CLINTON

Dear Massoud Khodabandeh....

Just a word of support and appreciation for your work, as I have been reading and following your blogs/exchange with great interest  

As a disclaimer, I view the MEK members currently in Camp Ashraf as victims rather than assailants/traitors but I do subscribe to your opinion regarding the definition of ”treason” and “mercenaries”.

I have always regarded the MEK siding with Saddam as a treasonous act against Iranians and do so if any of the alleged assistance/cooperation regarding the terror of Iranian scientist turns out to be true.

'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory 

Mehrdad

Thanks for your response, MK.

I agree with your answer, if the members are not kept in isolated houses, e.g., in Europe, and they have access to interact freely with the society.  That should also be accompanied with some psychological help as well to de-program some of the lower ranking MEK members.  The high ranking MEK members, those who stayed married while telling others to divorce and remain celibiate, may be beyond help.

I had not thought of merceneries to describe the actions of the MEK.

Thanks.

Massoud Khodabandeh Dear

Massoud Khodabandeh

Dear MM

I think if someone starts working with the secret services of a different country to their own, whether for information laundry of Mossad satellite pictures of nuclear sites, or cooperation in the assassination of scientists , it can be described as treason and the person doing it is a traitor to his motherland. If, however, the person switches sides often and one day works for IRI, then France, then Saddam, then Saudi, then Israel .... then he would probably fall under the category of mercenary.

As for the assassination, I don't think killing a university lecturer is a big military success. I don't think it would change anything drastically either. The use of MEK and others cannot be more than the fact that they speak Persian and are willing to put bombs anywhere, anytime as long as the price is right.

But we have a catch here. The people in the camp have not been paid for these acts. in fact they have not even been paid for the work they do in the camp. They are the victims and not the perpetrators. They did not join MEK to become mercenaries of Saddam or anyone else. They have simply been misled and misused.

Now they are going to leave Iraq and hopefully come to Europe. I believe they have a chance for a fresh start, and should be given that chance, and even be welcomed in the Iranian community outside Iran. I believe they are capable of becoming a positive part of the opposition groups and I can prove it by directing you to the activities of ex-members who are, one way or another, part of society and beneficial in many respects.

When in Europe they need to do two things.

One is to start integrating into normal society and put aside their cultish behaviour and compensate for their lack of knowledge, etc - get a job, get married, socialise,..

The second is to start reviving or actually re-building their organisation on democratic foundations; get rid of their velayat-e faghih, life-time president,... and start again with proper internal elections according to a normal political manifesto.

There are, of course, the cases of criminal acts carried out by the leaders which must be addressed in courts of law.

I have explained my views on this subject in a letter to BBC (Persian) if you are interested:

//www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/persian/viewpoints/2012/01/post-28.html

Mr. Khodabandeh

It has been asserted by several commenters in IC (in the past) that: 1-  These MEK folks are a bunch of walker-toting old wanna-be revolutionaries, 2- We should leave the MKO be in their present form/rank/file to retire somewhere and 3-  Once out of the terrorist list, we would be able to exchange ideas and/or debate them to be democratic and be our allies in our struggles against the IRI.  As a close observer of the MEK, what can you say about the latter suggestions?

My specific questions are:

* Does the MEK sell or reveal these Iranian nuclear info / secrets?  In either case, should the MEK be labelled as traitors?

* Does the MEK sell/reveal these Iranian nuclear secrets because they are concerned that Iran will acquire nuclear technology (in either red-line), or is it part of their pact with some entity in the west?

* Does the MEK recruit younger members to do these Iranian nuclear scientists' assasinations (others?) or is it done with the same walker-toting MEK members? e.g., take these Israeli-made magnetic bombs and attach them to the Iranian scientist's cars.

I appreciate your answers, in advance.

Great solution for all

Get an old ship with a broken engine, get them aboard, tug it to the middle of ocean and let them enjoy the high seas, as traitors they deserve death so this is actually being nice!

Third group of MEK moved to Camp Liberty

Massoud Khodabandeh

Today Al Khadran the mayer of Khalis anounced that the third group of 400 individuals have been successfully moved from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty.
امروز آقای الخدران فرماندار خالص اعلام کرد که سومین گروه چهارصد نفری با موفقیت و به سلامت از کمپ اشرف به کمپ لیبرتنی منتقل شده اند

Massoud Khodabandeh

Massoud Khodabandeh

Dear Mr Rahmanian

Some of your questions seem irrelevant, I will address them anyway.

1- I don't do rumours. The fact is, Ebrahim Khodabandeh and Jamil Bassam were arrested in Syria while transferring 2 million dollars and a box of jewellery from Iraq to Paris at the beginning of the war. More money (over 20 million dollars wrapped in Iraqi newspaper) was found in Mrs Rajavi's bedroom in Paris by French anti-terrorist police. The MEK and its backers did not reveal the arrests for over 4 weeks and compromised the safety of these two in the hope of striking a deal with Assad to get the money back. The moment the two men were extradited to Tehran, the MEK approached Ebrahim's then pregnant daughter in the UK to persuade her to self-immolate in protest. You can see the testimonies of his daughter. It was clear from MEK stances at the time they were trying to manipulate the situation to provoke the Iranians to execute the men. Iran saw through this campaign and as well as legal proceedings based on their illegal activities treated them (as they do with MEK prisoners) as cult members in need of psychological help. You can read more about these things on:
//iran-interlink.org/index.php?mod=view&id=79...
with many links to letters, testimonies, etc

BTW I have never had any influence in Syria, but I think you will accept that the IRI has. With this in mind we should ask why the hell did the intelligence section of MEK risk sending these men with cash through Syria rather than the usual route through Jordan? I still have not found any answer for this one.

2- My work in Iraq is certainly not limited to the case of MEK and getting jobs there is not much different from other parts of the world. Having said that, if Saddam was still ruling, I would not and could not get a job there. I guess I should thank the Americans for this one.

3- Mr Zebari is alive and well, you can look at his interviews in English, Arabic and even in Persian (with VOA) and this is more likely to be his view about MEK rather than 'evidence' presented by the MEK to support their case. It does appear that as a Kurd he does not endorse what they did in 1991 in Khurmatooz, Kefri, Khalis etc.  

4- I believe the USG  is not responsible for the existence of MEK but then again I believe it is not doing enough to help international community to bring about a peaceful solution for the confined people in the camp. When members are free to walk away, that will determine if the MEK continues in its current form or not.

5- Yes, I do have documents of their involvement in existing violence, involvement in assassinations, and working closely with the remains of Saddam's regime and other insurgents in Iraq. The Iraqi judiciary is currently working on it and has already issued a few arrest warrants.

6- I stated clearly that no-one, not even US officials, have had FREE access to Camp Ashraf without their movements and activities being manipulated by the MEK.

7- The Iraqi forces went to the camp in April 2011 with a court order and with prior notice, to recover land which had been added to the camp so that it could be restored to the local farmers with their ownership documents in their hands. The GOI maintains that the violence was started by the MEK and was pre-planned. The judiciary has not closed the file and is still working on it. This of course has no relevance to the MEK refusal to allow access to the people trapped inside especially to their close families.

8- The USG interviewed, finger printed and took DNA samples from the people they had access to at any one time. First the CIA, then Pentagon, then State Department, then FBI. They did uncover many things at various times. They did write reports which were published. For what they found I would refer you to the RAND report commissioned by the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.

9-The camp is controlled from outside by Iraqi security forces. They do not have control over anything inside. Indeed, the latest death inside the camp was claimed by the MEK as a heart attack, but the GOI  say the victim died during a knife fight between the residents. The GOI accepted the temporary suspension of enforcing its sovereignty over this piece of land on the understanding that the UN could bring this standoff to an end with fewer casualties. Having said that, UNAMI, ICRI and others are still in the dark about what is happening on the ground inside the camp.

Could I now ask your good self - whether a supporter of MEK or not - to please accept that a good ending for the people trapped in Iraq is good for all except perhaps the IRI. After all, while many others inside and outside Iran have been active (even if it has been simply to attend a rally) to help bring freedom to Iran, the 3000+ strong 'force' in Iraq have not been free to do anything either for themselves or for their country. It is now 9 years since Saddam's regime has fallen and Mr Rajavi is still in hiding. It does not have to be like this.

Mr. Khodabandeh:

Mr. Khodabandeh:

There's a rumor you had something to do with the arrest, in Syria, of your brother, a former MEK member and a current IR "guest of honor." Is that true?

Also, is it true you are an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister, Mr. Nouri al-Maliki? If yes, how did you land the job?

Isn't it a fact that Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mr. Hushiar Zibari's support as a witness was instrumental in MEK's removal from the list of FTOs in Europe?

Do you in fact believe that the US government can declare a foreign organization null and void? Is it possible for any government to do so?

Do you have in your possession documents proving MEK's involvement in terrorist activities in recent years?

You claim, since the fall of Saddam's government, neither Iraqis nor any other entities have entered Camp Ashraf.

What do you call the attack on the Camp by Iraqi forces on April 8, 2011 which left dozens of the Camp's residents dead and many more injured?

Isn't it true that the US security forces made a thorough investigation of all the residents of the Camp in 2004?

Isn't it also true the Camp is completely under the control of Iraqi security forces?

روابط

حقیقت عریان این است که مجاهدین عده ای زهوار دررفتۀ پیر و پاتال هستند که بیشتر نیاز به واکر دارند و مداوای روحی و جسمی و استفادۀ ابزاری لابی ها و جدا شدگان از این کالت نمایانگر روابط با مراکزی است که با منافع مردم ایران در تضاد هستند.

بدلیل سوابق که شامل همکاری با دشمن در هنگام جنگ عراق علیه ایران میشود؛ سازمان مجاهدین خلق سازمانی سوخته است و نقشی در آینده ایران ندارد.

اینهمه زور زدن برای نگاهداشتن این بخت برگشتگان در فهرست تروریستی که آنان را از شانس اسکان یافتن در آمریکا محروم میکند منطقی نیست.

همزمان همین لابی ها با قرار دادن نام سپاه پاسدارن در فهرست تروریستی مخالفت میکنند.