US News
Iranian defector huge coup for Americans
By Seth Schuyler Mar 8, 2007, 18:47 GMT
In what could be a huge coup for United States intelligence, a top Iranian official has defected and is said to be spilling the beans about Iran's connection to radical groups like Hezbollah which the official helped found, the Washington Post reports today.
Ali Rez Asgari, a former deputy defense minister who once commanded that country's Revolutionary Guard, vanished during a visit to Turkey last month. Iran's top police chief, Brig. Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam asserted that Asgari was probably kidnapped by agents working for Western intelligence agencies, said Iran's top news agency, IRNA,
That allegation was denied by a U.S. government official who, in the Post story he Asgari disappeared on his own volition but suggested the Israelis helped him jump ship, according to the Washington Post. Asgari is willingly cooperating, another official told the Post, but would not disclose where he was being questioned or who was interrogating him. But a report in Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz said he was in the United States.
Asgari served at the epicenter of the Iranian government until early 2005, so he appears to be a very big catch. He is likely to have considerable knowledge of Iran's national security infrastructure, conventional weapons arsenal and ties to Hezbollah in south Lebanon, according to the Washington Post story.
Former officers with Israel's Mossad spy agency claimed yesterday Asgari was instrumental in the founding of Hezbollah in the 1980s, around the time of the group bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut where over Americans 200 died "He is very high-caliber," said Israeli parliament member Danny Yatom, a former director of Mossad. "He held a very, very senior position for many long years in Lebanon. He was in effect commander of the Revolutionary Guards" in that country. Israel fought a bitter war with Lebanon's Hezbollah in 2006.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Is not enough to describe the one who believes this hypothesis.
He was abducted, nuance. And he is being tortured probably to death so the CIA/Mossad can squeeze all information they can from him. They also expect to provoke Iran into a retaliation.
What a bunch of... baloney.
Lol, I don't blame him for jumping ship. It's clear to see which country is more suitable to man's nature. You can always turn away from the dark side.
It takes years to confirm info from these defectors.
'around the time the group bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut'
Seth Schuyler, the author of this piece, appears to know something the U.S. government doesn't, because responsibility for the 1983 attack has never been determined.
Since the rest of his piece is just a straight retelling of the Washington Post/Haaretz story, what prompted him to add that little gratuitous embellishment? Someone should tell him that Mossad is considered every bit as likely a candidate as Hezbollah.
Wonderful! (in my most sarcastic tone)
I wonder how long it will take before some of this guy's information is used as an excuse to drop bombs on Iran?
GWB wasn't kidding when he said 'I don't read history, I make it'. Germany could very well have kept control of Europe had Hitler not opened the Eastern front. I sadly believe that King George II is looking to repeat that mistake.
And even more sadly I still think he's doing a better job than that gigalo with a dishonerable discharge who ran against him could have done.
Yeah...yeah, sure. I'll go with the curve ball.
To me it seems that something is missing in this story. If he was not abducted, why not a public statement? Or did he stumble into some sort of trap, like the friendly lady with dirty vids? To believe that he woke up one morning and thought..........ahhhhhh.......why not turn myself over to american CUSTODY??? Sorry, it doesn't wurk for me.
page: 1
Robert MMar 8th, 2007 - 21:35:15
Neat, another 'Curveball'
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