Article

2007-03-08 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Asgari defection confirmed by US official

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Grunter 2007-03-08 00:26|| || Front Page|| [11126 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "To my knowledge, Israel is not involved in any way in this disappearance," said Mark Regev, ~~loop excludee~~ the spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2007-03-08 07:34|| 2007-03-08 07:34|| Front Page Top

#2 One additional item: Menashe Amir, an Israeli analyst of Iranian affairs, said he had information suggesting Gen Asgari's family had been with him when he vanished. "According to part of the information, his wife and children managed to leave Iran before his disappearance," Mr Amir told Israeli Army radio, without providing his sources. "It's very possible that he decided to defect."

But Rasool Nafisi, an Iranian political analyst at Strayer University in Virginia, suggested the disappearance bore the trademarks of the main Iranian rebel group, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), which is currently based in a US-guarded military camp inside Iraq. "My guess is that it's the MEK. They have been very active in Turkey for years. According to reports in Iran, the people who interrogated the Iranian diplomats from Irbil [arrested by US forces in January] were MEK."

The MEK is listed as a terrorist group by the US state department, but the Pentagon is reportedly pushing to recruit MEK fighters for clandestine operations against Iran.

Possibly the MEK was used to contact Ali and arrange his and his families defection. Maybe the US military pulled this off instead of CIA?

Posted by Steve 2007-03-08 07:40|| 2007-03-08 07:40|| Front Page Top

#3 It must really put salt in the wound when it was said the Israeli's did the deal. It may not be true, but it really hurts the Iranians to say so. If we could frame a few Iranians for this defection, then the Iranians would begin to eat their own.

Posted by whatadeal 2007-03-08 07:46|| 2007-03-08 07:46|| Front Page Top

#4 It's been about a month since Mr. Asgari disappeared in Turkey. Surely the most actionable information has already been gotten from him. Anyway, the Persians have now had a few days to bring their nerves to the proper level of excitement, where they can properly appreciate the jolt that comes from knowing, rather than worrying and hoping it isn't true. Not that I wouldn't have minded a longer simmer before bring things to a full boil.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-03-08 07:46|| 2007-03-08 07:46|| Front Page Top

#5 ...according to a senior U.S. official.

Washington's most important person--the Anonymous Senior Official ("ASO")(from John Bolton) seems to be very busy briefing the MSM!

Posted by SwissTex 2007-03-08 09:43|| 2007-03-08 09:43|| Front Page Top

#6 The Israelis through Mossad gathered Intell on Asgari and recognized his vulnerability. They approached CIA and shared this data with their opposite numbers at Langley. Both Mossad and CIA then made the decision to approach Asgari in the most opportune way and make their pitch to him to defect. They then arranged for the family in its entirety to be gathered and removed from Iran by ostensibly plausible ways and means. All these manuevers were co-ordinated and then Asgari himself was extracted and the West had their prize.

Maybe he was "bought", but that wont matter, because however the means used to get him, once you HAVE him you got his balls, and you have his family too.

The Pasdaran are going to really be hurt by this. Asgari is a current sheer goldmine of a mountain of Intell. The CIA and Mossad will share the loot for the next decade. Iran wont be able to stop them from having new aquisitions inside the Pasdaran as well.

The entire Pasdaran network worldwide will be flooded with CIA and Mossad now that a war is brewing. We are gonna get more of them now. Guaranteed.

Asgari has sold everybody he ever met.

Iran's threat of sleeper cells worldwide is going to be as full of holes as a bum's jockeys. CIA and Mossad are going to be racing to get at those cells. This is good for the West and VERY bad for Iran.

If a war starts soon Iran is going to see a whole lot of its powder is wet. We will grab, nuetralize, and turn their overseas networks. Iran will find we run their ops ourselves and have their people either working for us now ...or dead. And they wont know who among their own people to trust. Its an insiders game.

Posted by Angleton 9 2007-03-08 09:52|| 2007-03-08 09:52|| Front Page Top

#7 a most important piece of info would be the names of other high level defectees

also it would be nice to have the names of cheaply bribable Mullahs and some cheaply bribable generals

Posted by mhw 2007-03-08 10:03|| http://hypocrisy-incorporated.blogspot.com/]">[http://hypocrisy-incorporated.blogspot.com/] 2007-03-08 10:03|| Front Page Top

#8 Angleton 9, you write the nicest things! :-)

Posted by trailing wife 2007-03-08 14:40|| 2007-03-08 14:40|| Front Page Top

14:13 Ðîìàí
23:46 Verlaine
23:41 Verlaine
23:35 Shipman
23:35 anon1
23:31 Shipman
23:28 anon1
23:28 Barbara Skolaut
23:24 Verlaine
23:19 Shipman
23:12 Shipman
23:10 Flolumble Elmuling1667
23:07 USN, ret.
23:05 Shipman
23:02 Old Patriot
22:56 USN, ret.
22:54 DMFD
22:48 USN, ret.
22:44 Shieldwolf
22:37 USN, ret.
22:36 Shieldwolf
22:34 RD
22:32 Shieldwolf
22:21 Frank G