Posted on 12/17/2006 4:03:30 PM PST by DAVEY CROCKETT
VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.
From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.
Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.
One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.
MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.
Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.
Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.
Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.
He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.
http://www.ocnus.net/artman/publish/article_27144.shtml
In fact another Freeper sent me mail asking if that previous person were back again since they spotted the similarity, too.
That is indeed a frightful read.
Pray that he is wrong.
No need, to be afraid of white powder, more than likely you would never see the Polo 210 in the air.
Thanks for the link.
Thanks ladies. I'm usually here just lurkin' and learnin'.
But Granny, you're right.........and I thought my hair was pretty curly already.
Best wishes to you both. You are special.
Wow!
Scary, indeed.
FARS, I've been meaning to thank you for keeping me on your ping list. Your posts are always interesting, insightful, and create a certain "pucker" factor. Seldom respond, but I always read.
Thanks again.
I missed a plane crash...
Small plane, helicopter crash in separate incidents in Russia, 5 ...
International Herald Tribune - France
AP. MOSCOW: A small plane and a helicopter crashed in Russia in separate incidents in Russia Saturday, killing 5 people, emergency officials said. ...
How would one know how many are being trained around the world?
They also have training camps in Iran and several other countries, including the Venzuela area/sponsored camps.
That is a large number of jihadi, waiting for the call.
This is probably not the appropriate thread, but I ask all of you to pray for the missing climbers on Mt. Hood. Brian Hall, one of the missing, is a friend and climbing buddy of our son, David.
Thanks in advance.
Russia rebuffs Belarus on gas prices-newspaper
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-12-17T130006Z_01_L17873435_RTRIDST_0_RUSSIA-BELARUS-GAS-PICTURE.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
Fars, I am glad you approve of the VEVAK article, as you entered my mind when I found it.
Please let me know who the person is by private mail.
Davey and I refuse to fight with Freepers, so the person will not involve us or harm the thread.
Thanks for the warning.
Acknowledged, will provide details.
Please confirm to put me on this thread's ping list.
I think a couple of the other articles are worth posting by Alan but that will be his final decision.
Totally off the subject but with his "provide knowledge" mindset he has just posted a insightful article on how to choose a new TV from among the vast array of formats and details.
"...but because the people of London and the UK need to know which threat they are dealing with"
I agree but I would rephrase it to "the people of the world"...I don't think this polo 210 smuggling is just to attack Great Britain. This could be an al quada operation for all we know.
Litvenko was Muslim and a Chechen supporter if strata-sphere is accurate in the reporting of details.
It is sad that wherever the Israel people to escape the threat of the Palestine bombs, they are then under new threat.
If al qaeda is not wiped out, much of the world is going to be spoiled for use of the real people.
It is sadder yet, that al qaeda does not even mind killing their own relatives, if they can kill an American, Jew or other
non-al-qaeda person.
And a Merry Christmas to you.
You are welcome to lurk, and to post here, anytime.
To me prayers are always on the right thread, which ever one it might be.
Of course, I will continue praying for them.
You did hear that one body has been found, do not have a name.
I am sorry that it is so close to your family.
Watchdog calls for Venezuela's expulsion from diamond trade
Venezuela should be expelled from the diamond trade because it has not exported under the Kimberley process since January 2005 and its diamonds end up being smuggled to Guyana and other places, the diamond watchdog Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) said.
http://www.stabroeknews.com:80/index.pl/article_general_news?id=56510010
<<<<<
I did not know there were diamonds in Venezuela.
Thank you for passing on my words to Marina.
She is good with words.
Andrei, sounds as tho he needs a couple of body guards too.
I will keep my eye open for additional websites, saw a site that wanted people to join them, but have no idea of where it was now.
Please, I agree with Davey, your last 2 posts on thread #5, should be here too, more to read them....
The last one rather left me speechless.
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