed more than a dozen Iranian troops and officials. In February the group said it carried out a car-bomb attack targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guard in Zahedan, the provincial capital in southeastern Iran, killing 11."

US backing 'secret war' against Iran? -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0405/p99s01-duts.html



State Dept. criteria for being declared a "state sponsor of terrorism" - "The seven states on our terrorism list, have a proven history of sponsoring terrorism either directly or by providing training, money, weapons, logistical support, and safe haven to terrorists. These are the criteria we use to designate state sponsors for terrorism."

http://www.state.gov/s/ct/c14151.htm
http://www.germanlawjournal.com/article.php?id=188#fuss16

I honestly think the US qualifies under the State Dept.'s own definition - sanctions include bans on arms exports, and a prohibition on Defense Dept. contracts above $100,000 for corporations in that country.

[Echo In Light]

66. K&R - Phony "war."

[leftchick]

68. This is much more plausible than "Iranians Arming Sadrists in Iraq" bs

as mister porter spells out so well. Too bad the western media refuses to do its job. Again.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42373

Bogus Claim, al-Maliki Stall U.S. Plan on Iran Arms

Analysis by Gareth Porter*

WASHINGTON, May 14 (IPS) - Early this month, the George W. Bush administration's plan to create a new crescendo of accusations against Iran for allegedly smuggling arms to Shiite militias in Iraq encountered not just one but two setbacks.

The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki refused to endorse U.S. charges of Iranian involvement in arms smuggling to the Mahdi Army, and a plan to show off a huge collection of Iranian arms captured in and around Karbala had to be called off after it was discovered that none of the arms were of Iranian origin.

The news media's failure to report that the arms captured from Shiite militiamen in Karbala did not include a single Iranian weapon shielded the U.S. military from a much bigger blow to its anti-Iran strategy.

The Bush administration and top Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus had plotted a sequence of events that would build domestic U.S. political support for a possible strike against Iran over its "meddling" in Iraq and especially its alleged export of arms to Shiite militias.

The plan was keyed to a briefing document to be prepared by Petraeus on the alleged Iranian role in arming and training Shiite militias that would be surfaced publicly after the al-Maliki government had endorsed it and it used to accuse Iran publicly.

[halliburtonsux]

70. Every time 'Iranian' arms are 'found' in Iraq, they have UK markings...

on them.
:eyes:

[Maat]

69. I believe it ...

I just hope that they, as opposed to the U.S. Government, take the high road and treat these suspects with dignity and respect, and avoid torturing them. Someone has to be decent. Here's a prayer (visualization) to that effect.

[emperor124]

71. I would have expected this to be the other way around

if it was reported in M$M.