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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch

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To: lurqer who wrote (32515)	12/10/2003 10:36:22 AM
From: lurqer	Read Replies (1) of 89467

Is this just a power play by the Governing Council? Senior Iranian officials on Wednesday welcomed a decision by Iraq's Governing Council to expel an Iranian opposition group and said group members could return home if they had not committed crimes against Iran. Iraq's U.S.-backed Governing Council decided Tuesday to expel the People's Mujahideen (also known as the Mujahideen Khalq) by the end of the month and confiscate its assets. "Naturally the decision is highly acceptable and we welcome it," Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting. U.S. officials said last month the Mujahideen, who seek to install a secular government to replace Iran's clerical leaders, were being screened for possible involvement in war crimes, terrorism and other activities. "Those whose hands are not besmirched with the blood of Iranians can return to the embrace of their nation and will be pardoned," Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi told reporters. Mujahideen members surrendered to U.S. forces invading neighboring Iraq earlier this year and are being held in camps in the north. It was not clear where they would go if expelled. A European diplomat in Tehran said the decision by the Governing Council, whose authority is limited, to expel the Mujahideen was unrealistic and designed to "please the Iranians and annoy the (U.S.-led) coalition in Iraq." "For a start the MEK (Mujahideen) fighters are being held under the Americans' control. And then there's the problem of where would they go, because not many would want to go to Iran and no other country would want them," he said. The Mujahideen said the expulsion was planned by Iran and reflected the "fantasies" of Tehran's clerical leadership about removing a group it considers a threat. Government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh denied Iran had arranged the plan with its arch-foe the United States and Iraq. "We have not struck a deal with anyone on the terrorist groups," Government Spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh told reporters when he was asked about possibility of a deal. Some U.S. officials have suggested U.S. forces on the ground are moving too slowly to disarm the group, possibly because of a preoccupation with a growing insurgency against them. The U.S.-led coalition that toppled Saddam Hussein in April set up the Governing Council as an interim body before the planned transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis. abcnews.go.com Just wondering. lurqer

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