The Neocons' Favorite Terrorist Group

I noticed this piece on the Mujehidin-i-Khalq on the Washington Times yesterday, and thought the issue was worthy of mention for those of you not familiar with them, especially since they're the neocons' newfound friends, helping to provide "intelligence" on Iran. What's odd about this is that 1) they were allied with Saddam and the Baath until he fell, 2) they've murdered Americans in the past, 3) they're on the State Department's official list of terrorist organizations, 4) they're a cultlike organization -- even to the point of determining who members can marry, and setting themselves on fire, and 5) they're of the extreme left politically, having their origins as a pro-Soviet anti-Shah group in the 1960s-70s. Nevertheless, the folks in Doug Feith's shop at the Pentagon made sure that the U.S. military allowed them to remain as a cohesive group on their base in Iraq. Since then, a chorus of neoconservative think-tank types have been suggesting that they could be useful in gathering "intelligence" to support the next phase of their war -- Iran. It looks like they may have gotten President Bush's ear, and they seem to have the support of John Bolton (not surprising!). (Notice that the Patrick Clawson / Daniel Pipes piece is dated May 2003 -- they were clearly thinking ahead.) Now, Raymond Tanter, is trying to sell the idea of taking them off the terrorist list, and apparently getting a hearing from some quarters on Capitol Hill. AIPAC has avoided the issue, but clearly anything which helps the case for military action against Iran is fine with them.

What those of us in the "reality-based community" should be asking these folks is -- should we be making decisions which put the lives of American servicemen and servicewomen on the line based on "intelligence" from communist-cult-kooks who have killed Americans in the past? And who have killed innocent civilians in terrorist bombings in Iran (whatever you think of their government)?

If any of you live in the districts of Tom Tancredo (R-CO) or Bob Filner (D-CA), maybe you should contact them and let them know how you feel about the principled stand the U.S. has taken against all terrorist groups. Also, consider writing a "letter to the editor" of your local paper. (Congressmen generally will be more concerned about negative items appearing in the local press than they will about one or two letters to them.)

Just as an aside, it's very interesting to note that AIPAC has taken down the thinly veiled "drumbeat for war" report they had up on Iran a couple of weeks ago, which I linked to from this blog to illustrate my point about their pressure for war with Iran. The issue of Iran is no longer in the center of their issues page. Very interesting.