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Editor's Desk

America’s favorite terrorist outfit: the MKO

Editor

The Mujahideen-e Khalq Organization (MKO) is one of America’s favourite terrorist outfits. It was de-listed from the State Department list last month after sustained lobbying efforts and bribing many congressmen/women, former spy chiefs as well as generals in the US. The tale is quite sordid.

When is a terrorist not a terrorist? When he/she serves America’s interests. Last month, the US announced it was delisting the Mujahideen Khalq Organization (MKO) from its list of terrorist groups. Did the MKO give up terrorism? No, but now they are working to advance the US agenda.

The MKO was placed on the US Foreign Terrorist Organizations list in 1997. Despite the group’s gory record of killing thousands of Iranians including top officials, as well as American citizens, it was protected in Iraq’s Camp Ashraf after the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain was toppled. The group was provided US and French protection.

The delisting came after intense lobbying by the group and bribing many congress members and other high officials. The beneficiaries’ list includes Republican Representatives Dana Rohrabacher, Ted Poe and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, Bill Richardson, Howard Dean and Rudolf Giuliani, ex-FBI director Louis Freeh, former CIA directors Porter Goss and James Woolsey, and Obama’s former national security adviser General James Jones, and General Wesley Clark.

The MKO maintained an office in Washington, DC even while it was on the US terrorist list. Britain had already delisted it in 2008 and the European Union a year later.

The US has its own favorite terrorists. Jundullah in Baluchistan, and now al-Qaeda in Syria are all part of America’s growing army of terrorists. The MKO is the latest recruit. Welcome to the real world.


Article from

Crescent International Vol. 41, No. 9

Dhu al-Hijjah 16, 14332012-11-01


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