According to a CNN.com article, the US military is protecting an organization that is listed as a terrorist group by the United States government. The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, are an Iranian dissident group that operates in a camp north of Baghdad. The US military provides security for the camp and for their convoys.
The group has been credited with exposing the Iranian governments secret nuclear plans by the US government, as well as being accused of terrorist acts by the Iranian and Iraqi governments.
Now isn't this a nice pickle the US finds itself in. Protecting a terrorist group inside a war zone that the host government wants expelled as well as the US's number one adversary in the region. What to do, what to do?
Apparently everything is kosher with this dilemma though...well according to the US it is. Even though the MEK is labeled a terrorist organization, the military can keep a safeguard over them. Because they are a terrorist organization US banks must freeze its assets; and any American giving support to its members is committing a crime. The International Committee of the Red Cross has also said that MEK is a protected group, stressing that they can not be expelled or repatriated.
This seems like something the US is setting up for future use. When the time does come for US forces to leave Iraq, the US will leave behind a very capable ally to maintain pressure on the Iranians. Even though the size of the MEK is minuscule to that of the Iranian military and Revolutionary Guard, they can still participate in clandestine operations and provide intelligence to the US.
The MEK may also become a thorn in the side to Iraqi government. The Iraqis have stated that they want the MEK out of the country, and without direct US support to help them they may be in a fight with the Iraqi government following a US withdrawal.
But as history has shown, this may comeback to bite the US in the ass.
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