Iraqi forces storm MKO camp

Tehran Times ^ | July 30, 2009 | Tehran Times Political Desk

[SolidWood]

TEHRAN/BAGHDAD - On Tuesday, Iraqi soldiers and riot police stormed Camp Ashraf, where Mojahedin Khalq Organization members had been based, triggering violent clashes that left at least 260 people injured.

Iraqi officials say clashes broke out as they were trying to establish a police post in the camp.

“After the failure of negotiations with the Mojahedin (Khalq) to enter peacefully, the Iraqi army entered Camp Ashraf with force and it now controls the interior and all entrances to the camp,” an Iraqi military source said.

An Iraqi army spokesman in Diyala said two battalions of 400 soldiers each plus 200 riot police took part in Tuesday's operation, which was ordered by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office.

“It is our territory and our right to enter, to impose Iraqi law on everybody,” a defense ministry spokesman told al-Arabiya television.

Camp Ashraf, 40 miles north of Baghdad in Diyala province, houses 3,418 residents. It was set up in the 1980s, when Iraq was at war with Iran, as a base to operate against the Iranian government.

The camp was disarmed by U.S. soldiers following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. U.S. soldiers had overseen the camp until handing over control three months ago to Iraqi security forces.

[SolidWood]

More News from Western sources:

Iraq to Close Iranian Exiles' Camp

Iran exiles 'killed in Iraq raid'

Iraq says raid on militant group's camp wasn't Iran's idea

Excellent news. While this certainly also is being registered positively by the mullah regime, it should be welcome news anyway. The MEK/MKO are "Islamic Marxists", who were the largest terrorist group attacking Americans and the Shah's Imperial Iran during the 1970's. They were important players in the 1979 Revolution but after that were fighting for power against the Khomeinists. The MEK lost the power-struggle and turned to Iraq for help, where they served as lapdogs of Saddam Hussein.

They are rightly viewed as traitors and terrorists by Iran, and should be discredited in the West just for their aims (cultist islamic marxism) and background (anti-US terrorists). It is sickening to see Western politicians giving an ear and a hand to this scum cult.

Of course Hillary! is defending them. Bleh!

[SolidWood]

Iran Ping!

[Diana in Wisconsin]

This is a QUAGMIRE! What’s the EXIT STRATEGY? No BLOOD for OIL!! Bush’s fault...

Oh, wait... ;)

[The_Victor]

This is a QUAGMIRE! What’s the EXIT STRATEGY? No BLOOD for OIL!! Bush’s fault...

Oh, wait... ;)

Mission Accomplished

[Diana in Wisconsin]

LOL! I forgot to mock that one. ;)

[ichabod1]

Whatever. Nice to see someone taking definitive action in this namby-pamby world.

[ksm1]

I’ve been aware of this group, and these guys are crazy even for radical Islamist standards. Good riddance.

[ElkGroveDan]

I’ve been aware of this group, and these guys are crazy even for radical Islamist standards. Good riddance.

These guys are refugees from Iranian oppression. The U.S. has been protecting them until now. They have a coalition of conservative Republican Congressmen who have pledged to support them and their cause.

I'm glad to see that after a couple years of hostility to toward him here Achmadinejad and his thugs finally have some friends like you on Free Republic. < /sarc >

[OldNavyVet]

This propagnada article comes from Iran.

The AP version of the story is at http://headlines.ocregister.com/news/camp-35895-iraq-iran.html

It begins with the words ... “BAGHDAD Iraqi forces clashed with an Iranian opposition group for a second day Wednesday after storming a camp in Diyala province despite U.S. appeals not to use force against exiles protected for years by American troops.”

And continues with the words ... “Tehran cheered the operation, raising questions about how Iraq can balance relations with Iran and the U.S.”

[SolidWood]

These guys are refugees from Iranian oppression.

LOL!

These guys (and gals) are chiefly responsible for the oppression in Iran and Iraq after 1979. They are Communists with a blend of islamism. Their internal structure is oppressive and totalitarian second to none. Jim Jones on steroids.

They abducted and killed US civilians and military personell in Iran during the 1970's and killed Imperial Iranian officers. Do you support that?

The MEK was after the Khomeinists the biggest player in the Revolution 1979.

The split with the mullahs was just a quarrel about power. After 1980 they served Saddam to oppress Shias and Kurds in Iraq.

They have a coalition of conservative Republican Congressmen who have pledged to support them and their cause.

The MEK acts today politically through a "pro-democracy" front group the "National Liberation Organisation for Iran". The Republicans (and Democrats) being suckered into supporting these terrorist, marxist asshats are idiots, fools and at best naive.

I'm glad to see that after a couple years of hostility to toward him here Achmadinejad and his thugs finally have some friends like you on Free Republic. < /sarc >

So you support the terrorist, anti-american, islamic-marxist MKO Saddam-funded Rajavi cult?

They are not one bit better than Ahmadinejad and the mullahs. Not one little bit. They even trump them regarding insanity.

They furthermore have no support in Iran (after siding with Saddam Hussein)... so what's the point of "supporting" these crazies?

BTW the US has taken over the MKO camp in Iraq to keep them as a "bargaining chip" with Iran.

[SolidWood]

As you can see below the opening posts direct to Western media sources on these news.

And as I also wrote... of course the mullahs want the MEK out. But so should we. They are not at ALL to be trusted (they killed Americans and were part of the 1979 Revolution). Iraq taking out the MEK trash is good news either way.

[SolidWood]

The MEK (Mojahedeen Khalq - trained by Arafat's PLO) trail of blood against Americans:

In the 1970’s they launched a terror campaign against the Shah's forces and Americans.

In 1970 they tried to kidnap US Ambassador McArthur.

In 1972 they almost succeeded in assassinating US Air Force General Price.

In 1973 they killed US Army Colonel Hawkins and in 1975 murdered US Air Force Colonel Turner.

1976 they murdered three American civilians from Rockwell Int.

They also killed an Imperial Iranian Gendarmerie colonel in 1975.

Their ideology is: Ali, Hossein (the Shia Imams), Marx and Engels.

The MEK/MKO Rajavi cultists are the scum of the earth, and being (wannabe) rivals of the mullahs doesn't redeem any of their crimes and evil goals.

ElkGroveDan... unfortunately you aren't the only one in the West tricked by these terrorists into sympathising with them. But in face of the facts... do you still want to maintain your position on them?

[SolidWood]

US Ltn. Colonel Lewis Lee Hawkins

His final assignment came in July 1972 when he was attached to the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces in Tehran, Iran. Annette and Lee joined Lewis in Tehran where they lived in the Abass-Abad neighborhood. On the morning of 2 June 1973, as Lewis was walking from his home to a street corner to be picked up by his driver, two (MKO) terrorists riding a motorcycle fired at point-blank range and fired two or three shots killing Lewis instantly.

1975 car carrying U.S. Air Force officers Col. Paul Shaffer and Lt. Col. Jack Turner was trapped between two cars carrying terrorists. They told the Iranian driver to lie down and then shot and killed ("executed") the Americans.

The MEK also supported the hostage taking of the US embassy.

[rawhide]

“It is our territory and our right to enter, to impose Iraqi law on everybody,” a defense ministry spokesman told al-Arabiya television.

Was this cleared by obamma first. Laws of other countries must first pass muster by obamma before they can be imposed. Ask Honduras?

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

They aren't a good group, but if they could help us with the Iranian regime then I have no problem with the U.S. helping them out. But I don't know much about them and I have no idea if they could serve our interest in any way. A lot of the groups that are now our Allies in Iraq have American blood on their hands.

We are also supposedly helping some group in Pakistan that is fighting against the Iranian regime even though they probably aren't big fans of the U.S.

We helped a lot of our current enemies in Afghanistan in their war against the Soviets and I think most people agree we did what we needed to do at the time. Same thing with Russia in WW2(although I think we should have taken Patton's advise and pushed them back into Moscow after the war).

But as I said I don't know much about this group in Iraq and if they can't help us out with Iran in any significant way then they got what they deserved.

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

A lot of our allies in Iraq right now have much more recent American blood on their hands. If the MEK isn’t our enemy any longer then it comes down to if they can serve out interest or not.

[Jacob Kell]

As SolidWood said, the MKO have little, if any, support in Iran, and they’re even worse than the mullahs.

[ksm1]

They are against the current Iranian regime, but not because they are pro-US. They are against the Iranian regime because they don’t consider it to be radical enough.

We did work with them in the past, in the same vein as how we supported Stalin to defeat Hitler. Doesn’t make them good.

[SolidWood]

But I don't know much about them

See my posts 12 and 13 above. They killed high-profile Americans and their ideology is a devilish mixture of Communism, Islamism and pseudo-religious worship of their leaders, the Rajavis.

They are ten notches more crazy than the mullahs.

I have no idea if they could serve our interest in any way.

No. Because they are universally hated in Iran. They supported Saddam Hussein in his 8 year war against Iran, which killed hundreds of thousands.

Most Iranians are nationalists in one way or the other, regardless of ideology. Except the MEK. They are seen as and called traitors ("Monafeqin" Khalq - Traitors of the People). They also carried out terrorism against Iranians before and after the Revolution.

Supporting the MEK, which is pointless, only helps the Mullahs to discredit the USA in the eyes of Iranians. We lose a lot of goodwill from real pro-Western Iranian dissidents by giving any credence to the MEK.

The MEK supporters today are either the lunatics hiding in Camp Ashraf in Iraq, some scattered old-time sypmathisants in Western exile, especially in their Western headquarter Paris. They are aging and shrinking... and should be kicked to the curb.

It would serve our interests in Iran much more to get rid of them, at the very least to cut any ties and contact and ignore them.

Kudos to Iraq (and 2004 France) for taking action against them.

[FARS]

“They are against the Iranian regime because they don’t consider it to be radical enough.”

I never thought I would write something defending the MEK but the above statement is nonsense.

1. They are as bad as the Mullahs. Worse? No.

2. They used to be really bad guys, the tool of the Soviet Union, via Tehran Embassy, to destabilized the late Shah. And killed chosen targets.

3. They had some 30,000 of their followers rounded up on Khomeini's and mass murdered in prison, so they have an inbred hate (with reason) to hate the Mullahs.

4. Whatever their beliefs they are Iranians and their attack on Iran was aimed at the Mullahs and not the population. BUT ... the Mullahs used Iranians to oppose the attack.

5. As the ONLY group with military trained followers and deep seated anti-Mullah regime sentiments, they could have been a useful lethal tool against the Mullahs.

6. After they were disarmed by US Forces and basically confined to Camp Archery in Iraq and to a headquarters in France, they evolved into a Mariam Rajavi (founder's wife and now leader) CULT. Here they were as bad or worse than the Mullahs toward their own followers, treating them as slaves.

7 Here, though, it needs noting that the Mullahs have infiltrated them and created a major split with pro-Mullah leadership in some areas, spreading Mullah talking points.

8. They then began trying to rehabilitate themselves and get off the Terrorist lists in various coUntries including the USA, where they recently pled guilty to end an 8-year trial for a variety of money laundering and similar charges. (Judge David Carter, who will hear the Obama birth certificate, presided over that trial and will sentence them within the next couple of months).

9. France has since taken them off their terrorist list and returned all money they had confiscated from Mariam Rajavi and the MEK organization in France. Along the lines of a cult, when the French arrested Mariam, two folllowers set themselves on fire in public as an act of protest at the arrest.

10. Britain has also removed the appellation of terrorists from the group.

11. Thus in Europe they have been “restored” mostly because France recognized them as a useful tool to have in hand against the Mullahs. Plus they supplied the West with intelligence, specially about the nuclear sites.

12. The Mullahs who have always been terrified of the MEK, have spent the last 20-years undermining them and planting hate of the MEK into the Iranian populace's psyche.

13. There are some 70,000 MEK adherents inside Iran and other than their philosophy they are part of the general public and do not walk around with a brand on their foreheads. Many of them have been in the student riots.

If nothing else, they make a good TEMPORARY strike force, and source of intelligence which can later be set aside fairly easily as “killers”, since they would wipe the Mullahs off the face of Iran in revenge.

Finally as someone surmised, the attack on Camp Ashraf was authorized as part of Obama’s plan to make nice with Mullahs and this was a gesture of appeasement. As was the recent release of one of the very most senior Iranian Qods (Special Forces) commanders, who was captured a year or two ago in Iraq. His release was disguised by also releasing four other lower grade Qods agents. All of whom were directly responsible for killing HUDNREDS of Americans in Iraq.

Unbelievable Oba-Hussein-Khomeini a$$ kissing attitude toward the Mullahs and throwing the freedom seeking students under his bus.