Iran A Con Game On You

Politico's foreign policy writer, Laura Rosen, commits Acts Of Actual Journalism as she notes that a Bangkok Post story proclaiming Iran's regime is nearing collapse may be propaganda.

For instance: take this piece today in the Bangkok Post by one Maximilian Wechsler, claiming to be an exclusive interview with a former Iran intelligence chief, Mohammad Reza Madhi, who the article says was supposedly Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's right hand man.

Problem is, there is nothing except this article, being circulated by Iranian monarchist exiles (Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah, has recently been traveling in Bangkok, the article notes and sources tell POLITICO) to show that Madhi is what he says he is. The article describes Madhi as "Iran's intelligence chief," while there are no other references that could be found to Madhi having any such position besides those generated by the article itself.

And a bit of digging shows that the writer of Sunday's Bangkok Post "exclusive," Maximilian Wechsler, is himself a former documented Czech-Australian double agent and informant who after he broke ranks with the Australian intelligence services, landed in Thailand and reportedly worked as an agent provocateur, among other gigs:

According to an intelligence officer, who knew Wechsler at that time and saw him at the Australian Embassy, he was also an agent provocateur. He established a connection with the Ananda Marga sect and was responsible for the arrest in Bangkok in 1978 of Ananda Marga members who were sold explosives by Wechsler. The three Ananda Marga—two Australians and one American—were charged with conspiring to blow up the Indian Embassy.

Wechsler, described as a freelancer by the Bangkok Post, has done several articles but has a history of working for various undercover, non-journalistic efforts. See this fascinating history of Wechsler by Victoria University professor Phillip Deery, based on records released by Australia's security services and other interviews.

Wow!  It's like we've seen this before or something...oh wait, the entire media black bag job in 2002 that helped convince America to go to war in Iraq.  Now we're seeing the same neo-con playbook being used as an excuse to "liberate" Iran.  I'm glad somebody is putting the question to this crap now rather than 18 months from now, when the Bombs Of Freedom are dropping on Tehran...even if it is Politico.