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11/4/01

Fight Against Terrorism: Deeds vs. Words

By Mohammad Parvin

At this particular juncture of the history, when we are witnessing disastrous effects of one of the most terrible act of terrorism right at the heart of the U.S., the policy of appeasement that U.S. has taken with respect to the Islamic Regime of Iran (IRI) is appalling and raises many serious questions regarding the stand of the U.S. Government with respect to terrorism and terrorist regimes. The recent news regarding the upcoming visit of Khatami, the President of Islamic Regime, to the United Nation in New York raises even more concerns among those who have witnessed the terrorist activities of IRI and human rights abuses in Iran for the last 22 years.

Fortunately, we don’t need to prove to the US government that Islamic Regime of Iran is one of the most notorious terrorist regimes in the world. After all it was the U.S. State Department itself that based on the terrorist activities of this regime against U.S. interests, has recognized IRI as a terrorist regime. Just for the benefit of the readers who may not have followed IRI’s participation in terrorist acts, some of the crimes confirmed by respectable authorities are listed at the end of this article.

Of course, and so regretfully, the U.S. Government has never addressed the terrorist activities of IRI against its own people and has not placed the ending of these atrocities as one of the conditions set for the normalization of relations with IRI. The conditions set by the U.S. were: non- interference of IRI in Middle East Peace process, refraining from terrorist activities against U.S. interests, and not developing the weapons of mass destructions. It is so ironic that at a time that terrorism is supposed to become under scrutiny, even these conditions have been reduced to: stand with us against Taliban and we drop all charges against you.

When addressing the nation in his first speech after the September 11 terrorist attack, President Bush rightly asked for American people’s sacrifice in order to fight terrorism. This raised the least expectation that the U.S. government and Corporate America may leave the  “interest” factor out of the foreign relations equation when dealing with terrorist regimes. Unfortunately, this hope faded away so quickly. It seems that mending relations with one of the most brutal regimes of our time has become the main task of the Bush administration to the degree that many authorities including General Powel and General Rumsfield make several friendly remarks and send unmistaken signals to Iran for re-establishment of relations. For the first time a senior Iranian diplomat, Hadi Njat Hosienian gets clearance from State Department to go to Washington and have dinner with 6 U.S. lawmakers including Senator Arlen Specter. Along the same line, U.S. Chamber of Commerce declared in its last week conference that establishing ties with Iran would be its main objectives and asked Washington to give way for Iran to become a member of WTO.

The spread of terrorism to the U.S. signifies the fact that terrorism has been a global problem and should be dealt with on a global level. If the world is ready to undertake this task, then any and all political and economical considerations should be put aside. It is time for genuine freedom loving countries to re-evaluate their relationships with the countries which harbor, finance and train terrorists not by words but by deed.

Of course as usual, these efforts are done under the disguise of constructive dialog and rhetoric that this would influence the Islamic regime and promote its “moderate” elements. Islamic Regime is a terrorist regime and it is the hypocrisy of the U.S. at its most transparent form that while singing the deafening sign of fighting against terrorism and eliminating the roots of terrorism, to be after the friendship of terrorist regimes like Islamic regime of Iran. The act of terrorism and all atrocities committed by this regime are not the arbitrary act of some hard liners within the regime. It is the law of the land and written into the constitution if this regime and obeyed by all elements including the President of this regime and the West darling, Mr. Khatami. For example, the number of the people stoned to death has been the highest during the Presidency of Khatami, who preaches dialog among “civilizations”. This “moderate” figure is the one who has repeatedly and proudly declared Khomeini, the mastermind of all bloodsheds in Iran as his mentor. Therefore, the hollow gestures, nice words, and appealing smiles of this or that so-called “MODERATE” should not be taken seriously. Unfortunately, the U.S. mainstream media have done very little to expose this hypocrisy and are dead silent about the terrorism of the Islamic regime and the nature of the deals that are underway with it.

The urge of the freedom loving Iranian people is that the world community not to help, recognizes, and legitimizes this regime and let their struggle for democracy to prevail. Our world needs a universal definition of terrorism that would be applied indiscriminately. We also need an international body, like International Criminal Court (ICC) with universal jurisdiction the body qualified to recognize the act of terrorism and punish the terrorist could only be an International body like International Criminal Court. If determined to fight terrorism in a fundamental way, US should ratify the ICC treaty without any delay and work with other nations to improve its major obstacle of retroactivity. The Helm proposal that intends to kill ICC should be rejected categorically.

If the U.S. or other governments wish to side with humanity and not the terrorist regimes, then instead of siding with Islamic Terrorist Regime of Iran and hosting its representatives, they could facilitate the struggle of organizations like MEHR Foundation, an Iranian human rights group in the US, that is trying to bring to justice those who have committed crime against Iranian people and have been involved in terrorism abroad. This is the will of many Iranian, Iranian/American and Americans as reflected in the petitions collected by MEHR Foundation.

The US Terrorism Act prohibits any sort of help to terrorists by all individuals and groups. The least that is expected from the lawmakers and those who intend to enforce this Terrorism Act firmer than ever is that they would also abide by these rules and don’t recognize, help, or legitimize the terrorist regime of Iran and their representatives.

A Partial List of the Documented Terrorist Activities of the Islamic Regime of Iran

Based on Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act  (FSIA) Terrorist Exception, that exempts the immunity for the terrorist –sponsoring regimes, the Federal District Court of Columbia has heard a number of cases brought against the Islamic Regime of Iran. In all cases listed below, the court found the Islamic Republic of Iran guilty and awarded damages to the victims.

1-     Flatow v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 999 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1998)

2-     Ciccipo Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 F. Supp. 2d (D.D.C. 1998)

3-     Anderson Islamic Republic of Iran, 90 F. Supp. 2d 107  (D.D.C. 2000)

4-     Elahi v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 124 F. Supp. 2d 97  1 (D.D.C. 2000)

5-     Eisenfeld v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 2000 WL 1918779 (D.D.C. 2000)

6-     Sutherland v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 2001 WL 705838 (D.D.C. 2001)

7-     Jenco v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 2001 WL 871766 (D.D.C. 2001)

In absence of any serious challenge or punishment for its involvement in international terrorism, Islamic Regime has continued and even intensified its terrorist activities, and from the beginning of the 1990s has emerged as the leading “power” in this field. A short statistical review will prove the point:

• Based on the State department sources quoted by the Washington Times in 10/16/2001, IRI spends$100 million a year on Hezbollah and gives it arms, the delivery of which is coordinated by 150 of Tehran’s elite Revolutionary Guards stationed at a Hezbollah training camp in Lebanon. The same Hezbollah that killed 241 U.S. military personnel in a 1983 truck bombing in Beirut and blew up 19 U.S. airmen at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996.

• As reported in New Yorker Magazine on May 9, 2001, a few days before leaving office, Louis Freeh, the FBI Director, handed over a list of senior Iranian officials who he says should be charged with the 1996 bombing at Khobar Tower. The list includes the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier General Ahmad Sherifi. Ahmad Vahidi, head of the al-Quds section of the Revolutionary Guard is also known to be responsible for backing Hizbollah in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. The article added that: “ Any indictment are likely to name Iranian intelligence, commonly believed to be the source of terrorist activities”

• The State Department Report in 2000 says, “ Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp and the ministry of Intelligence and Security continued to be involved in the planning and execution of terrorist acts and continued to support a variety of groups that use terrorism to pursue their goals.”

• During the years 1979-1996 some 70 Iranian opposition leaders and activists have been assassinated by Iranian agents or proxy agents, i.e. terrorists belonging to radical Islamic groups and organizations. (For reference see: “Appendix to Action Memorandum 011: Alleged victims of Iranian government ‘hit squads’, 1979-1996”, Foundation for Democracy, 6 May 1966.)

• In 1996 the German judicial authorities accused the highest echelons of the Iranian regime of being responsible for the assassination of four Kurdish opposition leaders in Berlin on September 12, 1992. In April 1997 a German court concluded that the Iranian government was directly implicated in these murders (the so-called Mikonos affair).

• This limited space does not permit listing all IRI’s terrorist activity. However, last but not least, we should indicate that the IRI has been terrorizing Iranian people since its conception through the use of torture, imprisonment, and execution, including the massacre of thousands of political prisoners in the summer of 1988 (4500 victims have been identified so far.)