|
Kucinich questions Bush on trained Kurdish
rebels in Iran
20.4.2006
By Vladimir van Wilgenburg, Journalist, Netherlands
|
|
|
|
Congressman Dennis J.
Kucinich (D-OH), Ranking Member of the House
Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security,
Emerging Threats and International Relations, sent a
letter to President George W. Bush. In this letter
he questions US support for rebel groups like PJAK.
PJAK denied that they receive support, but they
would like to receive support. I think it's
unlikely, that PJAK receives support or that America
supports military operations against Iranian troops.
I do not doubt though, that America works together
with other Kurdish (KDP-I, Komala) opposition groups
for gathering more information in East-Kurdistan. I
am thinking of sending my own letter to Congressman
J. Kucinich myself!
This congressman should focus on the real terrorist:
IRAN. I agree with
Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney that Iran is closely
allied with terrorists groups.
Here is the letter of Kucinich:
Dear Mr. President:
Last week I wrote to you regarding reports that U.S.
troops are conducting military operations in Iran. I
have included a copy of that letter below for your
information.
There are also reports, however, that the U.S. is
fomenting opposition and supporting military
operations in Iran among insurgent groups and
Iranian ethnic minority groups, some of whom are
operating from Iraq. |
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich
Photo:AP |
The Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PEJAK) is
one such group. PEJAK is based in the Kurdish region
of Iraq, a few miles from the Iranian border, and
has staged attacks across the border in Iran since
2004 on behalf of Iranian Kurdish interests,
according to an April 3, 2006 article in the
Washington Times. PEJAK claimed to kill twenty-four
Iranian soldiers in three raids against army bases
in March. Iran’s official news agency also reported
that three Republican Guard soldiers were killed in
a gun battle near the Iraqi border in late March.
Iran has denounced PEJAK as a terrorist group and
has accused the U.S. of funding PEJAK. According to
an April 15, 2006 article in the Economist, Iranians
and Turks both believe that the U.S. is supporting
PEJAK. It is hard to believe that PEJAK is operating
successfully from Iraq without U.S. knowledge,
support and coordination.
The Mujahedin e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian
anti-government group which has been listed as a
“terrorist group” by the State Department since
1997, is another anti-government group that has
received U.S. support. An article by Jim Lobe
published on Antiwar.com on February 11, 2005 claims
that Pentagon civilians and Vice President Cheney’s
office are among those in the U.S. government who
support the MEK. His article further describes how
according to Philip Giraldi, a former CIA official
and a source in an article about this subject in the
American Conservative magazine, U.S. Special Forces
have been directing members of the MEK in carrying
out reconnaissance and intelligence collection in
Iran from bases in Afghanistan and Balochistan,
Pakistan since the summer of 2004.
Seymour Hersh’s April 10, 2006 article in the New
Yorker also confirms that the U.S. troops are
establishing contact with anti-government
ethnic-minority groups in Iran. According to a
government consultant with close ties to civilians
in the Pentagon, American combat troops now
operating in Iran are “working with minority groups
in Iran, including the Azeris, in the north, the
Baluchis, in the southeast, and the Kurds, in the
northeast.” The consultant further says, “The troops
are studying the terrain and giving away
walking-around money to ethnic tribes, and
recruiting scouts from local tribes and shepherds.”
U.S. support for insurgent activity in Iran is not
tolerable. You have claimed numerous times that the
object of the so-called “War on Terror” is to target
lawless insurgent groups.
Previously I asked you to immediately report to
Congress on the extent of U.S. military operations
currently in Iran. Now, in light of the evidence
described above, I urge you to report to Congress on
U.S. support for military operations in Iran by
anti-Iranian insurgent groups.
It is a great breach of public trust to set this
country on another path of war while keeping the
Congress and the American people in the dark. I am
demanding that you respond.
Sincerely,
Dennis J. Kucinich
Ranking Democrat
Subcommittee on National Security,
Emerging Threats and International Relations
Source:
Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich |
Kucinich Questions The President On US Trained
Insurgents In Iran
http://vladimirkurdistan.blogspot.com/
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 