Fugitive pleads with US to 'liberate' Iran (meets with Richard Perle)

[sabra]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2189887,00.html

Fugitive pleads with US to 'liberate' Iran

FOR almost eight months, Amir Abbas Fakhravar was held in solitary confinement in a soundproof cell in Iran. His bare, constantly lit surroundings were all a creamy white — the walls, the floor, his clothes and the door, with a slit through which white rice would be delivered in a white bowl by guards wearing slippers to muffle their footfall.

Amnesty International calls his case the first known example of “white torture” in Iran and it nearly drove Fakhravar mad. He was stuck in a terrifying, real-life version of the George Lucas film, THX 1138, about a dystopia where dissidents are imprisoned in a white room.

...

He surfaced at the end of last month in Dubai, where 24 hours later he was met by the leading American neoconservative, Richard Perle. Fakhravar was whisked to America last weekend and has already met congressmen and Bush officials. He said he was in Washington to spread one message only: “Regime change,” he said, breaking from Farsi into English to deliver it.

In Iran, Bush is regarded as a liberator, Fakhravar said. “People are afraid to express what is in their hearts, but in small, private gatherings, they see him as a saviour.”

[grytpype]

1. Here we go.

[OKthatsIT]

38. Why does this remind me of the Pvt Jessica Lynch charade?

This is just more psyops BS.

[grytpype]

2. And get this:

And get this:

Additional reporting: Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv

Yeah, Israel wants Bush to attack Iran. They want it bad.

[genieroze]

32. Well let them use THEIR f**king nukes to do it.

[lumpy]

44. That is the plan,

plain as the nose on my face.

[rooney]

3. maybe he will be the

equivalent to Chalabi

[DemCam]

24. Are we sure he ain't Chalabi

in disguise, of course.

[LouisianaLiberal]

4. Expect this gentleman to be sitting next to Laura

at the next state of the union address.

[cantstandbush]

18. Sounds like he was held in a prison like GITMO or somewhere

like where the US renditions take place. Will someone "liberate" the US from Bush regime? People are afraid to speak out in the US but in small gatherings Bush is regarded as a dictator.

[coalition_unwilling]

53. Canada, please liberate us! We apologize for all the

moose jokes :)

[chill_wind]

5. Here we go AGAIN. They'll greet us with FLOWERS tra la la

What-- no front-page interviews with Judy Miller yet?

He surfaced at the end of last month in Dubai, where 24 hours later he was met by the leading American neoconservative, Richard Perle. Fakhravar was whisked to America last weekend and has already met congressmen and Bush officials. He said he was in Washington to spread one message only: “Regime change,” he said, breaking from Farsi into English to deliver it.

[BrotherBuzz]

6. I swear I smell the Rendon Group somewhere close by.

:shrug:

[AnOhioan]

7. The PNAC plans moving ahead...

<Insert your favorite diety (or lack thereof) here> help us all.

[IChing]

8. He met with Richard Perle?? The dark Prince?

If you believe this story then I have a New American Century to Sell you.
Richard Perle gives this story an even darker tone
and the credibility of the WMD that were found in Iraq.

[Roland99]

23. Here's a thread from a couple of weeks in GD >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1138293

[IndianaGreen]

25. Why is Pearle, a private citizen, doing meeting with an Iranian exile

in Dubai of all places?

[Roland99]

34. Esp. since Perle should be in jail for various crimes.

[lumpy]

43. Oh I believe the man's story.

Many countries have their Gitmos. The thing is, Perle works for 'poor little Israel' and PNAC and wouldn't mind having us send US soldiers into another war to spread freedom and democracy to the region. After all we must make good use of that huge 'diplomatic' complex the US is building in Baghdad, the furture US capitol of the Mideast. Change in Iran, if there is any to be, will have to come from within, not from rogue states with their eyes on oil and world power.

[54anickel]

9. Oh come on, are these really direct quotes?

“People are afraid to express what is in their hearts, but in small, private gatherings, they see him as a saviour.”

“The regime wants to have a nuclear bomb so it can wipe out a country it doesn’t like,”


Bush as Saviour? :eyes:

Did he use that during his break into English from Farsi? Is there an Iranian word for saviour? I mean if people in Iran see Bush as a saviour, there must be a word for it, right?

[daleo]

10. Given the U.S. record in Guantanamo and Abu Graihb

It is hardly in the position to be holier than thou about claims like this.

[IndianaGreen]

11. He is welcome to liberate his own country

but America must withdraw from the Persian Gulf region. Iran is not worth one drop of American blood, and neither is Iraq, or Syria, or Lebanon, or Kuwait, etc.

[Amonester]

16. It is because, he does not really want to liberate his own country.

I am quite certain all he really wants is about the same millions of dollars Chalabi got from the American taxpayers' national credit card the neoCONs gave him so they could use him to fabricate all their PNAC fantasy reason$ to invade a country that have not invaded any other country.

These guys learn how to become multi-millionaires by defrauding the working class pretty fast, don't they?

[salin]

12. skepticism... is this one of the papers once owned by Black (Perle

on the Board)? I thought there were a number of British conservo papers that were owned by his company (and Perle sits/sat on the BoD of that company). Only ask because my first question in reading the headline - was "what media outlet is going to the discredited Perle as a primary source for a story" - seeing a Brit paper, it suddenly makes sense if the paper is already tied to Perle.

[IndianaGreen]

15. The Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch

You are thinking of The Jerusalem Post which was owned by Conrad Black, before he was ousted by Hollinger International. Perle and other neocons sat on the board.

[salin]

17. Thanks - I couldn't think of the company - Hollinger.

Odd, I am almost surprised that Perle's comments get promoed by a Murdoch paper - in the sense that in his print Empire, more and more critical bushite writings have begun to seep in during th past five months or so - guess the critical items are just enabling them to sell papers to an increasingly bush-negative reading audience. Nonetheless, it is always interesting to note, and try to figure out why, when a negative bush and neocon item shows up in a Murdoch newspaper. All of this is a nonsequitor, of course, given that this item is a pro-bush, lets go to war - see the sr (quack and publicly debunked) Perle, said so...

[IndianaGreen]

13. Fakhravar was allowed out of jail to visit parents & take exams

The story is suspect!

Here is an interview with this neocon gun-for-hire in National Review:

December 05, 2005, 8:21 a.m.

Message from Underground

A conversation with Amir Abbas Fakhravar.

By Jason Lee Steorts

Iranian Amir Abbas Fakhravar is a hunted man. A former medical student and journalist for the now-banned reform newspapers Moshareka and Khordad, Fakhravar came to prominence with the publication of his book This Place Is Not a Ditch, in which he criticized Iran’s rulers and called on the Iranian people to reject the mullahs’ regime. For doing so, he was sentenced in 2002 to eight years in prison. His status as a political prisoner and his mistreatment while incarcerated — he was reportedly denied medical care, and suffered frequent physical attacks — brought international attention and demands for his release. The mullahs proved less than accommodating, but they did allow Fakhravar occasional prison leaves in order to visit his family and take his university exams. In May of this year, while on such a leave, he decided he had had enough, and ran. He has been a fugitive ever since, and moves about Iran in an effort to escape the authorities.

Fakhravar’s decision to run and his pesky refusal to keep quiet have put his life in danger. An Iranian tribunal informed his sister earlier this year that Iran’s anti-riot police have a standing order to shoot him on sight. But the threat of death appears not to have intimidated him, and he continues to devote his energies to the cause of Iranian democracy.

He does this by communicating with Iranian students, whom he characterizes as deeply hostile to the rulers in Tehran. It is a strange commentary on the extent to which Iranian speech is suppressed — and on the peculiarities of the Internet age — that among the best ways for Fakhravar to reach his audience is by speaking with American journalists whose work finds its way to the Iranian underground.

http://www.nationalreview.com/voices/steorts200512050821.asp/

[otherlander]

14. Hmmmm...... maybe, the next time INGSOC, er, PNAC....

decides to plant a media-friendly fabricated foriegner-who-needs-liberation, they should tell him to accuse the Government to Be Toppled of something THIS government HASN'T done.

Something like....hmmm....

Well, I'm sure they can think of something.

[NVMojo]

19. Was it a cuz to Chalibi? These stories are so redundant ...neocons ...

[WhiteTara]

20. wasn't Perle involved in the beginning propaganda

on Iraq also? This sounds so familiar...can't they come up with a new plot?
:banghead:

[TexasLawyer]

29. Yes, and he is personally profiting from the war,

Perle was caught by Seymour Hersh shaking down the Saudis for millions of dollars, while he was at the same time the Chairman of the US Defense Policy Board and one of the chief architects of the Iraq war. This man is going to hell for sure.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?030317fa_fact

[WhiteTara]

52. I sure hope jail comes first n/t

[Psephos]

21. Amnesty International does not seem like a PNAC pawn to me

We can condemn the abuses of the Iranian theocrats without compromising our principles. Just a thought.

Peace.

[lumpy]

46. There certainly is repression in Iran

and most here would agree with that and no, Amnesty International is not a pawn of PNAC. We don't have to compromise our principles. We just have to restrain ourselves from jumping into a fray that will result in death and destruction. Change for more democratic rights could come from within these countries by diplomatic means instead of by force. Unfortunately this admistration we are hamstrung with is following the ancient path of unrestrained warfare. More death, more destruction.

[leesa]

22. Same crap they pulled before Iraq war. Weren't thay ALL faked?

Baby incubators....

[Spinoza]

26. What if the story is true?

After all, the head guy in Iran today is whacko Holocaust denier. Anyone who can claim the Holocaust never happened is a total nut job. It might be true.

[IChing]

27. Two words, Richard Perle, do you know anything about this guy?

Because the United States tortured prisoners should the rest of the world invade us?

Please do a little research behind this story and the man.

[lumpy]

47. Most likely it is true.

After all the US imprisons and tortures people without due process. You know damn well Iran is not going to put up with open dissent. I think the point of this story is that Perle and his PNAC connections are working to commit the US to attack Iran. Do we want another bloody war that will not solve a damn thing? Change has to come gradually in many areas of the world. US tools to help bring about change should be education, humanitarian help, diplomacy, communication. Historically, past military forays into the Mideast have failed to make lasting change. Supplimenting one form of oppression for another just doesn't work.

[lumpy]

48. The story is true,

as are many stories of repression from many countries. What are we to do about it? Perhaps be patient and not try to do the impossible. Maybe work peacefully for change? You might say only one thing comes from bombs, shrinking world population and diminishing human conscience.

[TexasLawyer]

28. The US is torturing people

Does that mean that China, Russia, France, or any other nation can come "liberate" America? The logic does not work.

Alternatively, do we get to have a national dialogue over the benefits versus burdens of engaging in war with Iran? Aren't we already bogged down in enough wars, aren't we bankrupt enough already? There are other countries that would seem to need "liberation" over Iran-- why Iran and why now?

[HuffleClaw]

30. “Regime change,” he said, breaking from Farsi into English to deliver it.

hahaahahahaahaaaaaaaaa

they need to find some NEW propaganda ideas, instead of these tired old techniques. 'regime change' my ass, what a joke of a coached 'fugitive'. the 'white torture' is cute though.

[genieroze]

31. I wonder how much they paid him to say this crap. Maybe we should show

him pictures of liberated Iraq. I want to know who is going to liberate the US from these neocon nut-balls.

[Catrina]

33. *rotfl* ~ Richard Perle?? I had to read that twice ~ I thought it was a

satire based on the past escapades of these lying, criminal neocons. The babies in the ovens story, told by what turned out to be, A Kuwaiti Princess ~ Chalabi, Curveball, and all the rest of their lying actors. They have made FOOLS of the American people.

Now this. This guy falls into the arms of Richard Perle??? What do they take us for?? Surely even Freepers won't fall for this comedy? As for the tales of torture?? This is NOW, when the US under Perle's neocons have made torture passe ~ doesn't Perle know? We do torture now, so why should we be moved by someone fleeing another government that uses it?

If Israel wants to attack Iran, let them do it ~ it's time for the US to get out and stay out of other people's business.

The way that story is written, it reminds me of all the other federal fairy tales they told us, Jessica Lynch, Pat Tillman etc. Except this one sounds almost funny, now that we know for sure the lies are willing to tell to get what they want. I can't believe they are using the same tactics all over again, the ones that got them in trouble in the first place.

[Vidar]

35. Well, nice to know we had one undercover agent in Iran.

[drduffy]

36. I'd like to put Bush in a white room....

with no curtains, near the station.....

maybe with Perle in there too..... they can rub each other,

learn to talk to God even better.....

maybe have their own little 'rapture'

[tanyev]

37. Curveball II.

[Ilsa]

39. "Fool me once, shame on you..."

We all know the rest of Bush's quote. Let's hope the rest of the koolaid drinkers don't swallow.

Seriously, I thought this was satire at first as well, but since so many Americans have a short memory, I guess Perle et al figure that 3 1/2 years is enough for most of us to forget how we got into this mess in the first place. Besides, this regime has most Americans distracted and scrambling to make ends meet.

[suegeo]

40. Who voted for Richard Perle?

I know I didn't vote for Richard Perle. Who DOES vote for these dishonest shitheads.

Looks like it's time to catapult the propaganda.

Screw the neo-cons and the horse they rode in on.

[DrZeeLit]

41. Fastball? Screwball? What WAS that guy's name? He's loose again.

Bad intel. From nutty fugitives.
Doesn't that sound familiar.
And Perle right in the middle.

Oh, yeeah.....and there are babies being thrown out of incubators.
Right this minute.

[sofa king]

42. Did Perle meet with this guy in the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel?

Sometimes I suspect our neoconservative overlords of being a bit sentimental.

[stepnw1f]

45. Hey Neo-Nuts! Time for Jail!

You f*ed up bigtime.

[cliss]

49. Richard Perle is an arms dealer.

He makes money by selling ammunition to both sides, if possible.

He would sell his mother in exchange for 2 pineapple grenades, if he could pull it off.

NEVER believe anything this man says. They call him the 'Prince of Darkness'. If you saw a photo of him, you would ask to go back to jail.

[dkos refugee]

50. Perle = leading American neocon

What a joke. If you haven't listened to the Chomsky vs Perle debate, go find it NOW lol.

[PaDem]

51. so when does this guy make the rounds on the cable news......

programs? This is like a broken record.