He reports on Iran in the latest issue of Mother Jones and is author of the forthcoming book “The Iran Agenda: the Real Story of US Policy and the Middle East Crisis.” The full transcript of this interview is available on www.democracynow.org“AMY GOODMAN: The US has vowed to crack down on the PKK, but Turkey accuses the US of playing a double game in northern Iraq. Officials say the CIA is covertly funding and arming the PKK sister organization, the Iran based Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK/Pejak), to destabilize the Iranian government.
REESE ERLICH: That’s exactly what I was alluding to earlier which is, the U.S. plays a very, very dangerous game by supporting some in the ethnic communities who have legitimate grievances against Iran. So the Turks know exactly what’s going on, they don’t believe the disclaimers issued by the United States. They have their own agenda to pursue... Turkey could get involved in clashes with the Kurdish regional government in Iraq. So what is already a mess will become an incredibly bigger mess.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally Reese Erlich, the relationship of Britain and Israel, both US Allies with these parties.
REESE ERLICH: Israel is backing various Kurdish groups. Both amongst the Iraqi Kurds, as well as the PJAK among the Iranian Kurds. For Israel, which has a long history of supporting non-Arab countries in an effort to divide the Arab world, they supported the Shah of Iran and Haile Selassie in Ethiopia. Turkey, they were allied in Turkey for many years and they see trying to use the Kurds in the same way. You have Israeli security officials training the guards at the Arbil Airport in northern Iraq. You have training special anti-terrorism squads. I think they’re working with the PJAK, although this is all denied by the PJAK, and the Israelis are also playing a very dangerous game because they are intervening in the affairs of Iraq and causing a great deal of trouble both for Iran, and now they’re on the outs with Turkey who was their long-time ally.
AMY GOODMAN: You described in your forth coming book about Israel participating actively in -- with Mossad agents posing as businessmen setting up shop in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) soon after the 2003 U.S. invasion, on BBC TV, discovering Israeli former special forces soldiers training Kurdish security at the airport. Say more about that.
REESE ERLICH: Yeah, exactly. The BBC did a very good television special in which they interviewed these former Israeli intelligence agents who are now allegedly working as private contractors, much like the CIA does with it’s agents around the world. So it was on TV and when I asked the Iraqi officials about this, they denied everything, even though they had been on TV, on an obviously reputable news organization. I had talked to various people who had met with supposed Israeli businessmen who were much more interested in arms trades and intelligence and that sort of thing. So the Israelis have significantly stepped up their activities in northern Iraq. I think if ultimately the Iraq war goes very badly for the United States, as all indications are that it will, eventually Iraq will split into three different countries including an independent Kurdistan on the north and the Israelis hope to benefit from that by having a beachhead against the Sunni and the Shi’a and Arab parts of Iraq and as well as the other neighboring Arab countries. That’s a long time goal of the Israelis.”
After all this is said, I have to add a friendly warning: “My enemy’s enemy is still his enemy, and any political aim pursued with violence can turn against its one time supporters too as it so often happens. So do not seek friends among armed organizations just because they use violence against your enemy, while you would never allow such things to be done against yourself.” If we believe in human dignity, then how can we forsake respect for life?
