…but they’re our terrorists!

Osama was once our guy, as was Saddam. You’d think our leaders would figure out sooner or later that this enemy-of-my-enemy business often has consequences. But noooo…

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar – The U.S. cease-fire with an Iranian exile group it considers a terrorist organization allows the Mujahedeen Khalq to defend itself from Iranian-sponsored attacks and keep its artillery and other weapons, U.S. military officials said Tuesday.

The cease-fire signed April 15 appears to be a way for the United States to increase pressure on Iran, which Washington has accused of meddling in Iraq (news – web sites) after the collapse of Saddam Hussein (news – web sites)’s regime.

But it represents a conundrum of sorts for the United States, which has classified the Iraq-based group as a terrorist organization. The United States went to war against Iraq in part to dismantle what it said were terrorist networks supported by Saddam.

Story here. But wait — there’s more! According to a State Department report:

During the 1970s, the MEK killed U.S. military personnel and U.S. civilians working on defense projects in Tehran and supported the takeover in 1979 of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. In 1981, the MEK detonated bombs in the head office of the Islamic Republic Party and the Premier’s office, killing some 70 high-ranking Iranian officials, including chief Justice Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, President Mohammad-Ali Rajaei, and Premier Mohammad-Javad Bahonar. Near the end of the 1980-88 war with Iran, Baghdad armed the MEK with military equipment and sent it into action against Iranian forces. In 1991, it assisted the Government of Iraq in suppressing the Shia and Kurdish uprisings in southern Iraq and the Kurdish uprisings in the north. Since then, the MEK has continued to perform internal security services for the Government of Iraq. In April 1992, the MEK conducted near-simultaneous attacks on Iranian Embassies and installations in 13 countries, demonstrating the group’s ability to mount large-scale operations overseas. In recent years, the MEK has targeted key military officers and assassinated the deputy chief of the Armed Forces General Staff in April 1999. …

Via PineGap, who notes:

The MEK has a)killed American soldiers and civilians in the past, b)assassinated top foreign leaders, c)helped Saddam crack down on his opponents, d)has shown an “ability to mount large-scale operations overseas,” and e) has thousands of fighters with tanks and other big weapons. Isn’t this exactly the kind of group we’re supposed to be wiping out in the “war on terrorism”?