Former Iranian Officer Explains the Games Mullahs Play
A Revolutionary Guard who reported to the CIA believes a tough ultimatum to the Iranian regime is long overdue.
The mullahs have always maintained a dual-strategy policy; one is to be prepared for any confrontation, and the other is to drag out negotiations with the West over their development of nuclear capabilities. Their goal is to outlast the Bush administration while pursuing the expansion of their missile delivery system for ballistic missiles and the enrichment process for the ultimate goal of obtaining a nuclear bomb. And the intention behind going nuclear is no less than destroying America and Israel’s power in the region — and beyond — with the belief that Islam will eventually conquer and rule the world.
On the confrontation front: Recently, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Jafari, who now also controls the Basiji forces, announced that the military will set up 31 command-and-control centers in provinces around Iran. They are appointing new commanders for each center, replacing the current commanders of the Guards in each province in coordination with Khamenei, the supreme leader. They are also appointing new representatives of the supreme leader within the Guards for each province.
This is designed to ensure loyalty, increased coordination, and less reliance on the central government. In case of a war and breakdown in communications between the central government and Revolutionary Guards around the country, the commanders at each center can make independent decisions to face off against any enemy or confront any public uprising.
On the negotiation front: The Iranians have found a new approach to further drag out the negotiations on the 5+1 package. As reported, they met on July 19 with the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and representatives of world powers, including the United States of America. The Iranians claim the discussions did not include any talk of suspending the enrichment program but rather a halt to expanding the project.
The terms discussed (freeze-for-freeze) could provide additional time of another six weeks of negotiations while the Iranians could maintain the current centrifuges in place. President Ahmadinejad announced that Iran now has 6,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium for their nuclear program. Their main goal is to prolong the talks for as long as they can while maintaining their right to the enrichment process. Then they will have enough nuclear material for one nuclear bomb within six months.
Their goal of destroying America and Israel is also twofold: military and financial.
On the military front: Iran’s leaders know that they will never be able to match America’s military might. I reported to the CIA from my position in the Guards in the 1980s that Mohsen Rezaei, then the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, received authorization from Imam Khomeini to officially expand the martyrdom force in the air, ground, and sea. It was decided then — since they would never be able to match the power of America — that they would create thousands of smaller forces in order to tax the response of the Americans.
For example: If 1,000 high-speed boats equipped with small missile launchers and filled with dynamite attacked the American Navy ships, it would overwhelm their defense systems and the probability of afflicting damage would be very high. Iran began creating these smaller attack boat units in the 80s. Then they purchased small submarines and started producing missiles, of which they now claim to have thousands, capable of reaching not only their neighbors but also Israel. They are working on missiles that can reach Europe and ballistic missiles to reach America. North Koreans are in Iran helping with the development of their missile technology. North Korea itself cannot pursue ballistic missile delivery without some harsh objection from the Chinese and the West, so their involvement in Iran serves their interests as well. The intent of developing the thousands of missiles is in pursuit of the same goal: overwhelming any defense capability to inflict damage and create fear, the horror of which can be heightened with the chemical weapons they possess.
The Iranians are skilled in using proxies such as Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Shiites in Iraq, Taliban in Afghanistan, and other terrorist organizations around the world, as they have demonstrated over and over again with bombings and hostage-taking in Lebanon and other countries. Many Americans, most notably CIA operative William Buckley and U.S. Marine Colonel William Higgins, were kidnapped and tortured to death. Many others of different nationalities were kidnapped and later on used as bargaining chips for exchange. The most blatant show of force by the mullahs was the 2006 Lebanon war through their proxy Hezbollah.
On the financial front: Iran pursues the same goals with the same philosophy as al-Qaeda in that any effort that puts a strain on the economy of the United States is a legitimate action. Al-Qaeda did that with their suicide attack of 9/11, and Iran is sowing havoc and chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan. The mullahs have calculated the cost of the Iraq invasion and the rising oil prices to the U.S. economy, and they also see that as a tool to weaken the superpower.
They intend to continue, for there will be only two ways out for America: one is an attack on Iran, which they see as unlikely with the current economic situation and oil prices; the other way out for the U.S., as they see it, is to leave Iraq and accept defeat. This would create an environment that the mullahs most desire, as it would allow them to expand their power by seating friendly politicians in Iraq, terrorizing their foes, creating an Islamic government cooperative with Iran, and all the while developing their nuclear bomb.
"Reza Kahlili" is a pseudonym for an ex-CIA spy whose code name is “Wally.” Currently residing in the United States, he is writing a book about his experiences as a CIA agent in Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
19 Comments
1. Cyrus:I didn’t see any new or superior information in this article. all information and analys coming from public area not from a CIA agent!
Aug 8, 2008 - 6:13 am 2. Frank Logan:The info may not be new to people who have been paying attention, but it is to the great majority of your fellow citizens. This article needs to be e-mailed to everyone in your address book, to make them aware of the threat to security that the Mullahs represent.
Aug 8, 2008 - 6:51 am 3. Cyrus:The Iranians want the U.S. in Iraq for a very long time because if the U.S. left, that means part of Iraq for sure will come under the control of Al Qaeda and thus the Iran Iraq war will continue from where it had left off.
Aug 8, 2008 - 11:13 am 4. barrybarryquitecontrary.com:Speaking of Iraq, they are really ungrateful to the United States for getting rid of Saddam and the rest of the semi literate hicks from Tikrit from power.
The Iraqi treasury is awash in surplus cash but they won’t help the U.S. foot the bill for mainaining security in their country. Let the Kurds have their own country is what I say!
Reza Khalili wrote: “The mullahs believe in one thing only: Islam conquering the world through the reappearance of the 12th Imam. They have chosen their path. The question is: have we?
Yes, I believe America has chosen its path too. 50% +/- of Americans at every level of society, from the common man to the 24/7 mainstream media mouthpieces, to the highest offices in the government have at best chosen the path of ignorance and denial of the threat we now face. At worst, they are complicit in the spread of this very threat.
My family signed The Declaration of Independance and has fought in every war in America since the American Revolution. I understand the significant price that was paid by the men and women that came before me to scratch and claw and fight for a democratic republic, “…of the people, by the people, for the people.”
“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Excerpted from the Gettysburg Address – A. Lincoln
This fact remains: That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Excerpted from the Declaration of Independence signed by my relative, Robert Morris of Pennsylvania
It becomes more clear each day, the fact that we can vote no longer guarantees that we have a representative government. And most importantly, our ability to “alter or abolish” the government through a democratic republic process has been so greatly diminished that it is virtually non-existent. The forces that desire a socialist state rather than a democratic republic have gained critical mass in America which is evidenced by the very fact that Barack Hussein Obama has garnered such celebrity and indeed position to accomplish these socialist ends. Although the Mullahs seek to establish a caliphate, tyranny called by any other name is still tyranny.
The current reality is such that the global forces of tyranny are truly an axis of evil much greater than the sum of its parts. Russia, Iran and China are the most obvious forces of evil conspiring against our great land, but sadly, our enemies come from both within our borders and without, extending to every corner of the globe. Our task at hand is much greater than the tyranny we faced in the American Revolution. I’m afraid we will never be able to fight such a simple and clear cut enemy of freedom and liberty again. Barack Obama declared in Germany “…we are citizens of the world” and based on this insidious mindset we must know fight a new American Revolution on a global scale. America has set her path and it will take great diligence and sacrifice by right minded patriots to bring her back on course if it is even possible. God help us!
Aug 8, 2008 - 11:46 am 5. fred:I think “Cyrus” is an Iranian who has inserted himself into this discussion to try to sow doubt about “Reza Kahlili” and what he has to say. I say this because of his misspellings and awkward grammar, plus “Cyrus” is a famous Persian king from antiquity. Plus, he taunts us about the new oil prosperity of Iraq and what we are funding for the war over there. Never forget that Iran DOES NOT WANT US IN IRAQ. They are not at all “grateful” to us for ousting the Baathists. They knew better than most that Iraq was no longer capable of invading Iran. This is an example of a poor execution of an Iranian trained in Russian “dizinformatzia” and failing badly at it.
Hizb’allah has agents all over this country. Iranians working for the Islamic Republic have been in this country for a long time. I had such as a room mate in college back in 1980-82. They come here and blend in for the purpose of observing us and sowing confusion. They get into our country and our government through our universities.
We will regret having let Iran off the hook. It is going to cost millions of lives in the future. Ironically, the only way for Iran as a nation to survive the coming firestorm is for us to pre-emptively strike at their nuclear weapons’ programs, their air defenses, their naval forces, and killing Hizb’allah where ever they may be found. Otherwise, we will have to retaliate with massive nuclear weapons’ strikes against their country, effectively wiping their country from existence. That is what will happen if we do not destroy their weapons soon. When they get them, they will use them, and it will be too late.
Aug 8, 2008 - 5:19 pm 6. kabud:it is adviceable to read Gingerbread race.
——
“There’s never been anything inconsistent about the idea that bin Laden would be providing most of the people in this, with Iraqi intelligence helping logistically and otherwise being behind it.” The important aspect of Woolsey’s thinking is that the Islamic “fundamentalist threat” is at least belatedly perceived as consanguine with and fraternal to the “rogue regimes” that Russia has been financing, arming, and inciting against the West with one hand, while offering the West protection from these very regimes with the other.
And if I am wrong, and the World Trade Center attacks had in fact came from Iran, Syria, or Libya? From opposition groups in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, or Pakistan? From the Palestinian refugee camps? Or even from Afghanistan, with its history of political opportunism and tribal backstabbing? No matter. Whichever “rogue regime” they came from, Moscow has been supporting it; and whatever the “rogue regime” may say to clear its name will be drowned in the twin chorus of Western indignation and, more important, of Russian solicitude. And even if, for now, America still feels patriotic and wants to fend for itself, who better than the Russians to protect old helpless Europe from the menace of Islamic terrorism.
Aug 8, 2008 - 9:59 pm 7. Cyrus:–
http://www.jrnyquist.com/text/navrozov.html
Fred, I don’t know what kind of Cyrus you referred in your comment because here there are two Cyrus but I am Cyrus1 who wrote”I didn’t see any new or superior information in this article. all information and analys coming from public area not from a CIA agent!” Aug 8, 2008 – 6:13 am
yes I am Iranian and I stated many times that in my comments.I am not a part of Iranian regime but I spent many years in jail and in sulitude confinment for my point of views.
what I am saying is an CIA agent have to have superior information not gathering information from public area and write as a special agent. I didn’t see any secret or classsified information in his article.
Aug 9, 2008 - 7:11 am 8. Jack:I love pajamasmedia and our friends. I love regime changes in Iran even by military forces but it doesn’t mean accept any article or jonior information or analys as a superior report by CIA agent. pajama is not hollywood and no need to showoff. that is set.
It is clear that Russia and China are both in bed with the mullahs.Our leadership needs to get rid of the mullahs and stop this nonsense or Iran with a nuclear bomb will destroy our livelihood. It is scary how Iran is run with the people in charge. I agree with Fred on Cyrus,he must be one of those radical Muslims pretending to be on our side.
Aug 9, 2008 - 9:13 am 9. RS:Cyrus:
Why do you think a CIA agent would reveal secret or classified information? Look at Valerie Plame’s book – half of it is redacted and crossed out because of sensitive material. I don’t know of any CIA agent, past or present, who has revealed secrets or classified material. To do so would cause their arrest.
And just what regime changes in Iran do you “love?” These mullahs and the current government have repeatedly said they were going to destroy Israel and their allies. They believe it is their religious duty to do so. How can you love a regime whose goal is to destroy us?
Maybe you’re jealous and envious of someone who has the ability to articulate exactly what is going on, so you have to call it “jonier” information, whatever that is.
What are your special views that caused you to spend many years in jail and “sulitude” confinement? Whose jail? Why would you ridicule someone who’s trying to inform people of a growing and present danger to the world?
Aug 9, 2008 - 1:08 pm 10. Cyrus:RS,
Everybody knows that Iranian regime looking to atomic bomb even recently Mohammad El Bradee pro Iranian said” Iran can make bomb within 6-12 months” that is closer time from CIA and MOSAD and NIE reports!!
about support of terrorism in all Middle East countries and interfered in peace process between Israel and plestinian, Iranian have same behavior. all governments in west just talking but we did not serious actions.
look at US as superpower and Security Council of UN. they had no strategy and Iran with a foolish president like Ahmadi Nejad can play with them.
in US during 3 decades all Democratic and Republican governments just gave Iranian intensives, had negotiation and words war with Iran. they didn’t do anything and this is what Iranian regime want it. they refere to their foreign enemies but put pressure on inside.
what I am saying is real information and real action. we have to stop play with words and have a executive plan to remove Iranian regime. we don’t need to state “Gun Boats”, “Stick & Carrot” or “Frog in Hot Vessle” policies against Iran because they are laughing to us and call us “Paper Tiger” an ” a Dog who can only Barking”. what I want is stoping such a policy and change our behavior with serious actions. I thing before Iranian regime change we need change ourelves because with this adminstration only we can continue existing path. I don’t beleive with such article we can see real change in US policy or any flexibility or reform in Iran. only thing that can lead us to true is what Mc Cain said during his speech’ Bomb Iran” that is set.
Aug 10, 2008 - 4:49 am 11. Jack:please do not accuse me and try to understand what I am saying. we need to real information from inside, superior analysis and executive decision makers that can help us to reality before something happen!!
I believe if US and rest of the world do not remove the Iranian regime by military action until end of this year Mullahs will attack to US and Israel very soon. it can be on 2009 but with the Alqade or Hezbollah’s hands.
Cyrus you are a moron.you are repeating exactly what the article points out but then discredit those same facts in an earlier post!
Aug 10, 2008 - 9:25 am 12. David:This article is a warning to the sleepyheads in Washington. I wonder if our politicians are going to wake up and take action. Have you guys seen this:
Iran has carried out missile tests for what could be a plan for a nuclear strike on the United States, the head of a national security panel has warned.
In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee and in remarks to a private conference on missile defense over the weekend hosted by the Claremont Institute, Dr. William Graham warned that the U.S. intelligence community “doesn’t have a story” to explain the recent Iranian tests.
One group of tests that troubled Graham, the former White House science adviser under President Ronald Reagan, were successful efforts to launch a Scud missile from a platform in the Caspian Sea.
“They’ve got [test] ranges in Iran which are more than long enough to handle Scud launches and even Shahab-3 launches,” Dr. Graham said. “Why would they be launching from the surface of the Caspian Sea? They obviously have not explained that to us.”
Another troubling group of tests involved Shahab-3 launches where the Iranians “detonated the warhead near apogee, not over the target area where the thing would eventually land, but at altitude,” Graham said. “Why would they do that?”
Graham chairs the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, a blue-ribbon panel established by Congress in 2001.
The commission examined the Iranian tests “and without too much effort connected the dots,” even though the U.S. intelligence community previously had failed to do so, Graham said.
“The only plausible explanation we can find is that the Iranians are figuring out how to launch a missile from a ship and get it up to altitude and then detonate it,” he said. “And that’s exactly what you would do if you had a nuclear weapon on a Scud or a Shahab-3 or other missile, and you wanted to explode it over the United States.”
The commission warned in a report issued in April that the United States was at risk of a sneak nuclear attack by a rogue nation or a terrorist group designed to take out our nation’s critical infrastructure.
“If even a crude nuclear weapon were detonated anywhere between 40 kilometers to 400 kilometers above the earth, in a split-second it would generate an electro-magnetic pulse [EMP] that would cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure,” the report warned.
While not causing immediate civilian casualties, the near-term impact on U.S. society would dwarf the damage of a direct nuclear strike on a U.S. city.
“The first indication [of such an attack] would be that the power would go out, and some, but not all, the telecommunications would go out. We would not physically feel anything in our bodies,” Graham said.
As electric power, water and gas delivery systems failed, there would be “truly massive traffic jams,” Graham added, since modern automobiles and signaling systems all depend on sophisticated electronics that would be disabled by the EMP wave.
“So you would be walking. You wouldn’t be driving at that point,” Graham said. “And it wouldn’t do any good to call the maintenance or repair people because they wouldn’t be able to get there, even if you could get through to them.”
The food distribution system also would grind to a halt as cold-storage warehouses stockpiling perishables went offline. Even warehouses equipped with backup diesel generators would fail, because “we wouldn’t be able to pump the fuel into the trucks and get the trucks to the warehouses,” Graham said.
The United States “would quickly revert to an early 19th century type of country.” except that we would have 10 times as many people with ten times fewer resources, he said.
“Most of the things we depend upon would be gone, and we would literally be depending on our own assets and those we could reach by walking to them,” Graham said.
Aug 10, 2008 - 9:53 am 13. Jack:Israel needs to attack Iran now while Russia is busy with Georgia.We need to teach a lesson to both Russia and Iran or we will be running out of time&options.
Aug 10, 2008 - 5:20 pm 14. osogrizzly:Aaah, the Faraday Cage. Cure for the common EMP attack.
Aug 10, 2008 - 8:37 pm 15. Cyrus:jack,I am not a moron because if I was a moron I have to work with existing adminstration or some analysist like you. I repeated many times in my comments that we are friends and we are in the same path(please faster, remove the regime by changing from inside or by military attack) but it does not mean by making a long story with a scenario under the title of ” Former CIA agent in Iran comes in from the heat!!”. for reaching to our goal we do not need to make a “360 Cooper” or another “Hot Zone”.
Aug 11, 2008 - 6:59 am 16. David:what we need is access to superior information and accurate analysis. these are only keys which can help to decision makers in US and Israel about Iran.
“what we need is access to superior information and accurate analysis”
Aug 11, 2008 - 11:58 am 17. David:Dude you are confused.Go watch CNN or NBC.Or read your own posts again,that should give you superior information! LOL
Iran mullahs need a good spanking:
Iran will not back down on its nuclear stance despite the threat of tighter sanctions, Iranian media quoted a government spokesman as saying on Sunday.
Aug 11, 2008 - 5:22 pm 18. Jack:Is anybody surprised why the Iranians won’t go for the incentives and don’t care about sanctions?
Aug 11, 2008 - 6:52 pm 19. arash:I don’t think so.Wake up America.
I agree with the author….the mullahs are the evil reincarnated- they are the most evil, vile, bloodthirsty, ruthless, and on and on with the adjectives- you get my point.
Aug 23, 2008 - 2:00 pmwe must cut the head of this monster soon- not by bombing only the nuclear sites- but by taking out the revolutionary guards, basiji, and their heads of goverment- I guarantee that with this, the iranian people will take back their country.
a revolution from inside is very unlikely- since the mullahs will kill anyone who poses a threat to them- I wonder where is carter to criticize the mullahs about the carnage and torture which they have carried out against our nation???
carter can take his noble peace prize with him to hell! he, arguably, is the cause of islamic radicalism or at least, it’s spread.