If US removes Iran's MEK from list of terrorist organizations, will it matter?
(Read article summary)The MEK, whose terrorist listing is up for review by the State Department, is not apt to directly threaten the US. But delisting the group could hurt Iran's Green movement.
Scott Peterson has a lengthy investigation for the Monitor this week on the cavalcade of American political stars who've been raking in big bucks in return for speaking on behalf of the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The Iranian exile organization is currently on the US list of terrorist groups – but many in Washington would like to see it rehabilitated into an ally to go after the Iranian regime.
The list of former and current officials being paid to speak on behalf of the MEK – whose doctrine is an odd mélange of Marxism and Islamist ideologies requiring cult-like loyalty to its principal leader Maryam Rajavi – reads like a who's who of the Washington establishment. Former "mayor of America" Rudy Giuliani called the the terrorist designation a "disgrace." Former Homeland Security boss Tom Ridge was effusive about Mrs. Rajavi, calling it an "honor... to work with an individual that we believe clearly is one of the most inspirational, great leaders of the 21st century: Viva Maryam!"
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