Full Release - IRmep

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'The pe~sons·who are carrying out the attacks have been paid previously to attack the US and the
Americans arejust in a position.ofdefending themselves,' he said.
So what is a man whose grandfather cemented the Islamic theocracy in Iran by exploiting the 1979 US
Embassy hostage crisis doing espousing views that could 'have come straight from an American ,foreign
policy briefing or have been written by the press office ofthe Coalition Provisional Authority situated in
the former presidential palace a couple ofmiles down the road?
Exactly how close Khomeini's ties are with the US is not clear, but the cleric has met officials from the
CPA on several occasions. 'He's.my favourite Khomeini!', one senior US official joked at a dinner the
other night. A spokesman said that they found his ideas about the separation ofreligion and state
'interesting'.
Although he does not command a wide following, the very fact ofwho he is could in time make him a
significant player, while any voice helping to dilute calls from some Iraqi'Shia leaders fora system of
clerical rule in Iraq will be welcomed with open arms by the Americans.
But'the US might just have bigger plansJor Khomeini. He spent 14 years ofhis life in Iraq, between
1964 and 1979, while his grandfather was plotting the Islamic revolution and conducting a campaign"of
snapping at the,heels ofthe Shah from the holy city ofNajaf. Listening to his grandson condemning the
current situation in Tehran, it is difficult not to get a sense that perhaps history is repeating itself.
The Bush administration, which includes Iran in its diminishing axis ofevil, has repeatedly accused the
country ofsupporting terrorist groups and seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. But apart from general
agreement that a change ofgovernment in Iran would be a good thing, there is no broad consensus
within the administration about how'best to achieve that aim. It is two years since the State Department
began drafting it national security presidential directive on Iran, but the document remains .
unfinished.
Doves in Colin Powell's State Department are said to favour increased dialog':le with potential reformers
in the country, while Donald RumsfeId's Pentagon is thought to be intent on pursuing aggressive
destabilisation tactics towards Tehran.
Whatever way the administration decides to play it, Khomeini could be useful to both sides.
Asked when he thought he might return to Iran, Khomeini replied 'Inshallah' - Jt is God's will.
But some observers might argue that it is just as"likely to be the Pentagon's.
LOAD-DATE: August 14,2003
https://www.nexis.com/research/search/submitYiewTagged 6/7/2005