April 8, 2003
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen defends Iranian group labeled terrorist front for Saddam HusseinBy Sam Dealey
A senior lawmaker on the House International Relations committee has defended her ongoing support for a group
the State Department says is a terrorist organization fighting against coalition troops in Iraq.“This group loves the United States. They’re assisting us in the war on terrorism; they’re pro-U.S.,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) in an interview with The Hill.
“This group has not been fighting against the U.S. It’s simply not true,” she insisted.
Ros-Lehtinen is the chairwoman of the panel’s Central Asia and Middle East Subcommittee.
The group, known as the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), is an Iranian opposition group in Iraq. The U.S. intelligence and diplomatic community argues that the MEK is
funded by Saddam Hussein and has engaged in efforts by the Iraqi leader to suppress Kurd and Shiite uprisings.
The group killed several Americans during the 1970s. It also participated in the 1979-1981 U.S. Embassy seizure in Tehran. In 1997, the MEK and its various appendages were designated a “foreign terrorist organization.”
More:
http://www.hillnews.com/news/040803/roslehtinen.aspxWhy do Republicans hate our troops?
Well, at least this will bring her name (and this issue) into the press.