http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/22/12746/3735Who is the MEK? Why are they protected in Iraq? (Part one)
by jorndorff
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Sun Aug 21, 2005 at 10:27:46 PM PDT
The War on Terror. The Iraqi occupation. The neoconservative idealist notion of liberating the Middle East. Regime change in Iran. All of the points reach a nexus with the Mujahideen-e Khalq
, an anti-Iranian regime Foreign Terrorist Organization in Iraq with US backing. In this first entry in a three-part series, I explore the history of the MEK and its protection by American forces in Iraq.
The Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), also known as the People’s Mujahideen of Iran, are a revolutionary political extremist group that dates back some 40 years. The MEK was founded an anti-Islamist rule organization which has sought a ‘people’s revolution’ in the nation of Iran since its inception in 1965. The founders of the MEK were intellectuals at Tehran University who strongly opposed the rule of the Shah in the 70s, espousing a secular, Marxist ideology. The MEK has a military faction called the National Liberation Army (NLA), and is also affiliated with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). In addition to the MEK, the NLA and the NCRI, numerous front organizations are also led by husband-and-wife Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. During the early 70’s, the MEK were responsible for the following assassinations of Americans:
• June 2, 1973: Lt. Colonel Lewis L. Hawkins
• May 21, 1975: Air Force Colonel Paul Schaeffer
- Air Force Lt. Colonel Jack Turner
• August 28, 1976: Donald G. Smith
- Robert R. Krongrad
- William C. Cottrell
The MEK also assisted and endorsed the occupation of the US Embassy in Tehran and hostage taking.
MEK makes the FTO list
In 1997, the State Department included the MEK on its list of FTOs (foreign terrorist organizations). The EU and the UK have also included the MEK in their FTO lists. To this day, the MEK remains on the US FTO list, despite attempts by Congress and neoconservatives to drop their terrorist status. Anthony Cordesman, former national security advisor and Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies: