Friday, July 31, 2009
Iranian women at Camp Ashraf
With the withdrawal of U.S. forces from certain areas in Iraq, the fate of an Iranian opposition group has been left in the hands of the Iraqi government—which is seeking to establish friendly ties with the regime in Iran. The forging of closer ties between Baghdad and Tehran might explain why Iraqi security forces unleashed an offensive this week on Camp Ashraf, home to about 3,400 members of the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, who previously enjoyed the protection of American soldiers. But with the pullback of U.S. forces protecting Camp Ashraf, Iraqi security forces stormed the compound, leading to two days of fighting that left anywhere from six to 11 Mujahedeen members dead.
Iraqi government spokesman said the security forces had merely sought to establish a police station at the camp when the fighting broke out. The official defended the raid, telling the Associated Press that the government “intends to assert its sovereignty on all sites and facilities that were controlled by foreign troops, and Camp Ashraf is no exception.”
The People’s Mujahedeen has been based in Iraq since the 1980s war between Iran and Iraq, when former dictator Saddam Hussein welcomed the group dedicated to the overthrow of the government in Tehran.
Even though the U.S. has listed the group as a terrorist organization, Washington had sought to protect its members because they had provided intelligence to American officials on Iran’s nuclear program. But U.S. officials refused to criticize the assault on Camp Ashraf, with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declaring, “Although the U.S. government remains engaged and concerned about this issue, it is a matter for the government of Iraq to resolve in accordance with its laws.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Clashes at Iranian Exile Camp in Iraq (by Timothy Williams, New York Times)
Iraqi Raid Poses Problem for U.S. (by Ernesto Londoño, Washington Post)
Comments