In a high profile press conference in the city of Zahedan, Iran, international media gathered to hear a statement from Abdolhamid Rigi, a high ranking member of the Balochi separatist movement Jundallah who is awaiting execution by the Iranian government for his role in a series of murders.
Rigi, whose brother Abdolmalek Rigi is the leader of the militant group, addressed a wide variety of topics and made several claims regarding long-suspected links the group has to various international organizations.
In particular, Rigi confirmed that Jundallah previously had ties with al-Qaeda for operations in Pakistan, and that the groups split in 2003 over differences of opinion about strategy in Iran. Not long after severing its ties with al-Qaeda, the group started a relationship with the United States government.
That fact has never been disputed, indeed US officials have repeatedly confirmed that the government has secretly encouraged and advised Jundallah as it fights the Iranian government. But Rigi insisted the US ties went well beyond encouragement.
Rigi insisted that five years ago when the relationship began the US government gave the group $100,000 and promised to provide it with “everything we needed.” He also claimed that the US was directing the group’s attacks, saying “they told us whom to shoot and whom not to. All orders came from them.”
Previously US officials had insisted the government was deliberately avoiding direct funding to avoid Congressional oversight, but the Bush Administration did funnel considerable money into “covert” operations against the Iranian government. As Jundallah has been launching high profile suicide bombings for years, any verification of direct US funding or ordering of the movement is likely to produce a considerable scandal.
i don't see this report being followed in the mainstream media….it would be highly unpatriotic
'ties with al-Qaeda" quote smells fishy–no such group exists,only in the minds of CIA.
What group would call themselves in Arabic- open hole toilet? Only CIA!
So the Jundallah was co-opted by Bush Adm….to attack Iran…with suicide bombers….?? Is this truly true?? Is this event a piece of evidence that the U.S. Governmt can sponsor suicide attacks ..??
If these "suicide" could be sponsored, by an external govt, the larger "suicide attack" of 911 could have been contracted too..!!!!!!
Look at this.. http://sunnairan.wordpress.com/page/5/ If you are wondering what happens to the
to the 400 million congress appropriated to "bring democracy to Iran"..???
Excerpt from “Preparing the Battlefield“
The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran. (7:20):
Here is the video on CIA action in Iran
Article by Seymour Hersh
7 July 08 | The New Yorker
Note this excerpt:
Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program….
“The Finding was focussed on undermining Iran’s nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change,” a person familiar with its contents said, and involved “working with opposition groups and passing money.” The Finding provided for a whole new range of activities in southern Iran and in the areas, in the east, where Baluchi political opposition is strong, he said….
The most outspoken of those officers is Admiral William Fallon, who until recently was the head of U.S. Central Command, and thus in charge of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In March, Fallon resigned under pressure, after giving a series of interviews stating his reservations about an armed attack on Iran. For example, late last year he told the Financial Times that the “real objective” of U.S. policy was to change the Iranians’ behavior, and that “attacking them as a means to get to that spot strikes me as being not the first choice.”…
Many of the [terrorist] activities may be being carried out by dissidents in Iran, and not by Americans in the field. One problem with “passing money” (to use the term of the person familiar with the Finding) in a covert setting is that it is hard to control where the money goes and whom it benefits. Nonetheless, the former senior intelligence official said, “We’ve got exposure, because of the transfer of our weapons and our communications gear. The Iranians will be able to make the argument that the opposition was inspired by the Americans. How many times have we tried this without asking the right questions? Is the risk worth it?” One possible consequence of these operations would be a violent Iranian crackdown on one of the dissident groups, which could give the Bush Administration a reason to intervene….
END PART 1.
So the Jundallah was co-opted by Bush Adm….to attack Iran…with suicide bombers….?? Is this truly true?? Is this event a piece of evidence that the U.S. Governmt can sponsor suicide attacks ..??
If these "suicide" attacks could be sponsored, by an external govt, the larger "suicide attack" of 911
could have been sponsored or subcontracted too..!!!!!!
Look at this.. <a href="http://sunnairan.wordpress.com/page/5/” target=”_blank”>http://sunnairan.wordpress.com/page/5/ if you are wondering what happens to the to the 400 million congress appropriated to "bring democracy to Iran"..???
Excerpt from “Preparing the Battlefield“
The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran. (7:20):
Here is the video on CIA action in Iran <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wg3r2YSM9g” target=”_blank”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wg3r2YSM9g
Article by Seymour Hersh
7 July 08 | The New Yorker
Note this excerpt:
Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program….
“The Finding was focussed on undermining Iran’s nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change,” a person familiar with its contents said, and involved “working with opposition groups and passing money.” The Finding provided for a whole new range of activities in southern Iran and in the areas, in the east, where Baluchi political opposition is strong, he said….
The most outspoken of those officers is Admiral William Fallon, who until recently was the head of U.S. Central Command, and thus in charge of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In March, Fallon resigned under pressure, after giving a series of interviews stating his reservations about an armed attack on Iran. For example, late last year he told the Financial Times that the “real objective” of U.S. policy was to change the Iranians’ behavior, and that “attacking them as a means to get to that spot strikes me as being not the first choice.”…
Many of the [terrorist] activities may be being carried out by dissidents in Iran, and not by Americans in the field. One problem with “passing money” (to use the term of the person familiar with the Finding) in a covert setting is that it is hard to control where the money goes and whom it benefits. Nonetheless, the former senior intelligence official said, “We’ve got exposure, because of the transfer of our weapons and our communications gear. The Iranians will be able to make the argument that the opposition was inspired by the Americans. How many times have we tried this without asking the right questions? Is the risk worth it?” One possible consequence of these operations would be a violent Iranian crackdown on one of the dissident groups, which could give the Bush Administration a reason to intervene….
END PART 1.
PART TWO………..
The Administration may have been willing to rely on dissident organizations in Iran even when there was reason to believe that the groups had operated against American interests in the past. The use of Baluchi elements, for example, is problematic, Robert Baer, a former C.I.A. clandestine officer who worked for nearly two decades in South Asia and the Middle East, told me. “The Baluchis are Sunni fundamentalists who hate the regime in Tehran, but you can also describe them as Al Qaeda,” Baer told me. “These are guys who cut off the heads of nonbelievers—in this case, it’s Shiite Iranians. The irony is that we’re once again working with Sunni fundamentalists, just as we did in Afghanistan in the nineteen-eighties.” Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is considered one of the leading planners of the September 11th attacks, are Baluchi Sunni [ Jundallah] fundamentalists. [ ** a note HERE by MvGuy…..] ["” Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted for his role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who is considered one of the leading planners of the September 11th attacks, are Baluchi Sunni [ Jundallah] fundamentalists."] [and it is this group who's
Top [Jundallah] Figure Says US (CIA and or ISI??) Ordered Attacks..!!] SO ISN'T THIS ARTICLE BY HIRSH SAYING THAT KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED IS A MEMBER OF A [SEPAPATIST] GROUP THAT IS IN THE EMPLOY OF THE USA…???????????????
One of the most active and violent anti-regime groups in Iran today is the Jundallah, also known as the Iranian People’s Resistance Movement, which describes itself as a resistance force fighting for the rights of Sunnis in Iran…. According to Baer and to press reports, the Jundallah is among the groups in Iran that are benefitting from U.S. support..
The C.I.A. and Special Operations communities also have long-standing ties to two other dissident groups in Iran: the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, known in the West as the M.E.K., and a Kurdish separatist group, the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan, or PJAK.
The M.E.K. has been on the State Department’s terrorist list for more than a decade, yet in recent years the group has received arms and intelligence, directly or indirectly, from the United States. Some of the newly authorized covert funds, the Pentagon consultant told me, may well end up in M.E.K. coffers. “The new task force will work with the M.E.K. The Administration is desperate for results.” He added, “The M.E.K. has no C.P.A. auditing the books, and its leaders are thought to have been lining their pockets for years. If people only knew what the M.E.K. is getting, and how much is going to its bank accounts—and yet it is almost useless for the purposes the Administration intends.”
The Kurdish party, PJAK, which has also been reported to be covertly supported by the United States, has been operating against Iran from bases in northern Iraq for at least three years.
Here is the video on CIA action in Iran <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wg3r2YSM9g” target=”_blank”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wg3r2YSM9g
For those who do not see how these dots connect…. The answer is the ISI… Don't forget that the Indians overheard a call from Mahmoud Ahmad about sending $ 1OO,OOO.OO to Atta…& leaked it to embarrass Pakistan in an article on10/09.2001 in the Times of India [is this how India got nuclear get out of jail free card from Bush??]
So it comes down to who is running Jundullah ….. Yes, The U.S. Congress has authorized the funds….but…..are they being run by the CIA or subcontracted to the ISI as 911 as leaks by the Indians ans the discovery of the money thrail….seems to suggest… I sure hope Iran DOES NOT execute this man …..but keep him as an information source… In the end..really, so many of the ISI men are on the CIA payroll…..that there is no FUNCTIONAL difference…
what bullshit. the guy is in jail awaiting execution and would rather not be tortured any more and so is happy to spout whatever lies the iranians tell him to in the hope of a quick death.