A former pilot for the Iranian Air Force has defected to the Green Wave Movement that hopes to bring together all the Iranian democratic opposition groups. He did so to fight for regime change and testify that the military is ready to turn on the government. The Green Wave is drawing up plans to make that happen, warning the West that regional war will erupt if the regime is not taken down.
Lieutenant Behzad Masoumi Legwan was tortured in 2001 after he was accused of sedition. He was discharged from the military in 2007 and he began making plans to defect with the help of other dissident officers. He made contact with the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Green Wave Movement to prepare for his escape to Kurdistan in northern Iraq. Once there, the Iranian regime tried to get the Iraqis to arrest and hand him over to no avail, allowing him to arrive in France.
Legwan made his first public appearance alongside Mohammad Reza Heydari, the former Iranian consul in Norway who defected in January and became executive-director of the Green Embassies Campaign, as well as Amir Hossein Jahanchahi, the billionaire founding chairman of the Green Wave.
“It is a fact that the overwhelming majority of the officer corps are in no way obedient followers of the regime. On the contrary, they are looking for the first opportunity whereby they can openly display their true sentiments by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the people of Iran,” Legwan said. He says that he has contacts in the Iranian military, including senior members of the air force and Revolutionary Guards.
Jahanchahi says that he doesn’t want the Green Wave to be a political party or organization, but a “constellation” containing all of the democratic opposition groups. His father was the finance minister when the Shah was overthrown. After Khomeini took power, Jahanchahi fled to Europe. He compares Ahmadinejad to Hitler and says all of the region’s instability is fomented by Iran.
“My position is very simple that the people who go to the streets in order to change the regime need the backing of people from inside the system. That’s why I am contacting and seeking the support of people who say ‘we will go with you’ when the time of protests comes,” he says.
Jahanchahi says that he and his colleagues are in a rush against time to bring down the regime before it sparks a “destructive regional war with unimaginable consequences for international peace and security.” He says that this scenario is unavoidable unless the regime falls because “if Israel does not attack, there will be war; but if Israel does attack, it would be the biggest gift the Ahmadinejad regime could ever receive and would send the entire region into war.”
Regime change would be the way to go. We had our chance when Ahmadinejad's election was contested in the streets. What did our Supreme Leader do? Nothing. If there was an uprising and the military refused to fire on their own people as was the case with the Shah, the Mullahs would be sent packing. This is a big "if."
Will sanctions bring the regime change before the Mullahs have their bomb? That is what Obama hopes. But will Russia and China step in to help these religious criminals stay in power?
Should the Mullahs get the bomb, they will use it, either against Israel or Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. If Obama developed a pair and bombed the nuclear sites, how would the Iranian people react? Would they give the regime new life by supporting it against the Great Satan? What would be the reaction of Russia and China?
Many questions, and few options. However, we know by now negotiations with Iran are a waste of time. Obama needs to come out in support of opposition groups in Iran. Will he do this, doubtful. He's too busy trying to undo the American experiment.
The timing is late but right.
The regime is hanging on only by threats and a thread.
We need to slice or prick the thread so the mullahs fall.
The only caveat is to try to ensure anti-jihad non-revolutionary regime goes up in its place.
The greatest obstacle I see is the distracted craven squish occupying the White House.
Imagine having to rely on the equivalent Chauncey the Gardener (brilliantly played by Peter Sellers in Being) There to lead the coalition against the regime.
Such is "President" Obama.
I agree generally that regime change in Iran is necessary. However, one has to ask the question: a change to what, exactly? What if the power vacuum is filled by people even more hostile to Israel and the West, and/or more willing to acquire and use nuclear weapons?
This is not to suggest that Iran's current regime should be supported. However, I think that if you're going to try effecting regime change, you have to be very careful and very clear about what's going to replace it.
He, and others, should have bombed the nuke sites first! That would have solved a trillion problems in the future!
Should be careful though. Remember some Iraqi defectors claims about WMD that were so eagerly seized on by some?
Maybe he is a sleeper who is put here for the future?
Regime change, YES. Let's see the Iranians both inside & outside the country fight for their freedoms. It has become fashionable to call on the USA to win the freedom of other people. Fight for it yourselves. That's what we did.
A secret report sent to Supreme Leader Khamenei in September warns of “significant risks of financial collapse within a year” if sanctions continue. It warns him that he must take “drastic measures to prevent a major crisis.”
You really mean a not so secret report. Indeed, it sounds more like speculation to me.
He says that this scenario is unavoidable unless the regime falls because “if Israel does not attack, there will be war; but if Israel does attack, it would be the biggest gift the Ahmadinejad regime could ever receive and would send the entire region into war.”
Which is why the US should handle the attack. With respect to Iran there are no good options. However, the worse option is sitting on our hands and not doing anything.
A much more appealing third option of supporting the opposition seems to be obvious to Iranians but is absent from the national debate
Actually, whether you like it of not the only option is the military option since no other option will ensure the nuclear installations are destroyed.