Rumors circulated almost immediately that he had taken his own life, but recent reports suggest he was killed.
The older man was Ali Kordan, 51, long one of the most powerful members of the regime and a close associate of both Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad. Like so many at the top of the Iranian pyramid, he was a Revolutionary Guards veteran who held a variety of positions until his ten minutes of fame in 2008, when he was nominated to be Interior Minister. Initial opposition was defeated when Khamenei sent a letter to Parliament insisting that Kordan be confirmed, but he was forced to resign in August after it emerged that he had forged an honorary degree from Oxford University.
The AP reported that “Kordan died of heart failure Sunday after weeks of treatment for pulmonary and pancreatic problems, according to reports in Iranian newspapers and news agencies,” while Wikipedia tells us that “Kordan died of multiple myeloma at Tehran’s Masihe Daneshvari hospital on November 22, 2009. He also had influenza and brain hemorrhage.”
In reality he was murdered. Not only did he know too much, but he had assembled a devastating dossier against the regime, and was attempting to defect. It is not known what happened to all the documents he was planning to take with him.
These two murders speak volumes about the panic that has seized the regime of late. The next big opposition demonstration is scheduled for December 7th, and already the attempts at intimidation are visible. This Friday, 7 million Basijis are supposed to march to celebrate Basij Week, and cell phones all over the country have received a text message reading: “You have been identified as a participant in post-election gatherings and must refrain from such participation from now on.” The intimidation campaign has not been conducted with great efficiency; Ahmadinejad got the same message, as did a baker in Khuzestan, deep in the south.
Meanwhile, desperately searching for some sort of legitimacy, Ahmadinejad has flown off to Africa and South America. But it will take more than flowery speeches from foreign leaders–or regime funding of friendly scholars at American universities–to salvage his status. Alireza Zakani, a leading parliamentary supporter of the regime, delivered a speech that effectively confirms the accusations of election fraud that Green leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has been repeating since June. According to Zakani–whose speech made a brief appearance on an official web site and then disappeared–the fraud was confirmed by Parliamentary president Ali Larijani and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani in the days immediately following June 12th in the presence of Khamenei himself. This is an extremely explosive development, of which we are certain to hear more in the days ahead.
When it comes to the deaths of those you mentioned, Michael, in the early part of the entry, it reminds me of the euphemistic causes of death used by Nazis after Operation Overlord. False reasons were given.
We are seeing new depths of man’s inhumanity to man, and frankly I ask this question: How low can they go?
Michael: what a fresh breath of air!! it is nice to see an article so articulate as oppose to bashing muslims, middle easterners etc… as an Iranian I agree with everything you say in your article. in fact I read today in New York Times that the regim is sending 6000 Basijis to school to re-educate the young kids… but like someone said a while back “the train has left the station”. these A—holes are finished. It is a matter of time now… they are now so scared to have any kind of rallies as they know people come by thousands to protest their ugly regim. I talk to my sister back home on a daily basis and what she tells me is the it is the young women who are behind most protetors… for thos muslim hating people who write here should know that 65% of all college students in Iran are women… the problem that this regim faces that scares them most is the opposition and divisions within their own ranks. there tons of Ayatollahs, clerics and politicains who disagree with this government and think of it as dicatorship. they can not easily silence these people as most of them are the founders of revelution like Montazari is. He criticized Khmeini and he also said last week that taking the americans hostage was huge mistake. He also rebuffed Khomeini in 1989 when he issued a Fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie. He said it looks our country like a bunch of blood thirty people. These guys are finished period.
We know about the fraudulent election; we know about the torture and intimidation; we know about the Iranian people who want freedom and democracy.
What we don’t know is why Obama and his administration supports the fraud, the intimidation and utterly ignores the desires of the Iranian people for democracy.
Actually, the MadDog Mullahs are killing their enemies. As I have been predicting for the last few years.
A few facts. We are not talking about a Western civilization here. No humans rights in Islam. There will be no bloodless revolution such as happened in other nation to other regimes.
Regime change in Iran will require American weapons delivered on Iranian targets. NO other option will work. All you and those that are promoting some sort of internal overthrow of the mullahs are accomplishing is getting good people murdered.
If you truly want to help the people of Iran, work toward getting a POTUS with the grit to go to war on Iran elected.
“In reality he was murdered. Not only did he know too much, but he had assembled a devastating dossier against the regime, and was attempting to defect. It is not known what happened to all the documents he was planning to take with him.”
I doubt that you have reliable/legitimate sources to back this convenient claim. I wonder why you’d go ahead and publish the claim anyway. Hmm…
Mr. Ledeen, do you know anything about hyper-ethnocentrism? I’ve heard that it so powerfully affects some individuals that it even compromises the objectivity and honesty of their work, which then degenerates into propaganda in favor of the ethnic interest. What do you think?
it’s too unparsable for me. what is your point, really?
and in one sentence you go from doubt to certainty, which is quite a leap. if i am right then events will show it. patience, you know?
I am one of very few people who predicted the mass uprising that is in its fifth month. keep that in mind.
John Samford has a point. Remember how long it took to finally get rid of the Polish communist regime even though 99% of the population, including the army and most of their own party, were against them? And I don’t get the impression that the Iranian regime is any less desperate to stay in power.
Interesting echo of a Chi-town
mobster back in the Day;
“we only kill each other.”
Al Capone would have had the
enlightened self-interest
not to use WMD; The Mad Dog,
Vincent Cole, not so much.
Good and enlightening article, Mr. Ledeen. We can pray that this evil regime self-implodes and that saner elements rise from the ashes to exert leadership in a more liberal government.
Mr. Lincoln: mans inhumanity to man is the same today as it has always been and will always be; this is why constant vigilance is the price of freedom and wars are fought to preserve it, however imperfect the motivations of decision makers and major players.
The people can usually be trusted to recognize evil when they see it and to rebel against its intrusion into their lives — as the planned Dec.7 Iranian protest attests.
Greetings:
I not sure that I agree with your assessment of the three American hostages that the Iranian government is holding. From what little information I have come across, they seem to be from the left of the media political spectrum (Berkeley, CA, for instance) and work for or with some unusual associates. Even the mother of one who pops up on the local TV every Saturday to do her weekly whine comes across as very lefty/hippy. I am still entertaining the possibility that they were recreating the success of the North Korean Girl Duo.
John, your last sentence in point #5 has this flaw – the world cannot wait as long as you say.
Now, either there is an alternative US government to do as you recommend, and for it to be done now, or someone else will have to take the lead. Because the likelihood of the current batch inside the Beltway doing as you say is the same as a leopard changing its spots.
So, what is it going to be? Because, if I had
my druthers, the Senior tier of the British Commonwealth is more than capable of doing it,
because there are too many Americans not willing to have an alternative government endure until a POTUS is sworn in that deals decisively with those who follow in the footsteps of Yassir Arafat’s uncle who was the Mufti of Jerusalem during the Second World
War.
@5
Getting a POTUS willing to go to war in Iran does the world no good. Like Iraq it will just put in power another set of moslims who prefer us dead or subjugated/Dhimmi.
What we need is an FDR type who places our enemy in internment camps and seizes the strategic objective giving them power, in this case the oil.
Now if you knew how much I despise FDR.. the RAT ba’tard and his socialist.. well nevermind.
We need a POTUS who will make Medina a Disneyland and the Ka’aba rock something that is chipped away for a cheap remembrance of the occasion.
Now THAt is what we need as POTUS.
Before the fall of the Shah, Iran was the most (only perhaps) pro-American Islamic country. It had strong ties to Israel and was a valuable partner in the Cold War.
The current crop of leaders came in as a backlash to the harsh rule, corruption and tactics of the Shah. The mullahs have now come full circle and have made a mess of things much worse than the Shah ever did. They now have a restive, educated and young population on their hands that does not remember the excesses and ill deeds of the Shah and his henchmen, only those of the Mullahs and their death grip on society.
Part of me would love to see the mullahs bombed into the stone age and the IRGC given a kick in the teeth it so richly deserves. But, would that be the best course? Any attack on this regime would bring a hail of missiles down on Israel from their puppets in Lebanon and Gaza. Added to that, sink a few supertankers in the Hormuz Strait and we’ll be looking at $300 a barrel for oil. These scenarios are one reason Bush never did anything militarily to stop the Mullahs from their mad quest to get nukes. It is also why the Israelis are reluctant to do so as well. If we could combine a military campaign with a massive outreach to the Iranian society at large, we may be able to unseat the thorn in our sides for the past 30 years. Or, we could inflame the nationalism in the Iranians and cause an even bigger problem in that region that we already have.
Right now, simmering under the surface in Iranian society is a burning desire to shed the foolishness of the mullahs and their idiocy. President Obama missed a golden opportunity to exploit that during the last “election” in Iran. Instead choosing to sit on his hands so his olive branch to the mullahs would not lose it’s non-existent luster.
Fomenting civil unrest from within, supporting the segments in Iranian society that want the rule of the turbaned ones to end, and standing firm with them when it counts would do wonders for that country. But, alas, we will not get that from the current USA Administration.
So, we can either do nothing (and pretend to negotiate with the mullahs as Obama is), try to get the majority of Iranian society to shed the tyrants on their own, or use our military to take apart the industrial and military complex of Iran. Any way you slice that pie, it’s a total mess. We cannot walk away from any of those courses of action without potentially disasterous consequences.
One assumption is that Obama is carrying on quiet diplomacy hence his kid gloves towards Iran. I don’t buy that assumption. The lack of tough and strong leadership by our president is putting Iranians, Americans, Israelis, and others at risk. He should be speaking out about Iran’s heavy hand and threats. I wonder how the Iranians opposed to the current regime feel about our president and our country.
Allow me to add what John “birther” Samford wrote: work toward getting a POTUS with the grit to go to war on Iran elected HOPEFULLY BEFORE THEY GET NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
Don’t get your optimism up over a few dozen or even a few hundred ‘enemies’ of the Iranian regime meeting untimely deaths. Stalin’s Russia murdered thousands directly, and millions indirectly, yet the communist regime survived another three decades plus.
I’grown tired (and old) hearing that Iran’s young people are on the brink of “rising up against the ayatollayhs”. When and if the Iranians ever figure out how to make a deliverable nuke, it will be a big case of put up or shut up.
BTW the Iranians have been working on nukes for over a dozen years now, perhaps as long as 20 How long is it going to take them? WTF! It took the US what 3 years. And that was over fifty years ago. They have gotten help from the Norks, the Chinese, France and Russia. The basic research has been done for them. What do these guys need, Nuke Helper?
So what’s the point? A sad state of affairs, but tyrants kill their opposition all the time. Just last week a lawyer suffered Sudden Putin Death Syndrome, and how long has he been in power?
Why the Leader of the Free World would have a policy of “engagement” with a tyranny I’ll never understand. Exactly how is legitimizing the illegitimate supposed to help?
These people aren’t finished, they’re just getting started. It’s a long way to the bottom.
the point is that they are killing both their own people and OURS. they are killing Americans every day.
Let’s hope that uprising continues, Mr. Ledeen. I think some encouragement, in actions, not only words, from the US would move it along nicely. Having the Iranians themselves rid the world of the current bunch running things over there would be the best solution for everyone.
Oh, goodness. I certainly hope that obama doesn’t change his mind about talking with these murderers without preconditions. It would really be too bad to have all the good will he’s generating for the United States of America around the world to go to waste.
Mohammedans have been killing each other since the ‘get go’ its a Hate and Death CULT built on VIOLENCE and obedience to the Central Authority. Which is the violent , misogynistic, thief, murderer, warlord and paedophile Mohammad that their so called holy Book tells them to EMULATE. If all the kaffirs and Jews were dead then they would CONTINUE fighting each other this CULT has no other justification to exist.
The demise of the regime appears to proceed in slow motion, but stopping the descent into oblivion may already be above the capacity of the brutal enforcers. The protestors do not have firearms, but they have patience, and they can wait for the regime to make one mistake after the other.
The pseudo-elections had kept the crowd “under control” for many years, but clearly they’ve had enough of that. The protestors can wait better than the regime because they are young, their numbers are overwhelming, and their tormentors are led by old men. What could the regime do to acquire legitimacy? They spent what little of it they still had, and what could they do to restore any of it? All they can do is perpetrate more violence, further galvanizing the resolve of the new generation.
At some point the regime will become weak enough for its protagonists to start looking for the exits, probably exporting their money before seeking refuge abroad. So, I agree with Mr. Ledeen’s characterization of “death spiral”, but I propose that the corkscrew trajectory is not out of the molasses, yet.
great essay.
I always read your articles and find them to give excellent insight.
thanks
I think Samford is right. The regime will have to have a push. And the abduction of the three Americans is just the cause we need to do it. How about a blockade or disabling some refineries.
Michael, given the brutalities that the House of Saud allows (as Phyllis Chesler notes in her blog, especially her newest entry) isn’t all that different than what Khameini, Ahmadinezhad and their followers – plus the certainty of a government in exile for both places being as bothersome as the Polish government in exile was for Stalin, during the Second World War, that is one thing the current batch of deformed souls, zombies, scalawags, hacks, reprobates and assorted ilk inside the beltway would never countenance.
So,I still like the idea of a revamped British
Commonwealth, namely through the senior tier, reverse the relationship change between the British Empire and the United States, which took place after the 1956 Suez Crisis.
For, as you know, Michael, up until that time,
the senior partner to keep the world safe was Great Britain, and its dominions, with the U.S. being the junior partner to keep the world safe. Which is hardly a new concept, because David Lloyd George, who was the last person to serve as Prime Minister of Great Britain during the First World War, was contemplating an offer from the Canadian Prime
Minister of the day, Mr. Borden.
I think I sent you a copy of “Royalty for a grown up nation” by Conrad Black, and frankly
it makes enough sense for it to be acted upon,
even by those in government.
Plus, to aid this new assertiveness of the British Commonwealth, I still propose an alternative US government, which would have friendly relations with the British Commonwealth, instead of the hostility and coldness emanating from the Oval Office.
This government will only last until a US
President takes you seriously.
Well. Iranian government is killing Iranians but I do not know if it changes the situation.
I don’t know how long it will take Iranians to change their government – it may take Iranians years or they may change it in less than a couple of months. Not being in Tehran I do not know, I think that even people in Iran do not know it themselves. I would love to see the change in Iran made by Iranians themselves. However I think that there is a problem which makes Iranian situation different from situation with Polish “solidarnosc” and with movements in former communist block. At that time USSR has been nuclear power for a long time and her behavior was predictable, West could afford to (mostly) do nothing but watch and wait. Iran does not have a bomb, it is working on a bomb and its government behavior is much less predictable. I think that Ahmadinejad and pasdaran know that they are not in the strong position inside Iran but when they get nuclear bomb the situation will change dramatically in their favor. When they get a bomb not only they can dictate condition to some countries or blackmail others but they may also become more popular with their own people. Because when/ if Ahmadinejad finally get bomb some Iranians may think that they finally, after long time became a real world major military power, and this was achieved because of the actions of their military and their government. They would be wrong, but that’s not a point. So that’s the problem and for these reasons we can wait only that long and no longer.
Isee no easy answers here. . .if the “o” would have given the people support during the election fiasco, that could have helped , I think. But how long till the people themselves take care of business? Cuba has been in the s@@@ for 40 years, North Korea also, yet the bad guys stay in power.If we hadn’t gone into Iraq, would saddam insane still be there? Kinda leads one to wonder how long we will tolerate the “o”, don’t it? 2010 is coming. . .
In my short 40 years on this earth I have repeatedly been amazed by Muslim barbarity. The current security apparatus in Tehran has a oil cash cow and i don’t see them giving it up. They don’t care how many collage students they need to kill. Muslims don’t give up power.
I hope I am wrong and something in the Iranian character shines through. Something Arabs don’t have.
Pragmatist: it is very clear from your writing
that you are unemployed high school drop out with no education.. go read some more…
Ruebcca: you too are mistaken… the catholic church murdered more christains than anyone else and they are still in pwoer despite all the clear facts that they still molest young boys…. so have an intellegent discussion and keep religion out of the mix and see what the real problem is….
Kordan’s murder reminds me of the USSR under Stalin. I wonder when Khamenei will have a rival bumped off a la Kirov, so he can weep crocodile tears at the funeral?
The problems in Iran is back to history behind Iran and Iranian need bakgroun profile and why they think this way and what is wrong and what may say it right?
Iran has kingdom and they changed harshly to republic while they still try to keep some old history like Norooz and Iranian new year as we know old Iraninan like kind of hindu and budim or athict are pray to fire and call them Zartoshdey
now change one country to new one with lack of experince of run government cause problems in Iran and they try to keep presidency and some conservative way of run government witih mix and match some old culture from history of kingdom still run Iran today bully government and like to show their power and other to obey thier order as well and they only talk and not hear other part of stroy is proof still Iran is stick in conservative part of country
as they know Iranina law of Islam execute law of islam and reform some also has problems in Iran as Iranian tried to do made change to progressive by change to Islamic republic
and now liberal and human right is think that confused still in Iran by keep
little of conservative except all war bluffing and all too much progressive in Isalm law and reform majority look ok from islam point of view and now waht Iran is lacking is liberal and human right and link with outside world and faced the real facts
http://uoftconservatives.blogspot.com/2009/04/dalton-sales-tax.html#comments
see the different defination of conservative and progressive and liberalism comment said on Nov 25, 2009
In conclusion:
If we have government
to keep history and some old ethic from history
and mixt it with progressive keep forward with republic and then have human right and liberal view to Iran the Iran and all world problmes can get resolve
untill you do not understand background of Iran history of kingdom and Isalm law and Iranican culture you can not understand how to deal with Iran and reduce their tention
The US needs allies,
not admirers; That is
the sole and sufficient
justification for acting,
or not acting, in Iran
or elsewhere.
The crrent power struggle
in Iran is between factions
none of which are going to be
our allies, or even lesser
antagonists; Stay out of it.
Michael: you point is very pointless…
The regime is destroying itself. Can we agree that we should not meddle and let this thing play out until it crumbles?
Michael Ledeen, I hope you are right and I’m wrong about the uprising. I hoope it works.
Desert Dog, ‘you have nothing to fear but fear itself’.
President Bush took council of his fears. If he had ordered the 3rd ID to take a right at Baghdad, this whole issue would have been resolved in 2004.
That doesn’t mean the world would be awash in peace, love and happiness. It just means a loathsome, murderous regime would be pushing up daisies and some real nasty people would have gotten their just deserts.
You are losing track of the fact that ALL solutions create more problems. There are no Silver Bullets. Men plan, fate laughs.
Take it one step at a time. Step one is bombing the nuclear weapons sites. Step two is bombing the barracks where the Mullahs bully boys live. It might be better to reverse that and bomb the bully boys first. I would trust the US Air Force with that decision. They have a wealth of experience with bombing barbarians.
After all, the nuclear weapons sites aren’t going anywhere, the bully boys will run for the hills once they figure out they head the target list. With no bully boys, the people have the opportunity to deal with the mullahs on their own.
With the Mad Dog Mullahs dead, or hiding in their bunkers, the terrorists they support will not be a big problem. Israeli’s go to their bomb shelters and sit out the attacks. With no more Missiles being bought and shipped to the terrorists, they attacks won’t last long. As far as a “Tanker War”. Iran lost the last one and they haven’t done a thing to improve their capability since then. The US Navy has done a LOT of things to make winning the next tanker war quicker and less costly.
You do understand that it’s almost imposssible to sink a super tanker without some very heavy weapons? Weapons Iran lacks.
OIL is lighter then water. That means it floats. A tanker full of OIL can have it’s bottom blown out and still float. Happened several times during the tanker wars.
Going after a tanker in a fiberglass speedboat is a suicide mission when there is a US NAVY destroyer guarding that tanker. While the Mullahs have no problem producing suicide guidance systems, it still takes organization to get the mission put together and started. No mullahs giving orders, no bully boys making sure those orders are obeyed, no suicide boats putting out to sea.
Desert Dog, control your fear. You are being threatened by a 3 year old with a water pistol. Take the water pistol away, give him a slap on the fanny and send him back to mommy.
If you feel some depp obligation to continue useless negotiations, then negotiate by day and bomb by night. IIRC, the British did this in India and it worked really well. They didn’t bomb, of course. They anchored warships off the ports of those they were negotiating with and fired cannon all night. One every half an hour, I think. Anyway, it worked really well. Well enough so that for a century after that, as soon as a warship showed up, the village chief came out to negotiate. It worked well enough to be given a name. Gunboat diplomacy.
B-2 Diplomacy has the potential to be just as successful as gunboat diplomacy. And the best part is that ONLY America can build B-2′s.
“A .38 and a smile will get you more then a smile alone.”
- Al Capone
The State department used to keep a list of terrorist attacks on the USA, Americans or American interests. Betweem 1980 and 2000, there were more then 4700 attacks. About 75% of them could be linked to Iran an the Mad Dog Mullahs.
Dr. Rice ended the list because it gave the lie to the Bush administration spin that the WTC attack was the work of some Islamic radical fringe group.
It wasn’t. Terror is the Mullah’s weapon of choice in the war they are fighting against America. That war will only end after we start fighting back and winning. Give them a reason and an opportunity to surrender and they will.
Negotiate by day, bomb by night. As the target list shrinks, the Mullahs will to negotiate will grow.