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Monday
July 30, 2001

Hilteresque

This letter is in response to Mr. Hedayat's letter regarding the issue of the Mojahedin: "All had high hopes"

Dear Sir,

You start by claiming that you are not a supporter of the Mojahedin, but your entire article is filled with underlying ideological support for this political group. Like most supporters of Mojahedin and other extremist political groups that have each contributed to the destruction of our country, you like to mix up the basic facts with political absurdity to paint an image that fits your personal ideals.

I do not want to use the unique and truly democratic forum of Iranian.com to launch a personal and useless attack against you. But, I do want to politely point out a few basic cold facts that you conveniently left out: First, the Mojahedin existed before the creation of the Islamic Republic and were in fact one of the most active opposition groups against the Shah.

I would like to note that I am in no way a supporter of the monarchy, but any Iranian with a right state of mind and a unbiased and pure patriotic love for Iran can conclude that the overall state of Iran during the Shah's rule was much better than it has been during the rule of the mollas or it would be under the rule of fascist and tyrant groups such as the Mojahedin, communists, mollas or any other non-democratic political groups.

If the Mojahedin claim that they are the voice of freedom for Iran, then why were they carrying out political murders and other types of destructive activity during the Shah's rule, when Iran was beginning to make significant progress in social and economic areas? Compared to the track record of the current government, it is effortless for the leaders and supporters of these malevolent political groups to claim that the destiny of Iran would be improved under their authority.

But experience should teach us that a political configuration filled with uncompromising and fundamentalist principles will never be able to achieve a political venue where the true vote of the majority will dictate the political, economic and social direction that a nation takes. When listening to the Hitleresque speeches of Mr. and Mrs. Rajavi, it is very easy to observe the fanatical and systematic violence that their political theories are built upon.

Second, the Iran-Iraq War was one of the most politically charged and complicated conflicts of the 20th Century. But, there are a few important facts that need to be extracted from the mixed ideas and views of this bloody conflict.

No matter the political forces that worked "behind the scenes"; to ignite this conflict, it was Iraqi forces that drove across the Arvand River and brutally attacked our cities and towns. It was Iraq thast began the brutal and indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas not seen at that level since WWII. Facing imminent military defeat due to the bravery and sacrifice of our military forces (the same regular army, Pasdar, Basiji, and special forces units that Mojahedin military units attacked alongside Iraqis), Iraq began the widespread use of chemical weapons against our forces.

In addition to the external hardships that they were facing during this conflict, countless Iranian military members and their families were prosecuted, imprisoned, or executed by the Islamic government due to their political beliefs, as were Mojahedin, communist and thousands of other people. Yet, they chose to continue to fight for their homeland during these impossible times.

I would like to point out the case of the air force pilots who were imprisoned at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution because of their associations with the Shah. When Iraq invaded Iran, these brave men were asked by the same government who had imprisoned and tortured them to get in their fighter planes and fight for their land.

The well-documented and remarkable feats of these pilots, who suffered an almost 90% casualty rate, in the early of stages of the war was one of the major reasons that the Iraqi forces were slowed down in the Khuzestan province and allowed Iranian ground forces to reorganize and launch a counter attack.

They could have easily allowed their personal and righteous hatred against the most ignorant and destructive government in the world to come in the way of their call to duty. But, they all chose to fight and die for their country instead of turning their weapons against their own brothers and shooting them in the back, while a foreign force was invading their homeland and killing the countrymen that they had sworn to defend.

On the other hand, the Mojahedin allowed their own political agendas and self-serving plans for Iran to come in the way of their patriotic duty. They chose to flee to the Iraqi desert and then launch attacks against the same men and women who were trying desperately to defend their nation.

Sir,

we have all been negatively affected by Iran's current regime in one way or other. Many of us have even had fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters murdered by the mollas and Pasdars. If we were lucky enough not be physically hurt, we were either forced to flee our beloved Iran or live under the treacherous rule of the Islamic regime for the past two decades.

There are millions of Iranians scattered around the world, living for the day that to return to Iran. Do you honestly believe that if our military had chosen the cowardly path of the Mojahedin, there would even be an independent Iran to speak about? I can guarantee you that the savage Iraqis and their Kuwaiti, Saudi and Egyptian allies would have driven right into Tehran and completely wiped out our national identify in the same manner that the Nazis, Mongols, Romans and Japanese destroyed the country's they conquered. In the end, our men and women held on to every inch of our land and lost thousands of their lives in the process.

Please explain how you and other supporters of the Mojahedin can have the insolence to group Mojahed terrorists as "martyrs"? They did not lose their lives "fighting for Iran". They lost their lives fighting AGAINST Iran and Iran's forces at a time of conflict with a foreign military.

My only point is that the Mojahedin believed that they were different than the millions of others who were also suffering and being executed. They chose to perform the unforgivable sin of taking up arms against their own countrymen, ALONGSIDE a foreign enemy. If there was no war at the time, then their actions could be rightly justified as political moves that were aimed at derailing the rule of the savage mollas.

But, there was a war at this time and their actions, such as attacking the town of Mehran in combination with Iraqis forces who were shelling the town with chemical weapons or acting as physical interrogators of captured Basiji teenagers as young as 9 or 10 years old, will and should never be forgotten or forgiven by anyone who considers themselves Iranian.

I am 23-years old and as "Iranian-American" as it gets. I can barely read and write Farsi. I have lived in the U.S. for most of my life. But whenever I see other Iranians defending the actions of the Mojahedin during the war with Iraq, my blood boils.

My heart is still Iranian and I do have a mind. Anyone with a little common sense and an education can easily conclude that the actions of the Mojahedin during the war with Iraq are the worst crime ever committed against Iran and have completely destroyed any chance for their political aspirations to rule Iran.

I hope that God gives all Iranians the courage to seek the truth and to open our minds and stop the endless cycle of collectively incorrect political decisions that have led to the destruction of our beautiful homeland.

Long live Iran,

IR

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