Autopsy of an ideological drift (34)

After the ceasefire between Iran and Iraq in June 1988, Rajavi launched Operation Eternal Light against the Iranian armies, worn out by 8 years of terrible combat. The fiasco is enormous! After having gone 50 kilometers into Iranian territory, the National Liberation Army of Iran was stopped in its advance and cut to pieces. The balance sheet: more than 1500 dead in the Mojahedin forces.

CHAPTER 17

The Failure of “Eternal Light”

The most ringing defeat suffered by the PMOI was suffered during “Operation Eternal Light”. However, keeping to their propaganda techniques, the Mojahedin have changed it - through the magic of their triumphant press releases -from an objective and obvious loss to an “historic victory”:

“On Monday 25 July 1988, the National Liberation Army of Iran launched its greatest offensive under the code name “Eternal Light “. The attack carried the Liberation Army 170 kilometres inside Iran, to the gates of Kermanshah, the largest city in Western Iran. In four days of intense combat, the Liberation Army took on 200,000 members of Khomeini’s forces and all of the regime‘s material reserves and war materiel.

The National Liberation Army of Iran liberated the towns of Kerend and Islamabad, destroying enemy bases and fortifications. After having inflicted 55, 000 casualties on the regime including a large number of Corps Commanders of the Revolutionary Guards — the soldiers of the Liberation Army returned their bases along the Iranian frontier.

The rapid advance of the National Liberation Army deep into Iranian territory and the resulting battles profoundly shook the regime. Three years later, the mullahs are still talking about its profound impact on society”.

In fact, poorly prepared, botched in its execution by militants without real military experience or serious training, the attack died out quickly. Contrary to the self congratulation of the PMOI leaders, the Iranian people never greeted the Mojahedin as liberators and soldiers under Teheran’s orders had little difficulty in pushing them back over the Iraqi border.

This is confirmed by the French newsweekly Marianne: “Following the normalization of relations between Paris and Teheran, the accursed couple, declared persona non grata on French territory, moved to Iraq in June 1986. They were with Iran’s worst enemy, Saddam Hussein. Three years before, in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War, Tariq Aziz, then Vice Prime Minister to Baghdad’s dictator was discreetly invited to Auvers-sur-Oise. The two men raised the issue of their future cooperation. Now it has been concluded. In a few months, Massoud organised his movement militarily, to the point of creating a small army of 15,000 lost soldiers.

‘Advanced bases’ like Camp Al-Ashraf on the Iranian border have been granted by his new allies. They have heavy armaments, armored vehicles and missiles. In exchange for this they collaborate closely with the Iraqi Army’s intelligence services and take part, as well, in the dirty work of the Baathist regime. After the ceasefire between Iran and Iraq in June 1988, Rajavi launched Operation Eternal Light against the Iranian armies, worn out by 8 years of terrible combat. The fiasco is enormous! After having gone 50 kilometers into Iranian territory, the National Liberation Army of Iran (NLAI) was stopped in its advance and cut to pieces. The balance sheet: more than 1500 dead in the Mojahedin forces. This route did not, however, dampen their desire for revenge on the ‘hypocrites’.

Autopsy of an ideological drift (33)