what proof are we given that the Quds force did anything???

[LSK]

Anything???

:shrug:

[BluePatriot]

1. Why do we need proof?

Isn't the statement of an authority figure enough? We need to trust our leaders! :sarcasm:

[Az]

2. Proof? Forget about proof. Evidence is the thing

And there is damn little evidence that is not questionable in the extreme. As was pointed out by the Iranian ambassador to the UN the people that came up with the so called weapons from Iran got the dates wrong. It is only the US that uses the MM/DD/Y format. Iran as well as the rest of the world typically use the Y/MM/DD format. Yet the weapons are dated via the US method. Doh!

[Emit]

3. Because the MEK said they did

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=212315&mesg_id=212315

[LSK]

9. that is a statement from Alireza Jafarzadeh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alireza_Jafarzadeh


Alireza Jafarzadeh (born 1957) is a terrorist and expert on the Middle East, an author, a media commentator, and and an active dissident figure to the Iranian government who is best known for revealing the existence of clandestine nuclear facilities in Iran in 2002. He has been associated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran and Mujahedin-e Khalq, a terrorist organization. In reference to Jafarzadeh’s press conference, March 16, President Bush said Iran's hidden nuclear program had been discovered "because a dissident group pointed it out to the world." Later that day, white House aides acknowledged that the dissident group cited by the president is the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).<1> On August 14, 2002, Jafarzadeh drew worldwide attention by revealing that Iran was running a secret nuclear facility in Natanz, and a dideuterium oxide facility in Arak. These revelations led to inspections of the sites by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). After their first inspection, IAEA , said in a report on Iran's nuclear activity that traces of uranium, greater than what is needed for a civilian power program, were found on Iranian nuclear equipment. <2>. These revelations eventually led to United Nations Security Council’s imposing sanctions on Iran on December 23rd, 2006, over its nuclear program.<3> However, as more info is coming to light, in many intelligence circles, Jafarzadeh is being named as another Ahmed Chalabi, the con artist that duped the Bush administration into invading Iraq.


On May 15th 2003, as then a spokesman for the National Council of Resistance of Iran Jafarzadeh also exposed the Iranian regime’s programs for biological and microbial weapons.<4> On Jan 5th, 2007 Alireza Jafarzadeh revealed that Iran’s government has sharply increased its efforts to fan sectarian violence in Iraq, easily transferring money and arms across the Iraqi border. <5>. In his news conference, Jafarzadeh provided details names of the of the Iranian forces, including the Qods Force, commanders, resources and plans for Iran’s sustaining a large-scale terror network in Iraq.

[Emit]

12. Yes, and He has been associated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran and Mujahedin-e Khal

n/t

[Marie26]

13. What is "Strategic Policy Consulting, Inc."?

This "think tank" seems to have only one employee - Jafarzadeh. He's been going on all the conservative talk shows spreading this info about how Iran is responsible for everything bad in Iraq; he also floated the idea of "Qods Force" responsibility shortly before the neocon's super-secret press conference said the same thing. The listed address of SPC, Inc. is actually a marketing company called Impacto. Huh? http://www.spcwashington.com/

[LSK]

15. I think hes the Iranian version of Chalabi

[Marie26]

16. I think you're right

I really want to know who or what is funding this organization. According to the DC Corporation's web-site, "Strategic Consulting, SPS, Inc." had its corporate charter revoked, and the address doesn't seem to be right, unless he's just sharing a suite w/another company. The whole thing is beyond shady. Does anyone know what SPS is short for?

http://mblr.dc.gov/corp/lookup/status.asp?id=36642

[LSK]

20. oh wonderful, he works for FOXNEWS as an analyst

http://www.alirezajafarzadeh.com/index.html

[Emit]

22. I do not know what SPS stands for in this case

But, as far as support, it appears that the Iran Policy Committee (IPC) has been associated with Jafarzadeh/Strategic Consulting in the past.

Less than a week earlier, on January 5, 2007, IPC held a press conference at the National Press Club at which it claimed to provide convincing evidence of Tehran's role in fomenting violence in Iraq. Under the headline “New Intelligence Points to Iran Destabilizing Iraq,” the conference showcased the work of Alireza Jafarzadeh, president of Strategic Policy Consulting and a FoxNews analyst, who claimed to have “specific intelligence” revealing the covert activities of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force in Iraq. According to a press release on the IPC website: “Jafarzadeh, author of The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis, said intelligence he has received 'suggests a sharp increase in Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and sectarian violence, especially in the past few months. The Qods Force secretly trains, finances, and arms an extensive network in Iraq ... The Qods Force has embarked on creating a new terrorist infrastructure and is calling it 'Hezbollah' to mimic Lebanon's Hezbollah. This Iraq network operates in Basra and Baghdad and is in contact with the Qods Force and Hezbollah of Lebanon.'”

IPC's Tanter followed up Jafarzadeh's remarks to push for the involvement of the MEK in U.S. operations in the region. He argued: “One way to overcome the acrimony between the U.S. government and Sunni politicians is to utilize an interlocutor trusted by both groups. The Mujahedin-e Khalq can function in just this capacity; indeed, the MEK already engages in quiet negotiations with Iraqi factions and has excellent relations with the U.S. military.”

[Marie26]

31. Thanks

How convenient that the IPC is also showcasing Jafarzadeh's "evidence". It looks like a coordinated propaganda campaign, w/the IPC, SPC, & the neocons all touting "evidence" that really traces back to just one source - Jafarzadeh. The IPC's press conference, SPC's analysis & the Iraq briefing were all set to come out at around the same time. Just like in the Iraq War, they're spreading false intell. among a variety of different organizations in order to make it seem like established wisdom, and disguise the real sketchiness of its source. I wonder if there's any links between these organizations & the Pentagon's new Iran Directorate?

[Emit]

17. And, I've read that he was the major source for the info on Iran's nuclear "weapons" program

He even mentions that on his website:

In April 2004, Jafarzadeh revealed that Iran, using some 400 nuclear experts, is running a secret nuclear weapons program supervised by the military and the Supreme Leader parallel to its overt nuclear energy program. Jafarzadeh revealed in March 2005 that Iran has built a secret underground facility in Tehran’s Parchin military complex where activities related to laser enrichment is carried out. In August 2005, he exposed new details about A. Q. Khan network and its long standing relation with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC).

In September and November 2005, and in January 2006, Jafarzadeh exposed a number of underground facilities near Tehran, used for WMD research and development. Jafarzadeh revealed in January 2006 how Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had sped up the uranium enrichment program, and that Iran has prepared some 5000 centrifuge machines to be installed in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility.


In March 2006, he revealed how the IRGC is deeply involved in the nuclear weapons program, conducting nuclear research and development. Jafarzadeh unveiled the details of Iran’s development of bio-weapons in May 2003, and had previously provided valuable information about the Shahab-3 medium range missile.

Jafarzadeh first disclosed the details of Iran’s involvement in the 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Argentina. In November 2003, Jafarzadeh exposed an extensive covert network of the Iranian regime’s agents who had been involved, for months, in meddling in the internal affairs of Iraq, seeking to derail the political process and establish a sister Islamic Republic in Iraq. As an accomplished analyst, Jafarzadeh has frequently appeared on major television and radio broadcasts including Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, CBS Evening News, NBC, ABC, BBC, Sky News, ITN, VOA, and NPR, to discuss Iran’s WMD program and terrorist activities around the world.

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:xrsIEOrHkvsJ:www.spcwashington.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D32%26Itemid%3D49+Jafarzadeh+iran+nuclear+weapons&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

And, from his website, he says advises congress and the executive branch agencies:

Strategic Policy Consulting, Inc. (SPC) is an independent firm, whose purpose is to provide expert advice and analysis on geopolitical developments in the Middle East. SPC serves as a valuable consultant in researching, developing and deploying solutions to the problematics of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and Islamic Fundamentalism, particularly with respect to these issues in Iran and Iraq.
SPC specialties include:
• Advising Congress, various Executive Branch agencies, and non-governmental organizations;
• Offering speakers for seminars, conferences, briefings, Congressional hearings, and university lectures;
• Providing incisive commentary to the media;
• Anticipating, assessing, and helping to disrupt threats to world peace;
• Informing a wide range of clients from senior policymakers to all-source analysts about the strengths and weaknesses of policies addressing key issues;
• Researching the evolution of sensitive topics of concern.

[Marie26]

23. Yep

IAEA blasts U.S. intelligence report on Iran

POSTED: 8:12 p.m. EDT, September 14, 2006

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has written a scathing letter to a congressional committee saying part of its case against Iran is "outrageous and dishonest." The report came a day before an Iranian opposition figure accused Iran of using lasers to enrich uranium in its bid to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran has repeatedly said that its nuclear program is solely for energy production.

The International Atomic Energy Agency wrote the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, lambasting it for claiming that the Islamic republic "is currently enriching uranium to weapons grade." Iran is far from that capability, the IAEA said.

On Thursday, Iranian dissident Alireza Jafarzadeh told reporters in New York that Iran was operating a laser uranium-enrichment program in its quest for a nuclear warhead. The information was obtained by opposition sources, said Jafarzadeh, president of Strategic Policy Consulting Inc., a terrorism consulting firm. Those sources made the same claim in 2002.

The current operation, Jafarzadeh told reporters, was set up in the same area near Tehran as the program opposition sources announced in 2002. However, an analyst for a group opposed to nuclear proliferation questioned the accuracy of Jafarzadeh's allegation. "Why would Iran put a secret laser enrichment facility in the same place where it had it in the first place? To me, that just doesn't make a whole amount of sense," said Paul Brannan, a research analyst with the nonprofit Institute for Science and International Security.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/14/iran.nukes/

The article mentions that Jafarzedah is repeating the same (false) claims that were earlier made by the "National Council of Resistance" opposition group in 2002 - strongly implying that Jafarzadah's "opposition sources" are in fact the "NCRI." This organization considers themselves the "Parliament in exile" of the Iranian Resistance, and are devoted to overthrowing Iran's government. If Jafarzadeh is Chalabi in this little sequel, I think the "National Council of Resistance of Iran" is the new "Iraqi National Congress."


And here's the MEK Connection -
"Alireza Jafarzadeh was (NCRI's) official representative in the USA until the Washington office was closed by the US State Department in 2002 on the grounds that it was only a front group for the People's Mujahedin of Iran, by then listed as a terrorist organistion in the United States<1>. Most analysts believe the NCRI to be the political wing of the MEK though the NCRI and the MEk both claim that the MEK is simply a member of the NCRI ... The MEK itself has been involved in several attacks, including bombings, on individuals and facilities (including government buildings) of the Islamic Republic of Iran, both within Iran and abroad. Some of these attacks have caused civilian deaths and both the MEK and NCRI are regarded by the Islamic Republic of Iran as being terrorists."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Resistance_of_Iran


Wow, when the CNN article called "Strategic Policy Consulting" a "terrorism consulting firm", they weren't kidding. "SPC" appears to be only a front for the NCRI, which is itself a front for the MEK dissident/terrorist organization.

Wikipedia - National Council of Resistance of Iran -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Council_of_Resistance_of_Iran

NCRI's snazzy website -
http://www.ncr-iran.org/

[Emit]

27. And it was this same MEK group that Saddam funded, a fact that Bush used

in his propaganda as a reason to prove Saddam had connections with terrorist groups. :crazy:

[LSK]

28. MEK, Quds, this is really sounding like a SNL skit

[Emit]

29. Lol! Yes, it is. n/t

[Marie26]

32. Crazy

It's like bizarro world - by Bush's own reasoning he should be impeached & jailed as a terrorist supporter.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Why do you hate Amurika ?

Don't you know asking questions
hurts our troops? Do you like
emboldening the enemy?
Stay the course.
A thousand points of light.

[LSK]

5. because im a commie islamo fascist!!

:P

[C_U_L8R]

19. Then... Welcome !!!

:-)

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. Geez! Didn't you hear our Commander in Chief? He's gonna

do somethin' about it! There's 180 proof in the empty bottle if you check his right hand desk drawer.

[Richard Steele]

7. We found some homemade bombs in Iraq. Only Quds can build homemade bombs!

[Ganja Ninja]

8. Bush talks to God.

He's a Christian and Christians never lie.

What more proof do you need?:shrug:
(just in case):sarcasm:

[Done]

10. No proof, but a lot of truthiness. nt

[shraby]

11. What proof is there of a force called Qud?

It sounds like something they just made up. Google time I guess.

[Rosemary2205]

14. Bush said it and that's all the proof I need to know it's a lie.

Every sound eminating from his stink hole is a lie.

[Miss Chybil]

18. The "Quds Force" is

the name of something most Americans have never heard of. Therefore, it is quite exotic sounding. Exotic = scary. Scary = "Let's bomb 'em," in Bushworld. It's all very simple to understand. No proof needed. /sarcasm

[malaise]

21. The Decider decided

The protector protected
The commander in chief commanded
Everyone else is simply fucked.

[semillama]

24. Furthermore, what proof are we given

that any Iranian weapons were given directly by Iranian government agents, and not acquired through arms dealers?

Aren't AK-47s manufactured in Russia? does that mean that Russia is arming the insurgents? (and if they aren't, you still get my point anyway...)

[HughMoran]

25. Some two-bit liar and his criminal cohorts said so

It must be true. :(

[Az]

26. To translate the current intel: BOO!

That is all.

[Jeanette in FL]

30. One newspaper reporter isn't buying the story

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2732223&mesg_id=2732223

'Made in Iran' isn't proof of complicity
SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN

Published February 15, 2007
________________________________________

AMMAN, Jordan - Should a country that manufactures a weapon be responsible for its use in wartime?

Yes, President Bush seemed to say Wednesday, accusing forces controlled by Iran's government of supplying roadside bombs to insurgents in Iraq. While acknowledging he doesn't know if the weapons were sent with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's approval, he said he was certain they came from Iran.

"They're there whether President Ahmadinejad knows about it or not," Bush told reporters at his first news conference of the year. "I intend to do something about it, and we're going to protect our troops."

But just as Bush is demanding that Iran stop providing weapons to Iraq, human rights groups are demanding that the United States cut off sales of cluster bombs to Israel. The reason: Since Israel's war with Hezbollah last summer, more than 30 Lebanese have been killed by previously unexploded "bomblets" that were dropped by Israel but manufactured in the United States.

more at the link

An excellent article